Peek-a-boo

I hope you all are having a nice Thanksgiving, and a good meal.

Lately Rascal has taken to laying partially under a blanket.   I had put a blanket on the couch earlier this year and recently I found Rascal laying under it a number of times.  He had pushed the blanket out so he could lay under it.  Here I can see him. Sometimes he is in so far I have to get down and look to see him.

Yesterday while I was cleaning the wood stove Rascal walked around and around the house.  The last I seen him he had walked into my bedroom.  After I finished the wood stove work I looked for Rascal.  I ended up looking under the bed and then I found Rascal at the foot of the bed under a blanket looking at me.  This extra blanket is partially on the bed and partially over the bed and on the floor. Its purpose is to provide extra warmth for my feet and legs in the Winter when I sleep.  Rascal pushed the blanket on the floor and then made a tunnel in which he could lay and look out at the world.

This is a new behavior by Rascal.   I 'm fine with it.

Still here

I had a very eventful past seven days, but I'm still here.   I work as an election judge so tomorrow will be a long and busy day.  I got to get up very early for me, so now it's time for bed.

Helping stacking logs

I am slowly working on gathering the downed trees I had cut into logs for later splitting into firewood.  Rascal came out with me this afternoon to help.  Actually, his help today was looking for mice nearby.   At one point when moving some logs two mice ran from the logs into the grass along a fence.  Rascal was looking for mice at another nearby fence.   I called for him.  He came my way, but not completely.  He wanted to keep looking for mice in his area.

A short time later he came over and then sat and watched the area I last seen the mice.  He waited and waited.  I didn't have my camera but decided to go to the house to get it in order to take a photo of Rascal looking for mice.  When I came back Rascal was no longer waiting along the fence.  He came walking over to me.  This is the photo I got of him.  Of course, the tip of his tail was curved.

Helping collecting walnuts

When I picked walnuts from my tree the past few days Rascal helped me each day.  Well... actually he supervised.

Job done.

And his tail.. when he walks he almost always stands it up straight with just the tip of it curled.

My rescue cat

Tonight when I returned from checking the pocket gopher traps it was getting dark.  I was late because the calves decided to play with one of my traps and broke off the plastic milk container I use to help me see where I had placed the trap in the ground and tall grass.  I had to spend time looking for this trap as I had moved the trap to a new location this morning and I forgot where I had placed it.  Of course, Rascal was waiting for me at the corral and guided me home in the dark.

Here a few photos of Rascal this afternoon.

My rescue cat or guide dog

Lately I've been going out to my pastures to check my pocket gopher traps.  A few times when I return I find Rascal either sitting at the outside corral gate watching and waiting for me to return, or I find him at the north and middle pasture gate waiting for me.  As I approach he then comes over to me and then turns around and leads me back home.  He walks so close to me I often have to watch and be careful not to trip over him.  I guess Rascal feels like I'm lost and he has to rescue me and lead me back home.

Zucchini

Donna's sister gave me a large zucchini a few days ago.  I eat zucchini raw at lunch as an additional fruit.  I guess most people don't eat it raw as I got looks and comments when I did so back in my hiking days.

Racal came out of the house and joined me as I took a photo of the zucchini.

Rascal licking his fur and grooming.

Helping with the baler fix

I'm almost done fixing my baler.  I should be done tomorrow early.   Late this afternoon Rascal was done with his afternoon nap and he came outside to be with me as I worked on my baler.

In the first photo Rascal is laying so he can see if any mice come out from under the building.

Laying on the back of the couch

I hadn't posted anything about Rascal lately.  So here is a photo of him laying on the back of my couch.

Since this moving of my irrigation pipes twice a day is messing up with my sleep schedule, I usually catch up on my sleep a few hours in the afternoon when it is hot outside.  Rascal likes that as he prefers to sleep in the afternoon and usually likes sleeping next to me.  Today it took me some effort to get up as he was laying across and holding on to my arm as he was sleeping.

In-and-out at night

Rascal likes to spend most of the day in the house.  Mostly sleeping.  Lately, with the better weather, he wants to spend lots of time outside after dark.  But this being Rascal, often that means he wants in-and-out of the house quite a lot.   Usually he wants in to get something to eat or drink, then wants back outside.  My previous cat, Daisy, seemed only to eat two or three times a day.  And when Daisy came in, he stayed in for a while.

I don't have a cat door.  So Rascal comes in the bedroom to meow to wake me up and tell me he wants outside.  He knows at night which door to go to.  My bedroom window is nearby and he then can meow and wake me up to let him into the house.

Lately he wants in-and-out quite a few times in an hour or two.  Usually every 20 minutes or once a half hour.   Last night he went in-and-out every 5 to 10 minutes.  Each time he would wake me up from sleeping.  After the fourth time I left the door open. 

Now I am not keen on leaving the door open.  That is because a few days ago I heard noise in the kitchen or entryway at night while I was on the computer.  I think it may have been a mouse.   Some years ago I "mouse-proofed" the basement walls, and the floor.  That stopped mice from finding a way into the house.  Apparently those mice could squeeze through the small openings around the water pipes in the floor.  I placed wire around those openings, and no more mice in the house.

Since that night, a few days ago, I haven't heard any sound of a potential mouse in the house.  I don't know if Rascal got the mouse, or the mouse went back outside when I had left the door open.

Rascal does spend time outside.  Often when I am outside.  I tried to take a photo of him, but each time he would flop over to lay down next to me.

Sitting on a fence

The hayfield grass is getting tall.  It seems, instead of walking in the hayfield, Rascal likes to sit on my fence and look out at the hayfield.  Is it so he can listen for mice?

