Words from Bedlam Farm Journal

The Barn Cat and the Hen
from Jon Katz's Bedlam Farm Journal Blog, March 26, 2013




Life on a farm is strange. Minnie is a strange cat, even for a barn cat. We feed her each day, and she loves to hang out on the rocking chair on the back porch. So do the chickens. I have never seen a cat nap next to a chicken, or a chicken next to a cat. No chicken would go near Mother [another of Jon's cats], and I never saw Mother hang out with the hens. Minnie grew up in the Bedlam Farm barn around chickens. I remember when Winston I the rooster fell ill, Minnie sat by his side day and night at the end of his life.

Still, I have not seen her cozy up with a hen. So it came down to these two farm animals, both wanting the same chair. Seems to me they came to a reasonable and collegial compromise. They napped together much of the afternoon while Strut the rooster paced nervously back and forth. I could watch animals all day. I do, really. They never cease to surprise and challenge me. They are not like us.

Photography is as curious and unpredictable as a farm. I always carry my camera. This chair, which we didn’t even expect to use until the summer, and then not much, has become the focal point of daily photos capturing the animals here in a different way. I could never have imagined that.


Note from Sharon:  My cat, Moira, is getting used to having to share her turf with the two Learning Farm chickens that I bring home on a daily basis, but I doubt that I'll ever see them sharing a rocking chair like this.  I'll let you know if I ever do though!