Irrigation ice

The past few days have been cool with below freezing temperatures in the morning.  The grass has been iced from the irrigation water.  Ice or no ice, that doesn't stop Daisy from joining me as I move pipes.

Daisy is near the middle of the ice field

Drinking water draining from the pipe

Below Daisy is in a "time out".  She got impatient with me moving and moving when she wanted for us to sit and rest and "stop and smell the flowers".  She attacked my leg to keep me from walking.  Her sharp teeth and claws went through my jeans.

Drinking from the sink

Between my falling asleep, and Daisy sleeping on my lap and preventing me from easily reaching the computer's keyboard, I'm only able to post a quick blog.

You know how Daisy can sleep in odd positions.  I had to catch her once already from rolling and slipping off my lap.  She was sleeping so hard she was trying to figure out why I grabbed her when she was about to slide off my lap.  She then went quickly back to sleep.

Here is a photo of Daisy drinking from the sink in the entryway.

                                                                       

Wet paws

The dew was heavy on the grass when I went out to move the irrigation pipes this morning.  Daisy insisted on coming with me.  She followed me most everywhere through the wet grass.  By the time we were done she had soaking wet legs.

Sleeping photos

With the cooler weather Daisy spends a little more time inside the house.  Here are a few photos from the past couple of days.

Irrigation water

I've been so busy with the irrigation I haven't had time to blog about it.  I move pipes twice a day and it takes lots of time.  Daisy usually joins me each time I move pipes.  She will follow me all around the field as I move the pipes then walk and check for leaks, etc., etc.  I would think she would tire of walking out to the pipes and then walking here and there with me but so far she hasn't.  She is getting good at avoiding the water from the sprinklers as they rotate.  Otherwise she doesn't mind getting wet as she will walk and sometimes lay in areas just watered.

Since she can't pass up sampling water often she will drink from the sprinkler lines as they are draining when I move them.  She will even stand in water to drink from the pipes.

What a cat.

Eye

A few days ago some yellow-jackets were buzzing around the cut willow tree logs as Daisy was walking around them.  Later in the afternoon I notice Daisy's left eye looked wet.  I think she got stung in the face near the eye.  She woke up the next morning with a partial closed eye.  Later that day her eye was better, and after a couple days she seemed to be back to normal.

Here are 14 photos of Daisy and her eye, and when she wanted to spend time with me as the sun set:

 https://picasaweb.google.com/109566462412251958234/DaisySEye?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKO4p_P3ioijbQ&feat=directlink

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Tool shed attic

Earlier, when removing the old electric wire from the tool shed, I had to remove a few boards to get access to the tool shed attic and the electric wire.  I had never been up this attic in all these years.

Tool shed

While the tool shed is an odd building made up of three parts -- a room with a door where the tools are stored, an open area, and a small room without a door where I store some firewood -- to my surprise I found two attics separated by a wall of boards with a small hole in them.  (I'd sure love to know the history of this building and why it is the way it is.)

The tool shed room often gets warm during the day.  I expected to find insulation in that attic. It was empty.  Apparently the small hole restricts air flow and allow heat buildup.  I removed the board with the hole cut in it to allow for more air movement.

Then to my surprise the attic above the open area and the small room without a door was filled above the studs with fine wood chips.  Why?!  This area doesn't get warm and there is no reason to insulate it.

A few odds and ends were stored up there and I removed them.  Daisy had been shadowing me so after I removed the board and the odds and ends I lifted her up there.  She checked everything out then laid down  first on the chips, then on the old fine screen I used to lay on to reach the board.

With the small hole

Daisy checking out the other attic now that I removed the board.

Ready to come down?

A short one minute video of Daisy in the attic: https://youtu.be/yyPHwiaQtHM

Hay bale and sunset

With this extremely dry weather I am having trouble finding people with large hay bales to sell me.  No one has extra hay.  I have one bale left from this Spring.  Daisy is happy I have the bale as sometimes she uses it to sit and watch the world from a higher vantage point.

The sunset Daisy was watching.

Helping with the south pasture fence

Back in mid June Daisy came out most evenings when I worked on rebuilding a section of the south pasture fence.

Hot day and bad birds

The high temperature today was 101 degrees F.  Hot.

Daisy started the morning sleeping by me.  Even after I went outside to check on the heifers Daisy slept in my bed.  I had to leave my t-shirt as Daisy was using it as pillow.

Early afternoon she laid in the house as it was cooler than outside.

Later in the afternoon, even though it was 100 degrees outside, Daisy wanted to lay outside.  I had a sprinkler going nearby but even so, I didn't think it took the edge off the heat.

The past so many days Daisy likes it when I go and work in the pasture after 4 or 5 pm.   She happily comes with me when it is not as hot or bright outside.  Saturday night I started to rebuild a short section of fence near the river in the north pasture.  The old fence here was a couple of strands of barb wire on 2 by 4s as posts.  That was back when I didn't have fence posts.  2 by 4s as posts don't last many years and this Spring the cattle pushed half the fence over.

Saturday night I pounded five real posts in the ground.  Daisy laid on the log when not checking stuff out.  A bird - not a killdeer - was nearby and was making a racket to distract Daisy from finding her nest.

Sunday evening after 7 pm Daisy and I went back out there.  I had five more posts to pound into the ground before taking down the rest of the old fence and hanging three strands of barb wire.  

Daisy followed me.  When I got to the river I discovered Daisy heading back towards home in a slinky scared fast manner.  Because it was still hot she was panting when she ran.  I went and got her and carried her to the river. She laid at my feet and was on high alert.  When I moved away to go and work on the fence, and only four feet away, a swallow dive bombed Daisy.

Daisy ran a few feet to a small group of short evergreen trees and cover.  A few swallows were circling around.  When one came in to swoop down on Daisy among the short trees I yelled and waved my arms to scare the bird off.  I also scared Daisy and she ran over to a fallen tree. The birds must have been why Daisy earlier had turned around and started back towards home.

She walked under the tree trunk until she found refuge in the tree roots.

I let her be as she felt safe here.   A while later when it seemed as if the birds had gone I got Daisy and carried her back to where I was working.  I didn't see any birds but the trees got noisy from birds making a racket.  That unnerved Daisy.  Even though she initially took cover in the small evergreen trees nearby soon she went back to her safe place under the tree root.

Daisy stayed there until I got ready to leave.  Even with such a dry Spring, the mosquitoes were killing me.  And it was getting dark.  I can finish the last half strand of wire tomorrow morning.  As I packed up Daisy came out.  By now the birds were silent.  Daisy was still cautious.   It is too bad about the birds as Daisy enjoys laying in the grass nearby as I work on fence.