Hay mice

Today was time for another hay bale for the cattle.

When I moved the tarp to get the bale I planned to move I found two dead mice on the ground by the bale.  In the week since I last moved a bale Daisy caught and killed two mice and left them for me to find.  I also found signs where the mice had burrowed holes into the hay bales.

When I returned from moving the bale to the feeder I decided to take the tarp off to let the sun dry the damp bales.

Of course Daisy was "on top of things" as usual.

A little bit later Daisy came with a mouse.

Since Daisy was tapping the mouse to get a reaction, the mouse found that playing dead was not working so it ran for the hay bales.

That didn't work as Daisy caught it again.  Then the mouse ran under the lumber I had on the ground.  It played hike and seek with Daisy.  I stood by the hay bales blocking the mouse when it would try to make a break for it.  Once Daisy got off the lumber I moved the lumber away.  Then Daisy and the mouse had a game of hike and seek with a 4 by 4 board as you can see below.

The mouse thinks Daisy can't see it.  Daisy is also hiding from the mouse.

When the mouse doesn't make a break for it Daisy decides to provoke it to move.

"Come on!  Do something!"

The mouse didn't want to play anymore so Daisy quickly put an end to "play time" permanently.

That makes six mice caught for the year.  That I know of, as yesterday I noticed Daisy's tracks in the snow where she had gone over to visit the neighbor.  Who knows how many mice she has caught over there.

Yellow toy

Last night I had to lift Daisy off the house roof.  She was up there when it started raining.  Due to the multiple roof lines she has some eves to duck under.  But she was a wet cat.  She even let me lift her off the roof instead of playing her usual game of 'catch me if you can'.  Then she laid by the wood stove to dry off.

She slept in the house all night and didn't wake me up early to go outside.  This morning she played with some of her toys.  By the time she got to her yellow toy she was running out of steam.  That is why I have photos of her looking at her toy, then walking off.  (The part folded up in front was where Daisy had put her front paws and rolled around until I got the camera. <of course>)

Mouse 3

Today I pulled another large bale of hay out to the north pasture for the cattle.  Daisy was out and about as I worked - at one time she was sitting on top of the tarped bales as I worked.  Later, when I went back to prepare the next bale for moving next week I found a headless mouse in the area between the moved bale and the next to be moved bale.  While I worked, Daisy also had 'worked'.  We're a team.

Up on the roof, and music

Last night when I called for Daisy to come back inside the house, after a few minutes, I heard tromping on the house roof.  Yup, "The Dazer" was up there.  To top it off a light freezing rain was happening.  Of course she played "peek-a-boo" and wouldn't let me grab her to lift her off the roof.  She later found her way back down.

Crazy cat.

Some of Daisy's tracks are left of the sewer vent pipe coming out of the roof.

Earlier in the week, in the discard area at the library, the library discarded a number of old CDs. I found a dozen artists I liked, or looked interesting.   Today I dug out and hooked up my CD player.  I've only had it boxed up in the basement every since I moved here back in 2001. 

Tonight Daisy snagged my computer chair (naturally) as I was about to work on the computer.  I played CDs for music.  The first album was Timeless, some jazzy blues by Clarence Gatemouth Brown.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/timeless-mw0000718734


Then when the classic Cocteau Twins album, Treasure, came on, Daisy sat upright in the chair and intently looked around.  The dream pop of the Cocteau Twins is much different than the blues.  After a bit Daisy settled back down in the chair.  Good, as I love the Cocteau Twins' music.

"Ivo" was the song that intrigued Daisy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDyujx0BZSg&index=1&list=PLsn9xS2-yuBvKTsko_TPM16ebCiA1pHfZ


Daisy now has come up to the computer.  Below is some of what she just typed:

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I guess that means it is time to post this to her blog.

Cabin fever

Daisy is getting cabin fever.  At times she takes her crankiness out on me.  A few times she has attacked my arm.  Not enough to draw blood, but to let me know how sharp her claws and teeth are.

Yesterday I understood why.  I was trying to remove an dried eye booger she had, and while she is usually patient with me when I do so, yesterday she was not.  I quit when she was getting annoyed.  I was sitting on the floor and as she started to walk away she turned, reared up on her back legs and jumped against my shoulder grabbing it with her front paws and claws and then bit my sweater. Then immediately she quit having made her point.  I was wearing a sweater, so while I felt the sharp claws the skin was not broken.

This morning she was restless.  After being petted for a little bit I saw she was still annoyed and then she gave me a little swipe.  So outside she went.

Being outside an hour did her good.  I later found a big mouse on the doorstep.  Since then she has been mellow.

Drinking water

Daisy loves to drink water from everywhere other than her nice fancy water dish that Tammy had gotten her.  Daisy doesn't jump up on the bathroom sink counter when I am in the bathroom.  However the other day when she sat on the floor next to me and asked to be let onto the counter I made the mistake of lifting her onto the counter and running water in the sink for her.  Of course she loved drinking out of the sink.   Now everyday when I wash up Daisy comes in and asks to be lifted onto the counter so she can drink from the sink.  Of course I give in to her.

