Hanging out in the hayshed

Picture was taken back in October.   Daisy likes to hang out in the hayshed.  Sometimes she has to contend with the neighbor's male cat who also wants to hang out here.

Daisy very happy to see me again

September 24 I had a severe accident.  The next afternoon I was finally awake long enough, and barely functional enough, to call a friend and ask her to take me to the hospital.  I was in the hospital for 11 days.  So I hadn't seen Daisy in twelve days.  While I was in the hospital I had several friends who let Daisy in my house in the evening to eat, then let Daisy outside the next morning.

When I came home in October Daisy immediately came and ran towards me. She (he) did not want to let me go.   I had to stay at Donna's house for a couple more days as I wasn't ready to stay home alone.  Alone meaning people wise as of course Daisy would stay with me.  Once I got home Daisy spent a lot of time with me as she (he) was afraid I was going to leave again.  I stayed home and mostly recovered.  So Daisy is getting back to her patrolling the ranch.  In the evening when I start a fire in my wood stove initially I'll lay on the floor in front of the stove for a little bit.  Daisy makes sure she is in the house at this time and insists on laying next to me and against me.  Tonight I laid on my side and Daisy put her paws and head on my elbow and checked out my face before she settled down to rest, still with her head and paws on my elbow.

Donna took a couple pictures of Daisy and I when we first met after twelve days of being apart.  As you can see in the second photo Daisy has her claws in my pants leg so I don't go and leave her again.

In the alfalfa field

Sometimes Daisy accompanies me when I work in the pastures; sometimes she sits in the alfalfa field and looks and listens for mice.  Tonight that is what she did.  I am still working on getting my irrigation up and running this year and have walked back to the house numerous times to get different tools or parts. All these trips back and forth is creating a path in the alfalfa field.  Daisy sits at various part of the path and looks and listens.  Here she is sitting as I came back after sundown.

Up in the sky

Early this evening Daisy was looking way up in the sky.

At first I thought she was looking at a bird in the tall box elder trees.  Then I saw the hot air balloon way up in the sky.

The previous two evenings Daisy trekked with me all the way to the river and "supervised" as I worked on the irrigation pipes and system.

Doctor visit

Apparently Daisy was in another cat fight.   The past week she had a slight limp.   I watched and waited.  A few days ago she appeared to have stopped limping.  But yesterday her limp came back and was worse.   She slept in late - longer than me! - so it was that late this morning.  

She would hold her left paw up when she sat.  So I made a vet appointment.  I got in a 3:15 pm.  They were having a busy day.  Apparently the day's theme was animals with limps.  Also a small dog who ate rat poison was rushed in while I was waiting my turn.

Daisy had a wound mid leg.  Her leg was swollen and had lots of pus.   The vet had to put her out with anesthesia to cut and remove the pus.  She had an anti-biotic shot.  I also updated her rabies shot as it was time for another.

Daisy didn't know what to do when she got home.  I put her back on the couch but she limped off to various places different than where she usually lays.  I think once she decided I wasn't going to 'bother' her she went and laid on my computer chair, one of her favorite places.  She has laid there ever since as she is recovering.

I don't know if the bite is from Calvin's male cat, or the female cat that moved in.  Apparently the female cat was dropped off this Spring as none of the neighbors know whose cat that is.  One neighbor at least leaves a little food out for the cat.  The female cat seems to live in the hayshed, which of course is a place where Daisy likes to hunt mice and lay on hay bales.  This evening I found the female cat laying on top of Daisy's favorite hay bale.  It went and hid under and behind a bale as I entered the hay shed.

The vet bill was $217.  Daisy is worth it.

Fathers Day

Today Daisy decided to spend Fathers Day with me.  He came in early this morning for breakfast.  Instead of going back outside he then decided to sleep with me since I slept late in bed to recover from two days of cutting hay.  When I went outside to check on the cattle and do a few small projects, Daisy kept me company.  When I came back inside to have a late breakfast Daisy came in to eat also.  After breakfast he wanted to lay on my lap as we waited out the rain.  We both took a nap in the afternoon.

I think his limping is a little less.  I looked at his paw but didn't notice anything.

Helpling with a gate - take 2

Let's try this again.   Once again.... it seems that Blogger's "email send to:" function is not working.



I'm installing a gate in the SW corner of the hayfield.  The past few evenings Daisy made the long walk with me to the gate's location.

In the above photo, the fence going to the left is the neighbor's fence.  None of my fences are nowhere near that bad.

One evening I put Daisy up on top of a railroad tie so he could see further over the tall grass.  Tonight he climbed up on boards to see over the grass.

Helping with a gate

I'm installing a gate in the SW corner of the hayfield.  The past few evenings Daisy made the long walk with me to the gate's location.

In the above photo, the fence going to the left is the neighbor's fence.  None of my fences are nowhere near that bad.

One evening I put Daisy up on top of a railroad tie so he could see further over the tall grass.  Tonight he climbed up on boards to see over the grass.

Helping untangle a rope

Yesterday I trimmed another branch from my tall box elder trees.  (https://tallpinesranch.blogspot.com/2019/05/more-tall-tree-trimming.html)

When I had to use a rope to pull to cut branches down, Daisy helped (?) me untangle the rope.

Many barn mice

Friday I did a little work in the barn.  I still had some grain left over from when I used it to entice Red to bond with the Holstein calf.  I stored the bags of grain in a large plastic garbage container.  I thought it was mouse proof.  I was wrong.  When I opened the lid I found the plastic bags were quite shredded.  Inside the container were lots of mice, including baby mice.

I went and got Daisy from the house.  He wasn't too thrilled at being put in the garbage container.  Eventually he settled down and stopped trying to get out.  I thought he would go crazy on the mice but it was like shooting fish in a barrel - too easy and not interesting.  I rattled things around to get the mice moving and Daisy half heartedly chased a few mice.  He killed one and I had to kill the remaining six or seven mice.

One mouse got out of the container and then I discovered how they got in and out.  There are two small holes halfway up the container.  Why?  I don't know.   I plugged the holes with rags.

Later when I was moving some hay bales to get the barn ready in case I had to put a cow and calf in there (which I did have to that night), a mouse ran out and Daisy got all excited to chase it across the barn floor.  Daisy more wanted to play with the mouse than kill it, and after a bit the mouse got away having got among a stack of hay bales.

Why did you put me in here?

New Years Day

Happy New Year everyone!

Daisy and I chilled this afternoon.  She slept on the couch much of the afternoon or else laid partially on my lap as I watched a documentary movie.  Now that she had her supper of 'special treat' (wet) cat food she is outside on patrol; checking on the cattle, the neighbors, looking for mice to play with, and chasing away the neighbor's cat.

If we had sound you could hear Daisy grumble about me taking photos of her (him).