Hounds Play The Dog Digs

It was a day of laziness and being distracted. I did nothing. Took the daily siesta after my groceries were delivered. Spent most of the morning up to the siesta at 2pm, refreshing my screen on MLB Trade Rumors website to follow the last day of MLB trading. They can make trades in the future but those players would have to pass their the MLB Waiver system before they could be traded. Meaning all other teams would have to pass on that particular player.

The Dog Bone Story Continued

The thing about puppies, there is never a dull moment. When two hounds have decided they are friends and are attached everywhere they go, there is never a dull moment. So when Walter woke up behind my computer desk chair this morning and went running for the backyard I KNEW something was going on with Henry and Watson. What could it be now? The bones they fought over are still inside and up high, out of their reach. They have no interest in any of the bones I had before this past Monday.

They have a toad cornered and neither of them wants to share what they have found.

A Day Of Surprises

Well it's been quit a day and it's only 4:33pm as I start this post. Henry continued his hunger strike this morning by refusing to eat. I have played that game before with other hounds and I wait them out. I found out this afternoon he no longer wanted to eat alone in the bedroom with the door closed. He chose that a month or so ago. He wanted to eat where all the hounds and the dog USE TO eat when life was simple. But Watson LOVES FOOD, goes crazy and will sprint to Walter's and Henry's food dish after he is finished to see if they have finished their meal. So they eat alone behind closed doors.

"When life was simple" is a key part of this post. I only wish.

Henry Goes Crazy With A New Bone

Wednesday morning I converted the blog theme back to what it was yesterday before 3pm Central Time and what I have used for years.

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, the design has changed. I have always liked this design and I needed a change. For those that make comments or read comments ... if you place your curser over any part of the post on the home page, in the upper right corner of each post you will see a number ... this is the number of comments if any. Click that number, scroll to the bottom and make a comment or read them.

For those that like to read the other blogs I listed on the right side of the blog, they are still there. There should be a vertical bar on the right side of the screen, hold your curser over that and it will show you the blog list, blog archives etc ... click the title and that will open into a dropdown menu listing blogs and other links.

The pages for favorite photos, pages of each hound are still at the top and easy to see.

I am also posting my post now so you can read what I just wrote plus I am heading out to see the Evansville Otters baseball team, to play in a few hours.

Click the blog post title to open it to read or see all the photos in that post. Let me know what you like or don't like about the changes.

The Puppy Chewing Stage

Obviously I do not have the right chew toys for the hounds as they are addicted to those pieces of new tech wood ends on each slat of the patio deck. I either need to find the supplier for this deck to buy replacement pieces or learn how to use a 3D printer after I buy one. (not going to happen). I knew this morning around 5:45am drinking coffee at my computer that things were just too quiet. I headed for the patio to find this. That is Henry's reaction after I said "drop it". He then walked here, rolled on his back to apologize.

Neighbor Compliments The Fence

I had not seen the neighbor to the left of me, if sitting on the patio, since last Saturday night when she walked over to ask me if we were cutting a tree down or a light post. I let her know we were cutting down the dusk to dawn light post installed by a previous owner. She seemed irritated by the news. I get the idea she does not like change to the neighborhood since she has grown up in the house she lives in. She is in her 60's. Toward the end of the conversation when I mentioned the fence was being installed last Monday, she asked me how far down were they going to put the electronic fence.

I had told her numerous times after I mentioned the electronic fence for the dogs that I had changed my mind and was installing a regular fence 5ft tall for the health and safety of my hounds and the dog. I left out the issues I was having with her and her mother to ovoid any arguments. THAT news pissed her off as she walked out of the yard at a fast pace. So it had been a week since we last spoke. Compared to multiple times per day when Henry was on his long tether and there were no boundaries for the neighbor.

Is Walter A Hound???

Walter's nose may not be as powerful as a bloodhound or basset hound but he loves smelling scents as much has Henry and Watson. He does this every morning now since the fence was installed. Each day a different area. Is Walter "a hound in disguise"??

Henry, Walter & Watson Love Their Freedom

The difference in the hounds and the dog are indescribable since their yard is now fenced, the smaller area temp fence is gone and Henry is no longer wrapping his long tether around the legs of people wanting to pet him. We are back to our ways of Arizona where most of the time the patio door is open for them to come and go as they please. I know, a doggie door would work good but honestly I have never liked the looks of them next to a patio door and I am definitely not cutting my wall to insert one.

We've Been Very Busy

You better sit down and grab your drink ... A LOT HAS BEEN GOING ON since our last post five days ago. We have been very busy. I will let the photos catch you up. Wednesday morning I was on my hands and knees pulling out weeds, and grass that had grown up through the weed preventive sheets. The south flowerbed had not been touched in years. By noon the humidity was killing me ... at at noon 88° 63% humidity I went inside to drink ice cold gatorade, took a shower and then a nap. That photo shows just how far I had gotten ... where the new dark brown mulch is, with a lot more to go.

