A black cat, resident of a hardware store's property, peers out from the wheelwell of a disused industrial truck.

During a little exploration Sunday afternoon, we happened across a couple of “working cats” — felines that live on the premises of businesses, not strays but not housecats. One cat lives in the yard of a small town hardware store. There’s a large industrial truck parked permanently in front of the store’s windows but behind the firewood for which we were shopping. On the giant tire of that yellow-green truck was a beautiful black cat that put us in mind of our dear departed Missy. The kitty posed for a few pictures then, wary of strangers’ attentions, took off for parts more secluded. Stopping by at a nearby winery we sighted another cat sunning and grooming itself on a sub-roof near the main entrance. Kit paused, took a good look at us, then went about its business and we did the same. The wine wasn’t very good.

A cat suns and grooms itself on the shingled roof of a winery. Photo by James Guilford.