What Is Blogable?

 

 

My absence has been due to blog rut, I think. It happens and has over the years since starting this blog in October 2011. My very first blog was in 2005 when I was trying affiliate marketing along with my full-time online business with accounts at Amazon, eBay and three other websites. But those blogs were required for work not for enjoyment. As you will see from the photos, the hounds and the dog have been in their own rut but what would you expect of them when their owner is non-motivated.

Watson is growing by the hour. The top of his back when he stands up is as high as my knee. That small choker collar he was wearing didn't last long as it became tight as expected. I turned to my supply of old dog collars of past hounds and found an adjustable collar I had bought for Stella years ago. He has room to grow into that one and it might last a few months before we move to a bigger size and buy a new one for him. He is still doing very very well as a house hound. Continues to go outside when he needs to and also heads back to his sleeping spot on the floor of the computer room or bedroom when it's his bedtime at night, while I watch baseball on tv.

I don't think Henry would ever come inside if I didn't call him. His first 8 weeks, he and his nine brothers and sisters had a doggie door where they could go outside anytime they wanted to their outside kennel from their air conditioned indoor kennel. By the time baseball on tv is over he is sleeping on my feet in the great room but has spent most of his night outside on the deck or in the yard sleeping. He loves this fenced in yard.

A month or so ago I saw the farmer spraying something on his field after he had cut the wheat. I did not realize he was planting anything over the top of the wheat stalks. It looks like beans but that is just what I can see through my zoom lens while sitting on my patio. Maybe I will be motivated enough today to walk out to the field and get a closer view.

I know it looks weird but if that chair is not there, the corner of my patio deck may not be there much longer. There are end pieces on each end of the individual boards and their favorite pastime is to pull them out and chew on them. UNLESS the two large knuckle bones are out in the yard a good distance apart, to prevent fighting and to give them something to chew on. Currently they are all sleeping under, around or near my desk while I write this post.

It looks like I missed a bone last night as I put them inside my pellet grill out of their reach for safe keeping. It is good to see that both hounds are that close together with one bone without them showing the other who is boss of the yard and who owns the bones.

On recommendation from a friend I bought a Mini Japanese Maple tree last month. I still have not decided what to do with it nor where to plant it. It will grow to 7'-8' tall and expand in an area of 10'. Yesterday I moved it to the corner of the patio thinking that might save that part of the deck. By the time I stepped outside this morning with a cup of coffee I see that Watson had decided to eat that too, just like the Marigolds that use to sit there. I will move it back outside the fence today.

He is a true bloodhound though with a fantastic nose. He 'cruises' the fence line every morning to make sure everything is okay. 61° this morning and Henry thinks the wet grass feels pretty good.

Small leaves were in my backyard the other day when I was mowing. Just this morning I figured out which tree they were coming from. I am going to be mowing more leaves this fall than I ever did in the old house up north. I'll mulch them.

I have no idea what he is looking at or thinking. There was nothing flying around in the area of the small tree.

A leaf from the oak tree might taste good.

Walter is just Walter. No surprises, just consistent day to day activities. It is the first time I have had an English Bulldog in the 34 years I have had basset hounds and bloodhounds. If you are looking for a great house dog, a smart breed with a great personality, I highly recommend the English Bulldog. Walter is a great dog and funny.

This early in the morning there is never anyone in the yard next door. It is nothing but cool air and the sound of a lot of birds. I am sure that the hounds miss going next door in their early morning exploration, even when they were tethered. The fence is still the best idea.

Walter heard me mumbling to myself about what I was planning to do today. The weather has been fantastic since the rain all day last Saturday. High temps have been in the mid 80's and that makes a world of difference when working outside, compared to those in the mid 90s that we had in previous weeks. I plan to dig out a new flower bed for my four azaleas on the north side of the house today. I have everything I need to do that job but I might need a kick in the butt to get started. Motivation has been a big problem lately.

One of my friends is moving from Sierra Vista AZ next week to Chattanooga TN. I met her in the bike shop when I first moved there and little did she know that two months later she would be taking care of my hounds for a couple of nights while I lay in the hospital for my unplanned hip replacement in September 2019. She told me yesterday she was excited about the move she and her boyfriend will be making but it was a bittersweet move because she likes Sierra Vista for the same reasons I did. Great bicycling.

Over the years I have moved a few times to different states. At the time they all seemed like the right thing to do and they did turn out to be the right time to move. Yet, I have missed every place I have moved from over the years. Looking back through old photos keeps those thoughts moving back to the forefront of thinking. Sometimes that is not a good thing. Am I saying or hinting I have movers remorse in this last move? No, not at all. It was the right move at the right time but that doesn't mean I don't miss the great bicycling and hiking in Cochise County. I knew I would when I decided to move from there.

Just like anything else from dogs, to hounds, cars, trucks, houses, I always seem to over analyze and go back over decisions I have made. Sometimes those thoughts send me into anti-social, hermit type living and totally non-motivated to do or enjoy anything. Some would call it depression but I am not sure it is that since I am too familiar with what depression feels like.

I think it is more of restlessness than anything else. I get bored and tired of doing the same things over and over every day. In the past to beat that kind of feeling I would buy or trade cars, take impulsive road trips, hide out in my house with my car not leaving the carport or garage for weeks. Easier to do now with grocery delivery available. There is a ton of things to do around here or can see around here but no interest currently.

With the new fenced in backyard the hounds and the dog can stay outside when I am away from the house. I leave the shed door open and the door that goes into the garage from there so they have cool shade when needed. Watson always finds something new to chew on even with bones left for him to chew. So subconsciously I guess I am hesitant to leave them. It's too hot to take them with me leave them in the 4Runner if I am out in town and run into a store. I could take them on a road trip, just a few hours out and back. But I have always found it a hassle to travel in a vehicle with three or four hounds/dog.

Yet, when you are in a mental rut, even the thought of a camera and seeing new territory is not even exciting. The thing I have found from the private personal blog I keep in parallel with this one, it does not matter where I live, what kind of cars or trucks I drive, how much money I have to waste, I feel the way I do now. It's in my DNA. I know if I "ride it out" things will improve. They always do. It is somewhat interesting that I am saying the same thing in past years to the day.

It sure does make it hard to put a blog post together when you don't even feel like picking up the camera.

So the question of the blog post title is at the end of this post I guess ... how much boredom can a person blog about? How much daily routine can be put down on paper with added photos? How transparent can you be without some thinking you are crazy. (One reader let me know last year they thought I was). I probably am in a way. Aren't we all?

I don't blog about it like I did back around 2018 when readers suggested I be more transparent, when I would go off the rails with personal opinions. I will admit though current events really bother me more than I should let it. I find it hard to live with "it will never happen to me" or "it will never happen here". I have hated for a long time all the crap that has been going on in this country, over a year. It is just unbelievable to me what is/has taking place.

That adds to my rut. No worries, the hounds and the dog keep me my head above water. Never a dull moment with them.

Another beautiful morning here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana, so lets see if I can get myself started again and do something, anything.