4° To Start The Day

If I thought Sunday morning was bad I must have forgot what last year was like. Everyday for a month it was below 32° and most days within that month period were below 15° and many in single digits as the high temperature of the day. I glanced at my watch at 5am and it was 3°. By 6am it was up to 4°, needless to say both hounds were at the door wagging their tails when I finished pouring their morning kibble.

It was not a surprise because I had seen the weather hourly forecast. On another note, I hope that you were able to step outside late last night and see the moon and lunar eclipse from where you live. It was fabulous, although I did not know I needed to wait an hour longer.

While I watched the last NFL game last night, Stella might have changed positions while sleeping during the games, but that was the only time she moved.

It was the same for Heidi. In fact she never moved from that corner of the couch except for switching which side she would sleep on. She stayed tucked into that corner for almost four hours of solid sleep. Luckily I still had a seat after getting up during the commercials.

Stella decided early in the first game at 3pm that my leg was going to be a pretty good pillow for her. These were all taken with my iPhone 8+ camera. Each time I would come back from the refrigerator or bathroom, during commercials, Stella was still asleep. I'd lift her head to slide back into my seat and she never woke up.

Just as I planned I spent most of the afternoon and last night watching both NFL Playoff games. Both were great games but both had major official blunders that decided the New Orleans outcome for sure. The other game showed why the NFL needs to change their Overtime Rules, especially in a playoff game where the winner goes to the Super Bowl.

Why should any team be penalized by not having a chance in overtime just because they lost the coin toss. A coin toss that decided New England would get to choose to take the ball first? The rule is either a TD by the offense or defense ends the game immediately with no chance for the team that lost the coin toss to tie the game.

The game was not quite over when Stella sat up. I thought she was going to get off the couch to do her stretching but she was only trying to figure out a way to move from her right side to her left side and go back to sleep. Once she did that switch without getting off the couch, then moving into this position, I knew she was out for the night.

For the first time in many years I am not sure I'll be watching the Super Bowl this year. It's happened in prior games over the years for various reasons, some of them were out of my control. I had two other friends text me last night right as the game ended, telling me they had no plans to watch the Super Bowl either.

I never watch the media buildup during the two weeks before the game. I never watch their halftime shows either. It will be a pretty quiet Sunday unless I change my mind and watch the game. Then, it will still be a pretty quiet Sunday like all the others, as I watch the games and the hounds sleep.

It was too cold to set up a tripod with camera exposure set long enough to capture the moon, but at 10:10pm the yard and field were lit up like it was daytime. I took some snapshots with and without a flash. I could literally see the crater formations from where I stood on "Winston's Patio", the 6 rusty color stepping stones at the corner of the house. It might have been the wrong time of night but I did not see any redness on the moon. {I found out this morning what times that would occur.}

I know this isn't a great picture but I wasn't going to sit outside in 8° weather with a tripod and a long exposure setting on my camera to get a perfect picture of the moon. I remember what I saw.

I did nothing to edit this picture. It looks just like the backyard, the next picture, with the moon so bright. Yes, it really was close to 10:30pm here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. In fact based on the picture file, it was 10:16pm when I took this.

Those are Stella's prints from Sunday afternoon under the moon's bright light. She did step outside with me after I took these pictures for her last pee of the night. It is really strange to see her go to the same spot every night on her last trip outside ... because it is the same spot that Winston and later Sadie would go to during this time of year. It's barely in the yard next to that cable that goes from my utility pole to the ground.

The hounds and I will be back later this afternoon with a lot more pictures. It was bright and sunny yesterday afternoon and it will be the same way today. By 2pm it will be warm enough to bring Stella out into the field for the first time since Saturday for an afternoon walk and taking pictures.

I guess I should have done more research on what this moon was going to do Sunday night. Here is what I found this morning ... looks like I should have waited an hour longer but even by that time I was in dreamland ... that's what happens when you become a morning person instead of a night owl.

"It begins with the partial phase around 10:34 p.m. EST Sunday. That’s when Earth’s shadow will begin to nip at the moon. Totality — when Earth’s shadow completely blankets the moon — will last 62 minutes, beginning at 11:41 p.m. EST Sunday."

I just looked at the temperature, it has DROPPED to 2° at 7:35am.

Another fine day planned in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.