A Lot Of Surprises This Week

It did not seem like it at the time but sitting here on a Saturday night a little after 7pm local time, there were a few surprises this week. One surprise is I am writing a LONG blog post with a MILLION PHOTOS. I am also going to try an experiment loading the photos because I want to insert tonight's hounds activity in between some of the ones I have loaded early ... I have just decided the hound photos will be after these next few photos. I say hounds because Walter is not pictured but one time and I will explain why in tonight's post.

I live in a great area of southwestern Indiana. The severe storms blow through here and seem to miss the house by going north and south of us but occasionally we will have a large fallen tree limb. I had one back in November 2021 if you remember, that went across the top of my fence, but we had one 7-10 days ago in my neighbors yard.

I took my old 1984 custom made bike frame, Romic, out for a ride on the city bike path the other day. Most of the time I ride away from the city waterfront which means I am riding through parks, alongside a creek, lots of trees, along the northern part of the city. Here I am in the parking lot I use after driving to where I want to start my ride.

Where I live probably has more routes/roads to ride than I had out in Sierra Vista and it's beautiful riding through the farmland west of town like I did this morning. You can ride all the way to the Wabash River if you want, to the Indiana / Illinois state line and see nothing but fields of corn and soybeans. It really is a beautiful area ... yet .... 

Yet ... I miss and will always miss the high desert in Southeast Arizona where these mountains and others are always in view whether you are walking, driving a car or riding your bike in all four directions. It has been triple digit temps in Sierra Vista this past week. I have two friends that are long time residents of Phoenix that enjoy the heat but both have admitted this week they are seeing things never seen before in their time living there.

Almost all of my posts tonight are going to be "surprise" related. I just got one a few minutes ago when my friend in Phoenix just told me "Im a little out of it, I have caught covid again and feel like hammered dogs***. This is round 2, I caught it two and a half years ago." He had to get the shots to keep his job and the boosters.

I say that last thing because I have never had the shots, no plans to and have never had covid although I was sitting at a kitchen table at my friends house last winter when my friend's wife said she was coming down with something, that I might want to leave. I told her I'd stay and see what happens. I said I thought I'd be okay and I was, never got sick. She later tested positive for covid.

Back in 2020 when I read about Myocarditis I knew for sure I was not going to get the shot even though the CDC was telling me, in my age bracket, respiratory issues and heart problems (if you want to call my valve a problem) ... that I would most likely die if I ever got covid. I wasn't sure about that but I was pretty sure about Myocarditis and I didn't want anything to do with that. Myocarditis has been killing young athletes unexpectedly. Athletes that are in top physical shape. Teenagers that were healthy before their shots can be added to that list.

Last winter the VA told me they had seen an increase of 110% in heart issues with their patients since covid shots were given. I have not walked into a VA medical facility since 2019 ... my 2020 appointments were canceled at the time because of covid. Just last week, it was announced the military had seen over 133% increase with Myocarditis in the active duty military, where they were all required to get the covid shots.

I could write more later about what they have now found about those shots but I would need to do more research than I want to get things accurate. I feel very fortunate I have never had covid, where I can say from Indiana to Arizona, every friend that got the shots, all of them have had covid at least once and as many as three different times.

For 51 years I have read and researched different ways to eat. In my 20s I was a vegetarian and made fun of friends that continued to eat the "dead flesh" as I called beef. My friends up the street remind me of saying that 51 years ago. LOL ... in 2015 with so much indigestion and a fairly healthy eating plan I looked into Paleo and pulled a book off my shelf called The Blood Type Diet. Both of them told me to eat stuff that scared me. I did not want by-pass surgery like my dad had even though today the process is much different. I had to change my way of thinking, all I had heard was low fat, no meat, low fat dairy ... like all of us have for years. It is a new way of thinking.

Yet within days of changing to Paleo in 2015 ... my indigestion went away. My swollen ankles went away while I thought I was just dehydrated and needed to drink more water. I was not riding my bike in 2015 so any weight loss was diet related. Yet I fell back to good food I was addicted to with additional donuts, Pepsi's, whole pizzas in one setting, sugar, and a lot of processed food.

Moving forward to 2023 ... indigestion was occurring more and more. I became a big fan of the Tums chewable that is similar to chewing gum only to eat them, swallow them. They work almost immediately. I knew I had to do something and I knew from 2015 what worked. IF and WHEN I followed the Blood Type Diet I had no problems and it was similar to the Paleo ... of course "spreadsheet Steve" made a spreadsheet to list all the foods I ate then grayed out the ones that gave me problems. I added what the book said to eat and what not to eat onto that spreadsheet. Good results.

With the two links I included in my last post about different ways of eating, I went back to that on June 20th. Only a couple of times it was hard, really hard to run away from the cravings for carbs and all that good food I enjoyed. So I would remember what happens in the middle of the night when I eat stuff like that ... that moved me away from the urge.

