I Finally Get Out Of The House

That title means I actually got in the FJ, took a drive, took some photos and visited a place I've never really explored after living here for 18 years. I've been getting out of the house with the hounds but only in the yard and taking the daily walk. I even took days to buy some groceries ... but lately nothing more than that. A rut? Maybe ... maybe not.

It was a great day to take a drive. As you can see the leaves are not turning bright like they normally do. As I drove around the countryside there was still a lot of corn to be harvested, yet some farmers had already harvested their beans, corn and had disc'd their fields to be ready for next spring planting.

The hounds started out the day with their normal routine of a little yard and field snooping first thing in the morning. Right about the time I finish my first cup of coffee, Sadie is always by my desk giving me the look to go outside ... then she and Stella play most of the time. Winston will search and Heidi only comes out if the temps are 70°.

Since the temps were in the high 50's by the time we got outside, Heidi stayed in bed sleeping, not waking up until she heard the dog food being poured out into the stainless steel bowls sometime after 1pm.

Winston started out refereeing the wrestling between Sadie and Stella but became bored and headed out on his own little trip.

I decided somewhere during that first cup of coffee that I was going to drive to one of the local small rural towns just to take a drive. The leaves do not have any color anywhere this year so I didn't get any photos besides holding the camera on top of the steering wheel while driving.

Before I headed north out of town I stopped somewhere I had been inside just a couple of times in the 18 years I've lived here. I was never there long, once to fax and once to check their computers. Today I wanted to explore inside, see what they had and sign up for a library card.

I got more than I bargained for. This small town library was connected to a large statewide network where any book I am interested in, I can check out, have transferred to my local library or just download it into my iPad to read electronically. Besides that they had a huge collection of DVD's and CD to choose from.

I may have grown pretty naive about modern day libraries over the years from my lack of use, so my excitement may be over the top to some readers here. I was still surprised with all that was available. I didn't go overboard on my first trip, I checked out a new book I wanted to read and a new James Taylor CD.

Once I was home I set up an online account, set up the Overdrive app and added a lot more books to my reading list along with audio books, DVDs and CDs.

Some might be asking why I never take the hounds with me on these short trips in the FJ. They all love to ride but they all have one thing in common when riding ... within minutes all the hounds are sound a sleep. I guess I could take them, but they would only be sleeping while we drove somewhere.

When I got back we headed outside to enjoy the sunshine. Winston found a great spot, gave me a look  that said don't bother me ... then laid down in the grass and slept for about an hour, or until I went outside to call him inside before the baseball game started.

This is one of the best times to live in southern Indiana. The days are sunny and the temps are cool.

I'm not sure if Winston is losing some of his hearing due to old age but he does seem to be ignoring me more than I can remember. He has a bad habit of eating something so I have to keep an eye on him most of the time he is "roaming" with his nose to the ground. Today I caught him in one of those periods he was in the ignore mode as I was calling his name.

I really got lucky when I got Stella. I was really expecting some sort of issues, some bad habits, do something wrong .. like a typical bloodhound ... but she has been nothing short of perfect since arriving August 30, 2015.

This is about all the color I have around the house right now. Last year I had a lot of bright colored leaves along the drive ... so things are running a little late this year, but the leaves are not staying on the trees very long after they start turning colors.

I was surprised the farmer across the highway was able to harvest any beans out of his field that was underwater last May. I couldn't tell at the time in May what was planted but he was able to get a couple of truckloads of beans out of that field.

Heidi finally came outside after dark ... a couple of different times, but I think she is getting a head start on her strategy for El Nino this winter ... a lot a lot a lot of sleeping.