After seeing them in this position for hours at a time last night you would have never expected the energy I saw from Stella this morning. Things she had not done weeks and months if you don't count the couple of minutes two weeks ago. My energy seems to be slipping this year on these football marathons I partake in every Saturday. I am catching myself wanting to turn off the TV and sleep by midnight with some games having another hour or longer to go. I am out of shape this year for my 14 hour marathons. Or it might be game related, who is playing who.
Sometimes when there are too many games I want to watch but are being played at the same time. I have this option. Sometimes I will only watch two games at once but if it's my two favorite teams playing I leave this four game set as 'last channel', then pick one for the large screen ... click 'last channel' during the commercials of the game I am watching. During this, the hounds may jump off the couch to stretch but right back on so they other hound does not take their place.
It might be only September 30th but I remember it was almost too cold for a sweatshirt and cargo shorts yesterday on the morning walk, so this morning I wore my GoLight jacket with cargo shorts. There was a hidden advantage I found out later besides keeping warm. With the jacket zipped up over my neck and my arms covered by sleeves ... the large number of mosquitoes could only attack my face, ears and bite me through my ball cap. It was basically a mosquitoless summer but the past few weeks they are making up for lost time.
Stella started the walk as usual with some fresh wet grass to eat. I kept walking. I wanted to see if she would follow me today without any 'come on' verbals from me or try to wander off.
A shock to me as I turned around to see what she was doing. She wasn't trotting toward me but running ... that was a huge and good surprise.
Not slowing down she ran me off the path and kept going to get out in front of me.
The next surprise, she started tracking things all over the field, moving from one side of the path to the other. Sometimes she would trot or gallop from spot to spot. What had gotten into her?
I continued to walk, glancing back occasionally to see where she was or what she was doing.
Once again I barely caught her with the camera ... running ... at me, not the slow trot that I use to think of as some sign of improvement since it's been over a year since she has sprinted. Plus she can no longer jump up in the back of the FJ like she use to do.
Just like before she ran right past me and moved out in front of me ... while the mosquitoes were flying in formation around my head, face and ears.
Between her annual vet visit in July and getting weighed last Wednesday before her surgery, she had gained one pound and was back to 80 pounds. So much different than the spring of 2017 where she was so thin I had a blood workup done on her because she was all skin and bones with ribs showing.
As you can see it's going to be another beautiful day. The high temp for today is 80° with the windows open and a slight breeze coming through the house to keep it the right temperature. This is a great time of year here. Soon all of those green leaves should be changing color.
I did the full 200mm zoom to find her on the path heading home. She wasn't paying attention to me today.
While she spent the last 30 feet in the field sniffing I kept walking to get ahead of her for some photos. As I stood there waiting in the shade, she raised her head to see where I was and started running to the yard. It was more of a gallop than a sprint but at least it is faster than a trot.
Sorry I don't have photos of her playing. I tried with one hand while playing with her but the three photos I took were too blurred to make out what was going on. It started with her running up to me, stopping and staring at me. That was something she had never done at the end of the walk. So I faked her like I was going to run or jab a step around her. She lowered onto her front paws wagging her tail, then took off running away a few steps only to run back to me.
She wanted me to chase her, which I did. Running all different directions, we did this for a few minutes nonstop. I cannot describe how good it was to see her like that.
She trotted toward the house only to stop, and turn to see if I was coming or still wanting to play. Once she saw me walking toward her she ran around the corner of the house and was standing at the door wagging her tail to be let inside.
After every morning walk I am not the only one with wet feet and wet legs. Sadie never cared and never took time to dry herself off. I had to do it with a towel. Stella is different where she will spend whatever time it takes to lick and dry her legs, her paws and between her toes. She will not stop until she is finished ... unless she hears or smells that I cam cooking breakfast.
When it's 57° at 9:30am and every window in the house is open ... Heidi knows there is only one place to sleep while Stella and I take a walk ... on the sleeping bag. It's hard to believe that summer seems to be officially over.
Last weekend during my ballgame watching I either got up for food or a bathroom break, walked back into the living room wanting to change channels on the TV that for the day only has my sports channels in the menu. I can't find the TV remote control that was just laying on the arm of the couch. It has not fallen off onto the floor. It's not on the couch, not on the coffee table, nowhere on the floor, not on the kitchen island, nor next to the computer ... I even walked back in the bathroom to see if for some bizarre reason I left it in there. I normally do not walk around the house with the TV remote.
The whole time I was looking for the remote, talking to myself outloud then feeling myself getting a little more than irritated ... I looked ... it was in my hand. I had it the whole time in my hand !!!!
Over the 20 years I have lived here I have done at least a 1,000 loads of laundry and each load ends up in the dryer which I manually turn on. This morning was no different. At least you would think so. But ... once again something was not lining up inside my brain cells and I was off on another trip of insanity wondering what is wrong with me. I don't consider myself old but am reminded when I know my age.
I decided this morning it was the perfect time to wash all of the winter jackets, the fleece sweater, the gloves, etc. The washing cycle went perfect. Even the spin cycle that was full of waterlogged jackets, heavier than normal laundry. I was happy how dry the jackets were as I loaded them in the dryer.
I turn the setting knob to 'cool' and then after I turn the timer knob to 'more dry' ... I pull the knob to start the dryer just like I pull the knob to start the washer. I mean I have done this simple thing a 1,000 times or more with the same exact dryer !!!! The knob pulls off into my hand ... slides right off the stem.
So I am now wondering if it "is going to be one of those days". I look at the inside of the knob, nothing is broke. The steel knob on the dryer is in perfect shape but the knob will not stay on if I pull it to start the dryer. I get out my trusty pliers to pull the knob stem so I can start the dryer. The stem will not even pull out with pliers.
Now I am really confused.
Never fear ... gorilla glue fixes anything, just like duct tape does. So I glued the knob back on the stem and waited ... I let a lot of time pass ... hours. All this time I wanted my jackets to dry but can't get the dryer to start until that knob is glued and dried to the stem.
Then reality set back in. My brain cells lined up in sequence long enough to say "You idiot" ... that knob does not start the dryer. Just turn the knob to set the timer ... THEN .... THEN ....
PUSH THE 'TO START' BUTTON ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THE DRYER DASHBOARD !!!!!!
After those two confessions I cannot honestly tell you that all things are good today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ... but the weather is great and it's NFL Sunday football.
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