August 2, 2008

Hopper Hunting

Daisy loves to hunt grasshoppers. She puts her nose down in the deep pasture grass and snuffles loudly, kind of like a rooting pig. She’s totally absorbed in the quest. If she’s rooting, she doesn’t seem to hear when called. Or she just ignores us, which could easily be, too.
When she scares up a grasshopper, she leaps on it, or chases it if it gets away. When she gets one in her teeth, she sometimes spits it out after one bite if it’s moving around a too vigorously. She paws it to slow it down, then picks it up again for a quick chew and gulp. Her fast food treat consumed, she's back to rooting again.
With temperatures in the 90's, she occasionally takes a break by collapsing in a pool along the irrigation line. After a short dip, she's off on another hunt.
Grasshoppers must be tastier than I realized. Daisy has been a big hopper fan since she was a pup, but she has a bonanza in the pasture this summer. Those hoppers are probably high energy and high calorie, and she's eating them by the dozen. Maybe I should cut back on Purina…

1 comment:

  1. What a good hunter. Howard would never be able to catch grasshoppers. Sadie might.. They were both chasing these big brown birds that looked kind of like hens up by silver lake. Would those be grouse do you think?

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