My garden bed has yet to be ready for a few weeks. So I bring flowers into the yard in the late afternoon when the sun is low and beaming into the camera. It’s often too hot for Zinnia, so she sits in the shade on the porch and watches things.

I have a new companion, Zip. It took him two days of getting yelled at and pushed aside before he realized I didn’t want him coming between me and the flowers. I sat on a chair behind the garden bed, placing the flowers in sunlight.  I think Zip was lonely once – he lived alone and out in the forest for the first year of his life – and he is happy to find his people and a lot of animal friends and fields of mice and moles and chipmunks.

He has a spiritual quality about him, and he certainly knows how to connect with me.

Then, I use autofocus and manual focus for my shots. I love abstracts and moody ones. If such a thing exists, they will be my trademark flower photo. He’s also figured out how to pose for the camera. He is a feline ham.

Zip sits a couple of feet next to me and sits quietly, sometimes dozing.

If I move, he moves with me and finds another place to sit. I love having him along; occasionally, I lean over and scratch his neck. I love his quiet companionship. Taking flower photos has always been a solitary thing for me. Not anymore. I have a cat companion who watches me closely but never interferes. He has picked up my mood and my vibe. Brilliant, these barn cats.