Having the house and yard so close to the field, it doesn't matter if I spray the backyard. Plus I don't follow all of the tick laws. I don't tuck my jeans in my socks ... how would that help my waistline or neck? I do wear a hat though and as the temps get higher I also wear cargo shorts as we take our walks through the field and I know that is against the rules. So anyway, out of curiosity I am counting ticks this year, all the way to December 31, 2106.
I really didn't have any idea it was Friday when I started my day. That is a common theme while retired, losing track of days. In the fall it is easier to keep track of the days due to my addiction for college and pro football ... even though anymore you can see a football game almost any day/night of the week.
Warning - It's Friday and that means a LOT of photos and a LOT of rambling. Click any photo for a better/bigger view, scroll through them to the bottom, or grab something to drink as you read along.
Early on it looked like rain but nothing was planned on the two weather stations I follow online. Sadie and Stella didn't stay out long on their first trip. Heidi has gone outside every time the bloodhounds have gone ... that's a nice change.
A little after 10am, she made her next trip outside. Where I had clouds to the west but blue skies to the NE, I decided it was time for a walk. My long sleeves were off and it was t-shirt weather even at 60°.
Just past that edge where you see green under the fallen tree ... goes straight down.
Looking left I caught something in a tree, not sure what it was since I was not wearing my glasses. You can see the zoomed photos here. I wasn't sure what it was, nor did I know it had "landed" until Stella took off in a very fast sprint. By the time Sadie arrived I saw the hawk (?) taking off from the ground, kind of running into the woods.
When I got back to the house, I checked google images to see what it might be. I am not a 'birder' so if any one knows please comment below and let me and the other readers what kind of bird that was. The best I could come up with was some kind of hawk.
In the past I have seen them fly up out of the ground, hawks do that. I have also see skeletons of them in the field. So I think it is safe to add the hawk scent to many spots in the field that the bloodhounds are too interested in, besides just the deer.
Both, Sadie and Stella, were not into the running mood this morning, the were mostly slow paced besides the sprint to the hawk. Sadie spent most of her time walking next to me on the way back to the house.
A different type of photo than I normally take, but thought the leaf was an interesting shot for this time of year. Not a lot of weeds growing in the field this spring like I remembered last year, so they should get some pretty good hay in July.
I guess since it's Friday, Stella deserves to be a little low key after another fast paced week as a bloodhound.
Heidi stayed near the house outside as the bloodhounds and I walked this morning. Once inside she was wagging her trail and trotting under and around the bloodhounds to growl to herself and scratch each side of her mouth. She seems more active today, so the Epsom Salt soak must have helped. I'll give her another one this weekend instead of waiting for her skin to become irritated.
The biggest decision of the day was trying to decide how high to grow the lawn. In the past out west where I never saw a yard mole, I could cut the grass down to the ground and have it look like a fairway at Augusta. Here due to the bumpy surface, small dirt piles or rises from mole traffic plus hotter summers, I've had to cut the lawn taller.
I think I have it about the right length for this area but I haven't really measured it ... some say to let it grow to 3". If so, I need to raise my mower blade another notch higher. I may try that just for a change of pace ... kinda like driving the Mini Cooper instead of the FJ or using Firefox instead of Google Chrome.
Or like today I decided to list ALL the labels I have used the past 5+ years instead of just the 200 or so of the ones I edited. I had plenty of room to run over 500 of them down the right side ... does anyone click them to go to a specific topic? I have no idea.
At least we don't have to schedule a meeting to decide those things ... that is all I remember about my working career ... meetings and power point presentations. Did I ever tell you how much I hate Microsoft Office Power Point? LOL
It wasn't too long after their lunch, the three hounds decided I needed to mow the yard today. Before that, we hopped in to the FJ and took a trip downtown to the local feed store. An establishment that opened in 1938 and is still owned by the same family. The times I've gone in to buy dog food, I noticed they had bully sticks.
It's either cash or check there, so I robbed my trash fund and left $2 for my next trash run. The balance of $6 was going to the hound's bully sticks. I bought 3 of them at a $1.86 each ... $6 with tax. They were long and cost less than the once I bought yesterday but didn't last as long.
Not to worry, I have used only half of 1 stick, while I was out mowing the yard. Once again Heidi, grabbed her portion and with her tail wagging, trotted off for the far corner of the living room which is another favorite stop of hers.
I'm really out of shape but know my wind will improve the more I work outside. Today instead of mowing back and forth across the hill in the front yard I wanted to mow a different direction ... that meant pushing the mower up my hill every other turn. It was too soon in the "mowing season" to be doing something as strenuous as that.
Each time I mow, the hounds like to come outside and inspect my work. The inspection didn't even get started today ... Stella found a nice spot to take a nap ... she seemed to have lost interest as an inspector.
You can tell by her mouth that she was getting warm in the sun. Her jowls were wet and she was panting. Sadie looked over and knew she was staying near the shade where I was.
It wasn't long before Stella woke up and moved to the shade but the spot wasn't as comfortable as the one she had. She didn't lay there long either.
In fact she decided the best option was going back inside the house with a cool breeze coming through the open windows and taking a siesta.
That is what all three hounds have been doing since I came back inside. Since mowing the yard, my sinuses have been going crazy. I think that might be the cause of some of Heidi's skin allergies becoming active that would lead to more chewing and itching.
I have already had my Dairy Queen Blizzard for the day, so it looks like the rest of the night is water and some baseball on tv.
I still cannot believe it's Friday night, here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.
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