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.

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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".

Cold morning

My thermometer said the outside temperature got down to minus 17 F this morning.  It was minus 15 F when I got up.  Inside the house... it was a little warmer: 47 F above.

Around 5 am Daisy went outside.  Very briefly at only a minute two.  Then Daisy slept next to me on the bed the rest of the night.  She stayed in the house when I went outside to feed the cattle.  When I came back in the house she was sitting by the front window in the sun.  The bird feeders were on the other side of the window.  Daisy wasn't 'talking' to the birds so I think she was sitting there for the sun and not bird watching.

The inside of the windows were frosted where I had the window blinds down overnight.

Once I got the wood stove ashes cleaned and a fire started the house warmed up.

After the snow

We got a little over 5 inches of snow Saturday.  Sunday morning I shoveled some paths to buildings.  Even though Daisy had already been outside at 6 am and again at 7 am, she came outside to 'help' me.  If I don't open the door fast enough for her, Daisy will use her paw to help me open the door faster as I open it.

What are you doing over there?

I've been outside a while. Time to go back inside the house.

Here is a 49 second video of Daisy outside.  Nothing spectacular, just Daisy walking:  http://youtu.be/y4QeVLUnuP4

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More snow cat

What a cat!   It started snowing tonight.  When I went out late to give more hay to the cattle Daisy came right with me.  First to give a bale to the calves, then over to give a bale to the rest of the cattle, then to fill up the water trough.  All on snow covered ground while thick heavy wet snowflakes were falling.  Then back to the house.  Now Daisy is laying by the keyboard as I type this.

What a great cat.

Mice and metal

I woke up this morning to a dead mouse by the wood stove.  Daisy has been on a mouse "run" lately.  She got three in a 24 hour period a few days ago.  In the past 24 hours she has gotten four mice.  That last one being while I split firewood by the pole shed.  She came out from a wood pile with a mouse to 'play' with.  This was another feisty mouse as it tried to stand up and then jump up at Daisy when she leaned her head over the mouse.  Daisy took the mouse and disappeared around the corner.

That makes at least 83 mice for the year so far.

Later I heard scratching on metal.  The only metal was the roof on the tall pole shed. The scratching got louder.  Then a long 'scrreeeecchhhh...".  It sounded like Daisy was on the roof.  Did she slide off?  I walked around the building to find Daisy way up a box elder tree near roof level.  She had been trying to get on the roof.  She didn't succeed and later came back to look for more mice.

Daisy also trekked with me out and back when I went out to the pasture to check on the cattle and the feeder.

Right now she is laying on the table and is watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" with me.

What a cat.

Muddy manure daredevil Daisy

Daisy is not a prissy cat.   Sunday when I worked in the corral she came out to be with me even if meant walking through the mud and manure.

She got pretty dirty.

Daredevil Daisy

Saturday night when I went out to give hay and water to the cattle Daisy accompanied me.  When I was ready to add water to the water trough Daisy climbed on the water trough and from there climbed up the fence right over the water trough.  As you can see below she climbed the rails like a ladder.  They rails were wet and slippery.  I was on the other side of the fence wire so I couldn't catch her if she fell.  I held my breath.  She made it without falling.

After I filled the water trough and went to go inside the house Daisy decided to stay outside for a little while longer.  When I went outside later to check on her Daisy was on the house roof.  She then played her game of coming over to the edge of the entryway roof and meowing at me.  When I reached for her she backed away until I put my hands down then she would come to the edge of the roof again and meow.  I let her find her way down and she did a few minutes after I went back into the house.


At times when I worked in the corral on Sunday, to avoid the mud and manure when she could, Daisy would walk along the fence to stay near me and sometimes sit on railroad tie fence posts.

Here are 13 more photos of Daisy mainly fence walking and railroad tie sitting:

https://plus.google.com/photos/109566462412251958234/albums/6092951778363409601?authkey=CJGWmKaFkLDeRQ


Here is a short video of Daisy sitting on a railroad tie: http://youtu.be/RRRIeaPC84A

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Snow day

Daisy was inside and outside multiple times the day after the snow fell.  Sometimes she was content to sit on the couch and watch me shovel the snow while she warmed up her feet.

Other times she followed me around...

http://youtu.be/rt57rceQ2Fc

Daisy's nose

Daisy's nose is much better from her activities a month (or more?!) ago when she got a very scratched up nose. I still see signs of the injuries on her nose.  This morning I saw how she may have gotten her nose all scratched up.

Daisy accompanied me when I walked out into the snow covered hayfield to spread the wood stove's ashes. Once in the hayfield Daisy got distracted by the 'snow'.  Actually she quickly heard something under the snow and 'stomped' her paws into the snow here and there until she came up with a mouse.  The next I knew the mouse was standing up facing Daisy.  Daisy tried to sniff the mouse and that didn't go well.  A few bats and the mouse again stood facing Daisy.  Again she almost got bitten/clawed on her nose.  The mouse dove under the snow by a clump of tall grass.  The mouse must have found a second mouse hole as Daisy never found the mouse again.

