We visited the famous wine region of Chateauneuf du Pape this evening. The grapes are a brilliant green all lined up on bushy plants that are about 3 feet tall on every possible plot of ground. The houses are faced in a pale pink or grey stone and tower about 3 stories over the apple and peach orchards that are interspersed with fields of lavender and sun flowers every few kilometers. There really isn't a lot of obvious livestock, and I didn't notice many dogs, but in every yard in the vineyards, and on many of the walls and windowsills, soaking up the sunshine that falls on the rocky soil, there is a cat.Some might think these ferocious felines are merely lazily sunning themselves, or seeking the occasional ear scratch from the properitaire, but no, these cats are hard at work. They are soaking up the excess sunshine that would otherwise spoil the perfect bottle of wine. Sure, they look like they are sleeping, but what better disguise is there? Who would give a sleeping cat a second look? And of course they aren't all sleeping either. When we went into town tonight, we saw cats "snoozing" on the porch steps, stretched out on the fourth floor window ledges and casually sitting on the tops of the terra cotta tiles that cover the 8' walls between every yard. Oh sure, he looks innocent enough, licking his paw to wash his face, but look a little closer and you will see he is receiving wireless communication from a van down the street about the percentage of cloud cover predicted for the evening and the following day. Afterall, too much sun is a problem for the grapes, but so is not enough, so these cats have to be very carefully positioned to make sure maximum grape sun soaking is established, but not too much so as to over do it and spoil the crop. Some cats must even slip into the house occasionally to make sure that sufficient sun is delivered to the grapes, and not inadvertently soaked up by the accidental incorrect positioning, say in the chaise lounge on the patio.
What's that, you thought all this time that Chateauneuf de Pape was french for "new house of the Pope?" Oh no, that was just a ruse...The real name is Chat au neuf de Pope -- the cat of the ninth Pope. She was responsible for saving the grape crop in 951 AD when she spent the entire day stretched out on the gravel under the grape arbor and allowed the grapes to get just the right amount of sunshine to save the entire year's crop.
