Not only has the water from the flooded field disappeared the past couple of days but this is the first morning I've felt close to normal. I cannot say it was a cold because I wasn't coughing nor sneezing all the time. My head and sinuses were not congested but something was wrong. Long story short, after two full days of sleeping and a small bottle of Vick's Vapor Rub, whatever it was is gone. I even had the urge for coffee this morning.
So, with Stella this morning I decided finally, she was going to be on her own this walk. I was going to walk and not say a word to her nor pay attention where she was or what she was eating. Basically I was just tired of 'verbal herding' through the half mile walk. Unlike Sadie, she does not follow me when I let her roam on her own. She doesn't track scent completing the walk ... she always wanders off.
I was actually surprised as I turned around to see her following me soon after we started. Was this a good sign that she might do the walk on her own? Maybe following behind me for the half mile but always within view?
No matter what, I kept walking and only turned to take photos ... everything here was fully zoomed and with the Canon that equates to 84mm.
Again I was almost shocked that she trotted toward me to catch up. Maybe I should have waited for her to stand right next to me but I kept walking. I wanted to see what she would do.
As you see it didn't take long for her to go her own way. I had just passed the first turn and I cannot see her. I walked back far enough to glance around the corner to see her in the tall grass at a spot I have been pulling her from by her collar for a week now. I turned and kept walking, not saying a word.
I kept checking off and on but I never expected to see her. Whereas I would see Sadie running toward me to catch up, sometimes sprinting, I knew that would not be the case with Stella. She never has before when I have let her out on her own. I was pretty sure I'd find her in the neighbor's backyard, near or in their woods. The worse case would be finding her further north in the next neighbor's yard.
As you can see there is no sign of a red bloodhound anywhere in view as my camera scanned the horizon.
I even glanced down into the woods and gully just in case she had wandered into the woods. For just a few seconds I had the same feeling I had last summer and the summer before where she had run off during a walk like this. Sadie and I would backtrack, look next door and would never find her after an hour of searching. I had a feeling that might the be what I find today.
I called her name as I walked but never expected to see her respond. I kept walking through the field toward the neighbor's backyard and wooded area. With all the rain recently I would normally find her in a drainage ditch just on the other side of the field grass but before their yard. It runs the full width of the photo. She wasn't there. I did not see her at the edge of the woods either.
She was startled at first and did not know who was calling her. She glanced at the house, then back into the words and finally figured out it was me, standing 40' behind her. She was just to the right, a few feet into the woods.
I could not believe she started walking toward me as I called her name. Here she is in the tall grass as we take a different way home.
This is a different view of where we normally end our walk. Today though, it was up a steep hill, steeper than the photo shows .... for some reason Stella followed me every step of the way
This is the first photo ever where I actually caught her jowls flapping as she shakes her head, but it was the only one I could catch out of three or four head swings.
The change I made in her dog food from chicken to lamb as the main source has not made any difference in her scratching. I'll still keep using it though because I think lamb is better than chicken for dog food
I cannot explain this posture. She was walking towards me when I took the photo, she never sat down but looks like she might. I guess I caught her between strides.
Well it's good to feel better physically. Whatever it was knocked me out because all I wanted to do was sleep. I slept literally all day on Fridday and most of the day on Thursday. My sleep app for my Apple Watch tracked all those day time naps and was down to the minute each time I got up.
This morning while walking I also found myself once again analyzing my blog. Blogging is s strange thing in a way. It's addicting and at the same time seems like a waste of time. I continue to battle within myself on the reasons to blog publicly. Why do I share my life with people I don't know. Or how open and honest I should be, how much to reveal when blogging? Again I wonder if I should limit what topics I blog about, ie: just the hounds? Or should I continue to write about everything, like I did for a few days the past two months.
I still find it hard to keep my nose out of the news, whether it's on tv or online. I've deleted the political blogs from the list at the bottom of the front page BUT I might add those same ones after I publish this post. I go back and forth on what I want to follow and what I want to write about for the world to read.
As usual I always go back and forth making these changes. I have for years. Just like deleting my Facebook account one day, reactivating it a few days later. I guess I should just come to the realization that all of this chaos, social media, dramatized weather stations and tv news is just life. It is what it is. I should just kick back and live, do what I want and blog about what I want, good or bad.
At least I feel better today. Plus Stella had a little freedom that she will not have on the afternoon's walk and I did show up here today when I almost didn't.
It's freezing cold but bright and sunny today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.
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