A farmer once told me that a farm is not a stable and quiet place interrupted by occasional dramas and challenges, but one continuous drama and challenge interrupted by occasional stability and quiet. This is so. Minnie was apparently attacked by the fox last night – he got a huge chunk of her hair around her nick, a few small bites. Don’t know how she escaped or where she was but barn cats are a lot tougher and smarter than chickens, and she probably slipped away and got up a tree or pole.

She usually spends the night out behind the farmhouse, sleeping on the stone wall or a car hood. She seems all right, got some ointment on her, she’s going to the vet in the morning. She’ll be in a crate inside the barn tonight. We can’t keep the barn cats locked up for good, just hope the fox gets distracted and Minnie gets savvier about it.