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me to capture the mouse standing facing Daisy, and the action.

Snow cat

We got up to 6 inches of snow last night.  Daisy had fun in the snow with me this morning.  Here is when I had the camera with me.

Here is a video of Daisy in the snow: http://youtu.be/H6HynLDwz8w

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Window watching

Daisy was in and out of the house much of the day.  The temperature had warmed to the upper 20s F.  Daisy caught mouse number 73 this morning, a big fat mouse.

In the late afternoon it started to snow lightly.  When she wasn't laying near the wood stove she kept an eye on things out this window.

Nicer temps make for a happier cat

The temperature was nicer Sunday and Monday.  The chill wasn't in the air.  Not that it was warm, but it was nicer.

Daisy spent more time outside today, which made her happier.  During the cold temperatures she would lay with her head on her front paws, eyes open, and... bored.  She reminded me of how a dog will sometimes lay with its head on the floor and then will follow you around the room with just its eyes.

Each morning Daisy gets me up around 6 am to open the front door so she can check the temperature.  Usually she decides not to go outside.  Then a half hour or so later she asks me to get out of bed again and open the door for her.  She'll go outside then.  After a half hour to an hour I will wake up yet again and check the front door or call for her.  Usually she is there or nearby and comes running into the house.  She'll run to my bed and jump up on it before I can get back to it.  Then we'll sleep for a few more hours before both getting up.

Today was no exception.  But by noon the temperature warmed up enough Daisy went out for an extended time.  And she was outside more than inside for most of the afternoon.

When I worked on splitting firewood late afternoon until dark Daisy roamed here and there checking for mice.  I found a big fat dead mouse near the house earlier in the afternoon.  Number 72 for the year.

Daisy is laying by the wood stove now warming her paws.

Night moves

The middle of last night I was woken up by Daisy making a commotion in the bedroom.  She was running around the bedroom's floor banging on stuff.  I thought she was playing with one of her toys.  Since she is not going outside sometimes she gets crazy playing with her toys to burn off energy.  I quickly fell back asleep.

In the morning I found a dead mouse by the wood stove.  That makes 71 for thee year (that I know of).

Good job Daisy!

I hope it is the mouse I heard in the ceiling a few nights ago when it first got cold and Daisy would still go outside early in the morning.

The cold weather continues.  Daisy doesn't even ask to go outside at 6 am anymore.  Being inside so much is making her cranky at times.   This morning when I went to pet her head she grabbed my hand with both her paws and clomped her mouth around my palm by my thumb.  She didn't break my skin with her teeth or claws but I definitely felt her teeth and claws.  She knew just how much pressure to apply to get her point across.

After taking a nap this afternoon she was in a better mood.  She came and laid by me near the wood stove and put her paw on my leg and head head against my thigh.  No claws this time.

This evening as we sat by the wood stove, when I was warming up after being outside and splitting wood, Daisy was moaning and complaining about the weather and being inside the house so much.  After as while she decided to go outside.  Not for too long as it is still cold.  But it perked her up as she ran around and around the house to various windows and for the fun of it after she came inside.  She's calmed down now.

Back to her Winter routine

The Arctic weather has modified Daisy's routine.  She wanted to go outside at 5 am.  That didn't last long.  I waited and after a few minutes she came back inside.  But before 6 am she came to the bed and asked to go outside again.  This time she went off to explore and stayed outside until 8:30 am.  After that she stayed inside the house all day.  This evening she is back to her Winter routine of looking out all the house's windows but doesn't ask to go outside.  She is not dumb, she sees the snow and hears the wind outside.

This morning she found a new box to lay in by the wood stove to warm up after her morning outing.

Stump sitting near the irrigation shed

A Winter storm is forecast to come on Sunday and I am trying to get a few projects done, or else to a state ready for the snow and wind.  The fixing of the irrigation shed roof is one of those 'get ready' projects as I won't be done with it by Sunday. 

Friday I spent the afternoon putting a new roof on the shed.  I had to haul material in the pickup to the shed.  Daisy was running around in the morning wanting to be with me.  So I picked her up and put her in the pickup to drive to the river.  She wasn't keen on the idea as she doesn't care to ride in vehicles.  Once at the river she was happy and began exploring while I worked on the shed.  At one point she wanted up on the roof to be with me so I lifted her up there.

Later she sat on a tree stump and watched for mice.   I saw her go after something in the tall grass but never saw her with a mouse.

It was along afternoon and she laid in the irrigation shed for a while - until I dropped a board through the open hole in the roof.  Sorry Daisy!  Then she laid under the pickup.

When it was time to go home I had to coax her out from under the pickup.  Finally she came out and I was able to pick her up and put her in the pickup for the drive home.  She stood and watched out the window as I drove and was very happy to be home and out of the pickup.  And she was hungry.  I got an earful as we walked to the house.

She is one tired cat and is currently curled up and sleeping hard on my bed.   I hope it won't be like last night where she hogged the bed and didn't give me much room to lay.