For those of you who have spent any time at the farm over the last 10 years, you know that our barn cat Burton has been an active and major part of the farm. She was caught in a trap at the Indian Brook waterfront 10 years ago and has been managing the farm, supervising all that goes on ever since. She always made her demands clear and never took “no” for an answer. She was a frequently seen riding on Adam’s shoulders parrot style and would search for him yowling when he dared to take a vacation – or parental leave. She had been spending her days in the office, mostly sitting in the sun, or behind Adam (she’s been aging quickly). She was great the kids despite having bad asthma, she let them pick her up (until she had had enough) and she guarded the dairy barn with ferocity – not necessarily against rodents (although made a show of killing a chipmunk for some of our retreat groups this fall to my utter shock) – she was sure to know who was coming and going and who would give her milk and treats the fastest.
It is with sadness that I am reporting her departure from this world on Tuesday night. She spent all day Tuesday in here with me and Alexander and Nic, sitting on Adam’s chair. She went out when I did chores and I couldn’t find her when I left. I knew something was amiss when she wasn’t yowling at the door Wednesday morning, upon looking Nic found her upstairs with a wound on her neck, unclear if it was post or premortem, but none the less, she is gone and she will be terribly missed.