I also have a spreadsheet to download the data from my Cronometer App where I log in or scan everything I eat and drink. So I can see over periods of time that I choose, how many calories per day I eat, how many carbs, how much protein and how much fat I am ingesting. Since June 20 I have lost a lot of weight but I am also riding my bike pretty regular and have had ZERO indigestion. 

Maybe that guy in the picture was right about meat and fat ... that is what my Blood Type Diet book told me to eat also. That is what I have been eating since June 20th and a lot of it.

Surprise or shock, I don't know which. I know right now some readers are yelling "oh no !!!!!!" or telling their husband or wife "he has done it again" ... or "the guy is truly sick and has a major problem" ... luckily I have a friend that is the same way as me and she knows exactly what I go through mentally.

Some of you are asking "didn't he just have a Mini Cooper and traded it back in for his old FJ?????" 

Yes I did, but look closely ... see the metal skid plate along the sides and there is another up front you cannot see plus it sits a little higher off the ground than the other one I had just a little over a month ago. They are both 4 doors but that is where the similarities end. The one pictured is a "Countryman" model. Same model as I drove from Arizona to Indiana with three dogs, in 22 straight hours. Plus it is 10" longer than the 4-door I just traded back. Not all in the cargo area but the cargo area is bigger in cubic feet and longer than the red one I just had ... which is what I need if I were to have another Mini Cooper.

So for the past couple of weeks I have tormented myself with this car. It has the Premium Package, at a lower than market value after checking Kelly Blue Book, NADA, Autotrader, CarGurus and Cars dot com. To give you an idea, at night when I look through the photos of the Mini Cooper and think, then look at the small cost analysis spreadsheet I made for trading or buying any car and even go back to my private blog to read why I traded and bought the cars I did ... I go to sleep with plans of waking up the next morning and hitting the road first thing, with a cup of coffee in the holder and head to Indianapolis to make the trade.

Then I wake up the next morning with a cup of coffee on my desk, looking at photos of what I have, that silver FJ in the first photo, and think "no way am I making that trade" ... but why do I need it ....

Two reasons that I have mentioned before anytime I have traded an FJ (8 in 9 years) for a Mini Cooper (Ive lost count) .... (1) I don't know how much wear and tear my 4 year old hip takes climbing UP into the FJ's driver seat. (2) A bloodhound can step up into the back of the Mini Countryman compared to me lifting a 135 pound dog or trying to lift Watson from his butt up as he sits down refusing to get in the back of the FJ.

Ramps???? Watson refuses to even consider walking up a ramp into the FJ. I bribe him with food, or bone treats sitting in the cargo area if he would just walk up the ramps. Plus you have to have some good size ramps for a dog as large as he is.

AGAIN this morning I said no way ... but I can assure you by late tonight I will spend my last hours before going to bed ... looking at the Mini Countryman thinking about a trade.

"Why don't you keep the FJ and buy the Mini outright?" ... I like having only one car compared to two since I have tried it again since May 4th. I did it for only 10 months back in August 2018 and all the other years in my life I have had a multiple number of cars at one time. Anywhere from two to five at one time.

I'll keep you posted since a few of you enjoy my adventures in car/truck ownership.

Oh ... "Why not a mid-size SUV instead of a Mini Cooper?"  I have tried a LOT of them and they ALL have the same problem, even my brand new Camry had me trying to stretch my leg out straight while driving because my right hip, that was replaced, would almost be cramping around a hour of driving. There was enough discomfort I had to straighten my leg and almost lift myself in the seat while driving ... except for two cars ... the FJ and a Mini Cooper.

 I will only say ... he has a valid point. 

Now on to what you have been waiting for  .... The Hounds and what is Walter doing ??? 

I have no idea why. A friend suggested he might have seen a mouse. I have never seen a mouse in this house and I don't find any signs of a mouse to the left of the table where folding doors hide my W/D, furnace and water heater. For some reason Walter has decided he will not walk across the kitchen tile .... EXCEPT for taking his first trip of the day outside after his breakfast and to walk to the right to drink water which is in the same tile mudroom. Any other time he will walk to each edge and no further.

When I took this photo his ears curled back, his face fell into a hundred wrinkles, he lowered his head to let his nose investigate the floor .... then turns and SPRINTS back to where he came from. Again today while the hounds and I are outside relaxing on the patio he will not get past the wood floor in the living room or he will turn around and go lie down in the computer room. Does he smell something under the floor in the crawlspace? If so, the hounds are not smelling the floor for anything but food/treats.

A little before 6pm tonight, Henry and Watson joined me outside to enjoy the early evening of 82° and humidity that you could not feel. More surprises and one shock is involved in these many many photos. 

