February 08, 2017

Stella Starts A New Routine

I am not sure if Stella's change today is a routine yet, but I'm hopeful.

After missing the walks yesterday due to rain I figured today that Sadie didn't need to wait for me to finish my 2nd cup of coffee before we walked. I could have it when we got back from our walk.

The first surprise was Stella charging out in front of us, leading the walk. In the past few weeks she never left a spot about 100' behind me in this picture. Still, there would be plenty of chances up ahead to see if she would be distracted by a scent ... or the woods behind the neighbors house.


That didn't mean she trotted all the way. She still had to stop a few times and check things out but I will say her 'eating' today was non-existent. Sadie on the other hand, was high energy and spent most of her time off the path, charging through the thorny bushes along the edge of the field.



I remember when she was only a few months old she was doing that and caught a thorn with the inside of her ear. The thorn cut her ear open like a sharp razor blade, luckily not all the way through but enough it needed stitches. The scar is barely visible today.


About the time I turned to see where Stella was, she sprinted by me and caught up with Sadie. It was like old times, just like walking last summer where Stella made the full walk every day.


Sadie was pretty intense today with the deer scent. She was focused and was having a lot of fun charging through the brush.




As we were walking the back edge of the field, Stella was heading our way. It was good to see that she was getting in some exercise instead of spending her time in one spot eating deer scat. It was also a pleasant surprise.


She still had plenty of places to check out, but was moving most of the time. I've been feeding her a little extra kibble each meal hoping to put some weight back on her. She was getting too thin.



Without saying a word, she came running toward Sadie and I.


I could tell by the way they were acting that it wasn't long ago deer had been moving in this direction. When Stella stopped and looked over the fence toward the field behind us, I could the deer had jumped the fence and headed that direction. In the past I have actually seen the deer do that.



She was very interested in walking in the 'no fly zone'. As she walked that direction, she would stop and sniff the air. The deer scent was thick today. I kept calling her name and that kept her somewhat in control to where she would walk out there but in my direction.


This next picture is pretty far away from me. She gradually walked in the direction of the woods to the north. She was almost in a 'quiet' mode so I would not hear her and she did get pretty far away before I said something to her that was not only funny but got a strange response.


I said "do you want me to put you on the leash" and she immediately started walking toward me. I couldn't believe it !! LOL Then she got on the path to the left of me, right next to me and started walking as if I had put the leash on her.



We were not quite to the corner where we veer left to head home when Sadie sprinted past me and Stella followed. She never stopped to look in the direction of the woods behind the neighbors and never headed to the middle of the field. She followed the path all the way home as if she was on the leash.


With temps in the mid 30s it still felt nice outside and the sunshine was trying it's best to poke out through the dark clouds. After having a high of 56° yesterday, the forecast is showing high 20's by tomorrow and then back up to the high 50's by the weekend.



I know all of my book reading right now is a 'winter thing'. Once it's warm outside and sunny I know that I will be spending most of my time outside this spring and summer. The list of things to do is much longer than last year. So it will be back to the warm weather routines for the hounds and I.

I checked eBay and Amazon last night for the Absolute Black mirror caps for the Mini Cooper. Absolute Black is the official name for the color of my car. No luck, which I find just amazing. Since I see other pictures of the same car in different colors, many of them have black mirror caps. It must be something you could order as an option when you bought the car brand new.

I am going to check with a couple of body shops I've used in the past, and see if I can set up an appointment for them to paint the ones I have. I think I am a good interior and exterior house painter but I have never done well spray painting anything. Therefore paying someone to do a professional job is the best option for me.

Not much is planned for today but it is beginning to look like the perfect afternoon to pickup the latest batch of fallen tree limbs and add to the burn pile. So far the burn pile is much much smaller than this time last year.

I've been having a strong urge lately to go play some craps at the casino. It might be hard to believe but when I get these urges that never go away, the results are pretty profitable. They don't happen often and my last trips to the craps table was over two years ago. Yes, I add what I win or lose to my spreadsheet tracking expenses and income.

For all the readers that are working, it's 'hump day' for you and another 'day off' for the hounds and I here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

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