Bag cat

Daisy is amused by the simplest things.  Here, it is a bag I meant to toss into the wood stove.  That is, until Daisy decided to play hide and seek in the bag.

Roof and tarp

Daisy amused herself while I worked outside.  When I was working in the yard she found a way to get on top of the tool shed.

Can you get me down?

Playing "keep away".

Then when I shoveled snow from around the large hay bales she kept me company.

Climbing up on top of the large bales... No problem when you have sharp claws.

Wow!  Lots of snow up here.

No problem.  I'll just sit on the snow and watch the cattle.

Here is a 48 second video of Daisy getting off the hay bales:  http://youtu.be/aiEdWJmVrZU

First mouse of 2015

Daisy caught her first mouse of 2015.  She went outside at 6 am, and even though it had snowed three or so inches overnight, she stayed outside an hour and a half.  Even with all this snow she caught a big mouse and laid it by the front door for me to admire when I got up in the morning.

This evening I let her outside.  Even though she was outside only about twenty minutes, apparently I didn't check often enough as she chewed me out once I let her back inside the house.

House roof snow cat

Today I worked on getting the snow off the house roof.  I got 3/4 of the roof cleaned before dark.  I was able to uncover the sun tunnel to get more light into the house.  I also uncovered the sewer vent.

Of course Daisy joined me.  In fact, when I first went up on the roof, before Daisy joined me, I found her tracks in the snow.  She had been on the roof earlier.  You can see her earlier tracks on the left. She climbs the shrub to get on the roof.  Here she is poking her head into the shrub looking... well, because it is there.

Deep snow?  Not a problem for 'The Dazer'.

Snow roof cat

Daisy was active all day today until now.  She got me up at 6 am to go outside, and after I checked on her every 20 minutes, she finally came back in the house at 7:20 am whereby she jumped on my bed.  When I woke up later she had the middle of the bed and I was now on the side.  How did that happen?!!

In and out several times this morning.   When inside, and when I walked and did not pay her attention, Daisy would leap and grab my leg by wrapping both her front legs around my leg.

Later in the afternoon when I started to clear snow from roofs she was all about supervising my work when she could.  Before I knew it she was up on the roof of whatever structure I was shoveling snow off of.

Tonight she was laying by the wood stove when I walked to the sink with my supper dishes.  When I returned to my computer she had quickly claimed the computer's chair for her own.  Laying on the table in front of me as I worked wasn't good enough tonight.

I'm not sure how she is sleeping as she is laying on her back with her head hanging down over the side of the chair with her face facing the bright light of the lamp.  But she is sleeping as her tail is still.  Her tail was wrapped around one of her hind legs which is sticking up in the air until I turned the camera on.  Then she moved her tail.

Daisy... Daisy... Daisy.   Princess Daisy.

Walking on the fences as I cleaned snow from the house's entryway roof.

As I began to clean snow from the patio roof, Daisy laid just under the roof.

Once I had a good amount of snow cleared from the patio roof Daisy then went up there to inspect my work.

You missed a section!

As it got dark I started on the tool shed roof.  I was standing on a step ladder and using a shovel instead of the snow rake.  Once I got an area cleared Daisy came out of nowhere and jumped up on the roof where I had just cleared it.  She must had climbed the fence, from the fence post jumped on top of the step ladder and from there jumped up on top of the roof.

What a cat.

No Daisy.  You can't jump over to the power pole and climb that.

What a cat.

-

Keeping company

After sleeping much of Sunday, Monday morning Daisy had plenty of energy.  She accompanied me each time I went out to give hay to the calves, and to fill the water trough.  She played with the small fluffy snow balls when I shoveled Friday's snow off the front driveway.  Sometimes she would push snow off my shovel.   She checked everything out making tracks here and there.  She ran around and around.  She even tried to run through the two feet of snow in the back yard I hadn't shoveled.  That didn't go well as she sank deep into the snow and she quickly turned around and struggled out of the deep snow.

Here she is fence sitting as I add water to the cattle's water trough.

Another photo?!

Daisy followed me when I went out to check on the large bales and then on the cattle and large bale.  Daisy follows me all over.

Snow cat during Snowmageddon

Daisy went outside in the morning when I shoveled paths.  She mainly stuck to the paths.  The snow was too deep.  Daisy will go through snow, but she doesn't like it when the snow is deeper than her head.

Due to the never ending falling snow, at times Daisy was almost all white instead of black and white.

Did you make this path for me?

Playing with the snow

Waiting while I shovel more snow.

I'm done with the snow. I want to go back inside the house.

Nap time after being out in the snow?

Yes, it is nap time.

84 mice

Daisy was outside on Dec 31 for a short time.  Long enough to catch a small shrew.  That makes 84 mice caught in 2014 (that I know of - I suspect the real total is higher).

Daisy wishes you a "Happy New Year".