grayson

This is Grayson, our grumpus. He's a grouchy old man with a munched up little ear who, for the most part, just wails at you as you walk into the winery hoping to con you out of another scoop of cat food. Or, on really special days, you might be lucky enough to find the decapitated mouse he left for us on the doormat.

He's a charmer.

Since I began working at Erath, I've been hoping to find the sweet little kitty inside this cantankerous old feline but other than a few little pats on the head as I dropped his food dish in front of him, it seemed like he was just too hardened to the world (the only creature he showed much interest in is Esmerelda, the tiny little girl kitty who is so skittish she's basically just a tortiseshell blur). And Don and Linda because they are the best about feeding him on a daily basis. He loves those two.

In the last couple weeks though I've broken through the grump! We've gotten ourselves into a nice little routine where, on weekends when we park in the back of the winery (Grayson's stomping grounds), he sees my car, starts squallering at me as I get out, and then just stands on the porch railing waiting, not for food, but for a little love. He just stands there looking at me until I scratch his little head, petting him from ear to tail and back again so he can do his little cat thing and arch himself back and forth.

But last Monday, we hit a real milestone. I had to be at the winery around 8:30am for a meeting and as I approached the door I heard a familiar grumble. Little Munch Head came around the corner, hollering in that way that it just sounds painful. And so, since it was so lovely outside, bright and crisp and morning-like and such, I plopped down on the deck and spent some time with little mister.

And can you guess what happened?

I even got a purr out of him! Now I probably shouldn't be as excited about this as I am but... So be it. I love kitties and miss having a little one around to roll and purr with.

So I think it's official now: Grayson and I are buds.

Can you say "score"?