One day when our daughter, Melanie, went outside to water our flowers, she was distracted by “Blackie” the cat who had other plans. Blackie, the neighborhood cat, likes to sun himself in our backyard swing because there are no dogs to bother him in our yard. The only other creatures nearby are those that cats love to pursue like chipmunks, squirrels, bluebirds and coi in the fish pond. Whenever a human being enters the backyard, old Blackie ambles forward to get his back scratched. Tommy Thompson could not resist preserving this scene in the figurative oil painting, "Always Pet the Cat," 18x24 inch oil on canvas.
