Happy birthday, Zipper. You have enriched my life, Maria’s, and every farm animal here. Your companionship has brought warmth and joy to our lives; you’ve woven yourself into our hearts.

You have brought a lot of love and meaning to Bedlam Farm, and we are proud and happy to take the best care of you.

Thanks for supporting my photography and for opening me up emotionally. You know precisely when to show up and crawl onto my shoulder for a nap.  

That means a lot to me. I’m sorry to see you kill things that do no harm, but I have also learned to accept nature’s sometimes overlooked secret: it seems that every living thing is always trying to eat some other living thing.

The farm is a beautiful place of life and death.

That’s the nature of the Barn Cat; you live your life and know how to be free and safe. I admire your independence, and thank you for cleaning the barn of rats, mice, and pigeons. You have made all of us safer—many thanks to you. You have done your job, all while staying true to your spirit.

As winter approaches, you have three different places to sleep around the farm: each offers safety, shelter, and warmth. I suspect you’ll ignore all of them. You are a proud barn cat; nobody’s fur baby.

You like to make your own decisions, but they are there if you need them—I am so glad you can live your life as it was meant to be lived. You won’t get into the house but are deeply embedded in our hearts.

Much love, Jon, Maria, and the residents of the Peaceable Kingdom.