 

I have no idea what caught his attention behind him.

New wind ornament

Today I assembled and put up a new cat wind ornament that Donna bought for me.  The wind ornament changed since I got the last cat ornament.

The new ornament did not have a bird on the handlebars.  Nothing was there.   The cat's hands were not attached together. So I moved the bird from the old ornament to the new ornament.

The cat was sightly different.  Also the tail was not attached to the body.  The wheels are slightly different and are attached to the bicycle differently.  The "pole" is different.  And there was no section of the pole that goes into the ground.  I used the old pole. 

It seems as if the manufacturer cut corners since they made the first cat ornament.  But the new ornament seems to be working.

Stinky, Maggie and Molly

Nothing about Rascal in this post.  He is doing fine.

This week my friend Donna is out of town and is house sitting, horse sitting, dog sitting and cat sitting for her daughter while she is on vacation.   So while Donna is out of town I am checking each day on her pet turkeys and one of Donna's cats.

The turkeys are both female and each produces an egg every day.   Donna doesn't eat her pet turkeys' eggs, and I don't want them to go to waste so I eat them.  I am eating a lot of eggs.   The turkeys are named Maggie and Molly.

The cat used to be her neighbor's cat.  The neighbor now has a young son and a large dog.  The cat decided to move over to live at Donna's place.  Donna already has a pet and indoor cat.  So this cat lives out in a shed.  And is living well as Donna made a cat door, a bed with a blanket, and a heat lamp when it is cold outside.  The cat has it good.

And the cat is old.  Apparently he is 22 years old.   And being so old he has a little smell.  So Donna named the cat "Stinky".

I had my camera along with me yesterday when I checked on the pets.  It was a nice and sunny day.  Here the cat is sitting on the steps to Donna's house and wondering where Donna is.

One turkey was laying on the nest.  So I didn't get any eggs yesterday.

Wind ornament cat damaged

My wind ornament of the cat riding a bicycle got damaged the other day.  Usually if it is really windy I will take the ornament inside the house.  I didn't think about it this time.  Friday morning I discovered the ornament lost its front wheel.  The cat is now riding a unicycle.

 

With me in the sun

This afternoon when I was working outside, Rascal came outside to be with me.

I wonder if there can be mice under that building?

Yesterday I took Rascal back to where I adopted him to get his 3 year rabies vaccine shot.  He did fine.

On the house roof

In the past Daisy figured out how to climb up and down the shrub/tree just south of the house.  And often he would spend time sitting on the house roof overseeing his kingdom in the evening.  Well... now Rascal has figured out how to climb the shrub/tree branches to get up and down from the house roof.   This evening I found him on the roof two times.   The second time I got my camera and took a few quick photos before he climbed down from the roof.

I'm glad Rascal has now figured out how to get on the house roof.  Last night when Rascal was outside, and on the ground, I heard coyotes howling/barking.  They weren't nearby, but sounded closer than I liked.  Rascal zoomed inside the house when I opened the door.  I didn't hear any coyotes tonight.

Good day

Rascal had a good day today.   Lately Rascal has been coming outside with me in the morning when I go out to check on the cattle and their water trough.  I open the barn door so Rascal can go inside and look for mice.  And there are mice inside.  Today when I looked back outside the house I saw Rascal by the toolshed on his way back from the barn.  When he got to the snow-free grass he dropped a mouse and played with it.  After a bit he came walking to the house and I let him inside.  Over an hour later I checked the area but didn't find a mouse body.  I'm sure he killed it by the way Rascal acted when the mouse tried to run away.  I believe the birds later took the mouse body.

Rascal got his fur - mainly neck and chest area - brushed twice today.  He was fine with me brushing him and seemed to like it.  Of course he doesn't stay still and I have to bend over and follow him while brushing him.  When I stop walking he will immediately turn around and come back to me for more brushing.  He also likes to gently pat a metal ball with a bell inside when I brush him.  One pat - ring - then he walks away.  A minute later he walks back and one more single pat on the ball for another ring.

And Rascal had a little time laying on, then next to, my lap this afternoon.

He was laying on my lap and having his neck rubbed as I started this post.  But after a bit of typing and no neck rub, Rascal left.   He'll be back later.

On my lap

Apparently Norwegian Forest cats are not lap cats. And Rascal is that way for the most part.  Unless he wants his neck rubbed, then he will come up and sit on my lap. He likes his neck rubbed due to the long mane around his head.  When I finish the neck rubbing or head petting Rascal will then get off my lap.  An exception is in the afternoon if I am sitting on the couch, after the neck rub and head petting, often he will reposition himself and then lay and sleep on my lap.

He did so yesterday afternoon.  He had his head on my knees and was curled up and sleeping.  He looked like a giant snowball on my lap.  I wanted a photo of this but I didn't have my camera nearby.  Today I made sure my camera was nearby on the couch.  And again he laid on my lap after the petting was done.  I got a few photos.  Today he laid more on his left side than right side, so the black showed up more.  If he lays more on his right side, he is whiter.

I now call this the "Rascal blanket" as it is easier to have him lay on my lap if I have the blanket over my legs.

Laying on my lap

Even so, after a while of laying on my lap, he will get up and lay next to me.

Laying on my right side

A short time later, he moved over to lay on my left side and is watching the bird at the feeder outside the window.

As I write this post Rascal came over and is laying on my lap.  So I have to pet him now.

Another snowy day

Rascal came outside for a short time while I shoveled some of our recent snow.

My wind ornament

Looking at a train over a half a mile away.