Daisy the bird dog

It was a blithering 5 degrees this morning in the Ozarks with a couple of inches of snow on the ground. After making sure I had a blazing fire going in the fireplace for Mrs. Faulkner, I got bundled up so Daisy and I could take a walk-about around our place, and then venture over to a couple of elderly neighbors and check on them. We don't get single digit temperatures in Arkansas every year and when it comes and stays a few days like this Arctic blast has it usually has an impact on our water pipes and other infrastructure that can be impacted by extremely cold temps.

Even in these low temperatures, though, Daisy seems to love it. She loves the cold weather and she loves the snow. Bundled up as I was it took a few minutes to get acclimated to the blistering cold, but Daisy was pouncing around ready to go. After we checked around our place we headed off on foot down the driveway to the county road then hung a right to go check on our closest neighbor about a quarter of a mile away. I had grabbed my .410 side by side double just in case we ran upon a cottontail, and also brought my camera.

You know, for us southern folks 5 degrees is cold. Cold weather and snow isn't magical down south like on those Hallmark movies. My cold weather gear isn't really made for that so I'm glad I layered up, and yep, I had to wear both pairs of socks this morning. About 10 minutes into our hike down the road Daisy ventured off into a pasture a bit and started sniffing around a thicket. I walked up to a gate and knocked off some ice so I could open it and step through. I was thinking this would be a short cut to my neighbors house anyway, and to see what Daisy might sniff up.

Now, Daisy is no hunting dog. Yeah, she'll sniff up and chase a squirrel or rabbit, even catches one every once in a while, but she mainly enjoys the chase more than the hunt. As I watched her around this thicket, though, I was impressed with her methodical approach so I started taking pictures. After a few moments of working her way in she froze at a point.

"What is it girl?" I said.

She just froze in place.

"Get 'em," I said but she didn't move.

I was just easing my camera down and getting the shotgun ready when she took a step and a whole covey of bob white quail took to wing. I was so focused on and anticipating a rabbit to jump out that I didn't even get off a shot.

Well, anyway, we had a great outing and by the time we got back home Daisy was plumb tuckered out.

Always happy to see a Daisy post! A well-deserved nap.

GOOD GIRL !!!

Such a beautiful dog; one of the smartest. Can she rack the balls yet?

I enjoyed that little story, and I envy that old Coke machine!

Faulkner, thank you for sharing the stories of your Border Collie"Daisy."
It brings back the sweet memories of our Border, "Chrissy Girl."

Well, that pointing pose in the 3rd picture would make any pure bred bird dog jealous. It's amazing how they do things on instinct.

What a nice morning jaunt. I haven't seen a covey of quail since the late 70's here in Ohio. I did hear one calling a few years back while fishing. It was a sound that brought back a lot of memories. We had quite a few before the blizzard of 78.

I learned to trust the dog when I was a kid. They were rarely wrong, and their enthusiasm is contagious.

Good going, Daisy. And my Weim would say Stylish is nice but any time you find the bird it is a win.

The climate has not been too bad in the South Carolina upstate. First day in the teens and No snow on the ground

Just think if you had gotten a shot off. If Daisy can point, I bet the retrieve would be easy!

Her coat really looks good in the sunlight.

ZGrand said:

Her coat really looks good in the sunlight.

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I drizzle a beat raw egg over her dog food about once a week. Supposed to help with her coat in the winter.

I look forward to your Daisy stories, keep them coming!

Just a little follow up picture. We got up this morning to make the rounds and I asked Daisy where her frisbee was. She immediately ran over to a pile of leaves she had been playing in before the snow and I suspect she left her frisbee there before the snow came. She's been nosing around in those snow covered leaves for a while but she has not uncovered it yet. I'm sure it will turn up.

Quigley loves the cold, especially the frozen pond. It was 18° here with a chill factor around 10°. He'll play out there all day.




"Please take me back to the pond!"

WardenRoss said:

Quigley loves the cold, especially the frozen pond. It was 18° here with a chill factor around 10°. He'll play out there all day.

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Do ponds freeze over often in Georgia? We seldom get that here and so I'm not familiar with how thick they need to be to support the weight of a dog.

Puller said:

Do ponds freeze over often in Georgia? We seldom get that here and so I'm not familiar with how thick they need to be to support the weight of a dog.

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The spillover pond (from the picture) is pretty shallow so it froze at its top layer. Quigley was able to walk across it (60 lbs) until he started jumping and running. Then he fell through.

This is the first time, here in south Georgia, that I've ever seen ice that thick.

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WardenRoss said:

The spillover pond (from the picture) is pretty shallow so it froze at its top layer. Quigley was able to walk across it (60 lbs) until he started jumping and running. Then he fell through.

This is the first time, here in south Georgia, that I've ever seen ice that thick.

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Falling through is what I'd be afraid of.

Puller said:

Falling through is what I'd be afraid of.

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That pond is just a "spillover" retaining area that drains a larger pond. It's for flood control for the areas downhill, below it.

So it's only about 2 feet deep right now.

Man, he loves that ice!

neat pics y'all. I had a pepsi machine like that coke machine. Didn't cool. Was at an auction one day and bought a whole bunch of goods(and bads)There was a small refrigerator beer tap in the lot...like I needed it. Two young'uns from the local college(Washington College Chestertown Md) asked if we would sell them the fridge/tap...I told 'em it probably wouldn't work. Well one said that doesn't matter he pointed at another young fellow lookin at more stuff and said that guy can fix anything...well I made 'em a deal...if he could get my pepsi machine working they could have the fridge/ beer tap...2 days later they had both of 'em working and even had a 1/4 keg of free beer...they were happy and so was I. BTW y'all be careful with dogs on ice...specially moving water/iced up. I once had my Boogie dog(Black Lab) go through the ice on a retrieve(C goose). She couldn't get to safe ice. I had to go swimming in 10 degrees break ice and rake her out with the rake we used for getting decoys out. Luckily only about 2 miles from home...we both nearly froze to death... we were both popsicles b'time we got home. I was standing in water neck deep. I was so stiff with frozen clothes I almost couldn't get in the truck.Bobwhite quail are almost endangered critters in much of the US these days...even down south