Henry Is A Funny Hound

Sunday was a forecast of a full day of rain. Early that morning while looking for birds in their yard or that stray cat that comes out from hiding on the berm blocking the field, Henry decided the cool breeze and the light sound of rain drops hitting the trees was the perfect time to stretch-out and relax. He does this a lot. With more square footage inside and a larger yard outside, both puppies get a lot of running in. Things continue to move smoothly and I am basically down to doing just the 'to do' list I have made for the yard and house stuff. Things are back to normal now.

As of Sunday afternoon Henry still had control of the first batch of Pork Chomps. He refused to listen to all my lectures about "team" and sharing. I would put one up or give one to Stella or Walter, then Henry would look at me, walk right over to them and steal theirs. I guess that is the personality you have when you part of a litter of 10 puppies.

I am not sure of the exact length of the parachute cord that Henry has become use to. He now stops when going outside to wait for me to hook up the cord so he can reach almost the property line. I looked out the window the other day and he was lying on top of a pile of mulch from the trees they cut a few years ago when clearing the bank. I found out Sunday afternoon that is actually my pile of mulch, which is now Henry's. As you can tell by his expression, moving off the pile was not an option for him.

I'll be honest, Stella's arthritis in her hips is getting worse. A vet appointment has been made to see what we can do along with the joint supplements I have been giving her for years for support. She has decided amongst the  weeds and grass are some soft dead leaves that make a great bed or seat. She likes sitting there during the cool afternoons. Temps have been a lot lower than normal since our arrival but will climb back to the 70s and 80s later this week. As you can see, Henry is in the exploration mode as well as Walter. Yet, Walter is more of just a yard guy and will not go too far up that small bank. Yesterday Henry went over the top of the berm to check out the wheat field in back behind those trees. Never a dull moment with that puppy.

Yes, Henry really is attached to the small green cord.

I don't have the best picture of Henry's recycling program but this gives you a little idea of what he has been doing while I am away from the house. I put all their blankets in a stack for a bed. I have looked in the door window to see them all asleep after I return from town. I had broken down some of my boxes and put them over by the dolly. After my friend said he not only wanted the boxes but also the packing paper I started leaving the paper in the boxes and stacking them. Henry decided he would help my friend with the shredding process he had heard about. Believe me, it was a lot worse than this picture shows, every time I came back from errands.

The plan changed early Sunday morning as I broke down all the boxes but two and then moved them to the built on shed attached to the back of the garage with an overhead door. It great for not only storage with built-in shelving but plenty of room to store mowers, rakes, etc. I moved all the boxes into that room since it is not available to the hounds and the dog while I am gone. They do well enough to stay inside the house while I am gone but Henry smells too many things then likes to drag out too many things claiming they are his. So, the garage is the perfect place for them while I am gone.

Walter loves his backyard and deck. I can't remember the official name of the deck wood but it's not real and should last a lot longer than wood.  I will see how well it cleans up once I buy my high pressure washer, just like the one I gave away when I moved in 2019.

I am sure there is some smells from the Arizona air in the corner of the rug, making it the perfect sleeping spot for Walter.

Birds are their main focus. Cardinals, blue jays, and sparrows are popular in the yard after it rains. Walter is getting use to sharing his yard with them and no longer barks at each bird landing on the deck or grass. Henry????? Doesn't care, nothing ever upsets him. He is one laidback basset hound puppy. He will be 11 months old at the end of this month, the 29th.

Stella's painting sent from Chewy a few years ago, has moved from the bookcase to the spot on the hallway wall separating the bedroom and computer room. Seemed like a good place for it.

The water bowl in the yard is working out well. I am not sure what I will do when the summer days get too hot or the winter days get too cold. They do have a small bowl of water in the mud room but that means Henry will leave wide tracks of water on the floor from his soaked ears. Maybe I can find a narrow pail for inside water where his ears and Stella's stay dry.

Unpacking old boxes is always fun. Here is a blast from the past. July 1976 I was riding up the coast highway from Carlsbad CA to Seattle WA. I had met Richard Hartley just outside of Pt Mugu CA one afternoon. We rode together all the way to Washington, where I turned to go to a friends house in West Seattle and he headed home across the Canadian Highway back to Montreal. My trip started in Bloomington IN to San Diego CA. We had just ridden across the Golden Gate Bridge headed north. That black curly hair has turned to straight white hair 46 years later. I wonder if I had not worn that tight bicycle cap, if I would be almost bald today.  LOL

One of my best summers ever, riding cross country then up the Pacific coast. I kept a journal along the way. I rode over 3,000 miles and limped home those last couple days with sore knees and a depleted bank account. My parents wanted to keep track of where I was on my trip. They used push pins on a wall map of the USA to mark my location. Every night or every few days I would call "collect call for Steve xxxxx". They would tell the phone operator that I was not there and ask where the call was from. The operator would then tell them the city or town the call was from and they would mark the map.  A little different from today's smart phones eh???

I had a successful day yesterday getting everything on my list. The hounds and the dog spent their whole morning in the garage safe and sound while I was out buying what I needed. I DO have to lock ALL the doors because Stella is back in her prime of opening any door with a lever handle and escaping. Lever door handles are not even a challenge for her.

I laid top soil where the big wood swing set use to set and planted grass seed. I filled a small drainage hole with two bags of drainage rock out by the light pole in back. I always take time to shoot my daily basketballs with the goal that came with the house above the garage doors. It's an Indiana thing, basket hoops everywhere. I am also in the process of cleaning out the space between the added bedroom with the walk-in closet part of the house and the added great room. There is a great area back there that might be good for the dogs while I am gone and the weather is nice.

My plan today is drag out my ladder that I luckily kept in 2019 when moving and clean out the gutters that are full of leaves. Normally I would get on the roof and walk along the edge with my small battery operated leaf blower and clean the gutters out that way but lately I am not real confident in my balance at times. Confidence is not the correct word, more like concern from the times I have lost my balance doing the simplest things. Probably a good idea to do it the long way with moving the ladder.

Some might be wondering how I am adjusting being back in house and yard work after a two year vacation with a rock yard with no mower. Well it has not been as bad as I thought it might. I enjoy mowing the yard although those riding mowers like all my neighbors have, with the same size of yard as mine, are awfully tempting. A few minutes to mow a yard instead of 50 some minutes with the self propelled push mower. I still have time to ride my bike or to drive to a hiking trail or even explore downtown on foot along the Ohio River.

So all is really good actually.

Now for some questions. Does high altitude affect blood pressure??? Moving from 4,600 ft to a little over 600 ft above sea level has lowered my blood pressure around 10 points for the triple digit number. That change has been consistent and the decrease in elevation is the only thing that changed. 

Also, the sleep app on my phone using data from my watch, tells me I am getting more quality sleep, more hours of sleep with less interruptions. Maybe the vibes of all the activity going on out in Sierra Vista was causing some sub-conscious anxiety I didn't know about. It is very quiet here and the perfect sleep environment. No sounds of helicopters flying over the house after midnight, heading south, in this neighborhood.

It's early in the game, but so far it's been very nice being back in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.