Farm life series #1: the non-verbal agreement with the farm cat
The context: I have moved to a Finca (farm) in the Alpujarra, Southern Spain in late November 2021. It has no potable water, no glass in the windows and no heating. However, it does have a lot of heart and a kind farmer whose finca it was for three generations looking out for me. It has beautiful views during the day and a sky full of stars at night and it is quiet. Like a balm to my soul. It has slow and limited internet and a library full of books that I have dragged with me all over Europe. I have decided to write some reflections about life here as I grow into it.
The first time I ever laid eyes on the finca in person was in the company of Jack the estate agent, I noticed a couple of cats sitting in the sun right outside the next door neighbors and thought “Gosh I hope Moomoo doesn’t terrorize them too much”. I have two dogs Black and Moomoo and they both like chasing after anything that moves.
As we got out of the car a black cat simply ran past us as we were greeted by Jose Luis, the farmer. He said the farm comes with a farm cat simply called “Negro” or the color black in Spanish, named after his complete black fur coat. This was back in August, in the height of a heat wave the cat was simply running from one shady spot to the next to keep from evaporating into thin air.