The Hounds Love Magnolias

(Thanks to the reader that pointed out those are marigolds not magnolias. The new temporary fence is working out well. Similar to when we lived in AZ where I could keep the patio door open in the mornings before it gets hot, so the puppies can go in and out as they please. Henry and Watson spend a lot of time outside now playing, running and laying on the deck. Yet, there are some disadvantages brought to my attention when Walter is barking or is running to the computer room to get me.

A Rainy Weekend

At times it was cool enough for the windows to be open and ceiling fans on, then all the windows would be closed with the AC on. Right on the borderline between the two options. The hounds and the dog like to listen to the rain as much as I do but it is hard as heck to keep those windows cleaned. They like using those lower windows to check on their neighborhood, see who is at the door or what dog is out walking in front of their house. 

From the looks of that window above them, Stella could not stand for me to help her in back of the FJ or even the Mini Cooper but could stand to push her nose and jowls against the window to see if she could push that window open and escape while I was gone or if I was just outside in the driveway shooting basketballs. I really miss the morning talks we had every morning. Hard to believe that she has been gone a month already.

A Cruise Around Town

The cruise around town was on Saturday morning but let's backup a little to Friday night. When I bought the couch and love seat they assured me with labels and company literature, they were "pet proof".  I couldn't keep from remembering what 16 years of hounds did to a leather couch I had in the older house up north. So the hounds and the dog remembered the new rules once we moved to Arizona, no pets on the couch. They have followed the rule after I bought the new furniture for the great room and have stayed off ... until I invited Watson up there.

Some Early Hounds & Dog Play

The room was dark and it was very early when a huge clap of thunder woke me, the hounds and the dog up. None of them are scared of such noise but when they wake up, they head to the patio door to go outside. Only this morning all three stopped in their tracks as it was raining hard outside and they were not going anywhere. They did want their breakfast kibble as the skies roared outside. Finally that storm passed through enough where they could venture outside and do what they needed to do.

Two Vet Appointments Today

I had mixed emotions about taking Henry and Walter to their vet appointments today. I was glad that Walter could get his stitches out from the neuter process a couple of weeks ago. Supposedly there is no charge but I had my doubts. For his bill I paid before they even brought him out for me to take home. The bill was back with the vet tech that would bring him out, so I had no idea how much "upselling" they had charged me for. I was irritated after seeing the itemized list of charges.

I Have A Digger

Luckily the other two puppies have grown to where they are a year or older. Still puppies but out of that real puppy stage. Watson is having fun exploring and finding new things to torment me with and is responding well when he hears the word "No". When I took this photo I noticed some dirt on his nose. I had found my digger, exactly who I expected it to be. Luckily he was not digging to get out of the fenced area but something he found in the corner of the yard by the house.

A Temporary Fence Installed

I knew before I decided to buy the house from 1700 miles away and only looking at an online sales ad, plus some photos of the house I had found through internet searching back in April 2021, that I would have to install a fence. I did not know what kind or how much of the backyard to fence but I knew eventually I would need one. A temporary fence was not in the plans since my "tether system" was working like I expected it to. Walter ran free supervising Henry and Watson. I would have to untangle the two tethers but that wasn't a big deal. Yet, after living here almost 40 days things had changed and I needed a temporary fence installed fast.

Bombs Away

We heard some fireworks last weekend that gave me an idea that last night and most likely tonight was going to be huge. I wasn't wrong. I was on the couch watching a movie when the sky lit up outside above the field. The fireworks were so big you could have swore we were downtown watching what the city will put on tonight over the Ohio River. I put the movie on pause and walked out to the corner of the yard for a better view. These were city quality fireworks being launched into the sky. The hounds and the dog stayed inside sound to sleep.

Henry & Walter Back To Normal

Maybe it was the weather because we woke up to 61°, windows open and a cold breeze through the house. Most likely the little "flu bug" the older ones had has passed. For the first time in days Henry ate all of his breakfast and had his tail high and wagging when he finished. Walter tried to jump up as high as possible to get on my lap as I sat in my desk chair. He never makes up on my lap but he likes to start his day with a standing stretch. Watson was just normal after growing over night. He cannot figure out why his legs are getting so long. Once in the yard they were all quite active.

A Day Of Rain

Sometimes the weather forecast is right and it was today. Looking at the "hourly" and it showed percentages 80 and above, with a few at 100. It arrived a little later than planned so the hounds and the dog were able to get outside for some quick relief this morning. I see some photos on Facebook from friends out in Sierra Vista that the monsoon is here but so far I see photos of clouds but hear nothing about it raining. They need the rain a lot worse than we do here.