The painter did a great job on the neighbors 'shed' ... she sprayed the red and brushed the trim on the windows and doors. The white gutters and overhangs were protected from the spray paint and didn't need painting.

The first surprise this evening was just how relaxed Watson was ... Henry is always relaxed but there is always something in the backyard to keep Watson active. Like squirrels that torment him and makes him bay loudly or birds, the neighbors and anything in general. While Henry and I used the patio, Watson headed for his favorite corner.

From that first time I saw Henry looking at me through the camera lens at two weeks old he has always liked the camera. The breeder sent photos of all the puppies to us on the list to choose a pup. I knew then he was the one I wanted. For those that remember, yes he does have the same color as Winston at that age.

I noticed that something had gotten Watson's attention but I didn't see it at first through the zoom lens on the Nikon. If you look five fence spaces to the right of Watson you can see something that might be a squirrel.

I tried to hold the camera steady expecting Watson to jump up from where he was and start going ballistic baying at the squirrel, but for the first time that I can remember ... he sat there and stared at the squirrel !!!!

The 'shock' was when the squirrel stood up and looked at him and Watson never moved, never barked and never bayed. I couldn't believe it, still can't tonight. I'll admit though it is a nice change.

More than likely Henry can smell the squirrel better than he can see the squirrel. Yet he has Henry's attention.

When I thought the squirrel was going to run right and jump up either on the back fence like he normally does or on those heavy cables that run above my fence ... he did an about face and sprinted out of sight to the left. Watson never got up when that happened.

You might notice the grass seems a little tall. That was my plan this summer, to cut the grass higher inside the fence with hopes of building a better root system, keep it tall in the winter and decrease the amount of flooding next winter and spring. I cut it at 4" tall last Thursday.

Beautiful weather, and so quiet all I could hear was an occasional bird.

Then ... Henry lets me know that someone is in the side yard next door. That look wasn't just for the neighbor or her mother but the look of strangers ... they had company.

They both confirm, strangers are in the area. 

Have you ever heard a bloodhound bay ??? Luckily the people visiting next door are use to it since Watson was a 6 month old puppy. They have told me they don't mind it, they in fact like hearing him bay as do other neighbors that I have asked, if it bothers them.

You can see that Watson is now pretty excited.

When he is standing on this back legs and his head pointing to the sky ... that is one big loud bloodhound bay. Of course laidback Henry only looks and smells what might there.

I could tell by this pose it probably wasn't so much the visitors but the neighbor's small dog that has increased Watson's heart rate.

He really just wants to play with the dog or have the humans come over and pet him.

There you can see the small dog to the right.

Another surprise that I didn't get a photo of because I sat the camera down when it happened and walked toward the fence .... for the first time I can remember since putting the fence up in July 2021 the older neighbor with dementia walked all the way up to the fence, using a cane, to see Watson. The shock was, he stopped baying and stood there in front of her while my neighbor came over and got her away from the fence. She was talking to Watson but never tried to pet him.

I am not sure why but about that time Henry and Watson got into what sounded like quite a fight, finding out later Henry's toe was bleeding. Of course Henry would have had to jump up to get to Watson with this front paw raised for that to happen. It stopped bleeding on its own, so nothing major. I have no idea what got into them to fight like that.

When I got to the fence all I had to say was "come on" and both hounds turned and ran for the patio door, paying no attention to the people or the small dog. They knew via training, they would get a treat once they got inside.

Seven to ten days ago, I can't remember exactly, we had one of those severe storm warnings and like I said in a post with photos, it looked like hurricane winds and rain I had seen on tv in the past. But Walter is my weather dog and I can tell by the way he acts if we should take cover or not. He let me know, nothing was happening. 

It was though two houses down and the reason I lost power for about an hour. The power company had to come out and remove the large tree limbs off the power lines.

The limbs had fallen across the front part of the shed's roof, doing major damage. Well last Sunday in the heat of the day, his grown sons and their friends came over and within hours had tore off the whole side of the roof, built a new one and shingled it ... just like new. To beat the mid 90s heat that day they hooked up a large round commercial fan to blow in their direction. 

It took me a while to figure out what these were and I think my guess might be right. They are small solar lights that are too old and too corroded to work anymore. My estimate from online photos and talking to neighbors, the house remodel with the new patio deck was done around 2011 - 2012 time frame.

They look like this except for the ones my snow shovel had pulled up in the winters shoveling snow off the deck. Inside the holes deck I can see a very small electrical connections ... and the space to connect on the bottom of those small lights.

Does the guess sound about right??? I know nothing about construction or remodeling houses, names of equipment or material used ... but if it deals with sports I do quite well.

So that is it for the week. It's has been a busy one. I have set up a new plan to weed the flowerbeds that has worked out well ... they all don't have to be finished weeding in the same day. A little bit here and there and the jobs goes pretty fast.

It is awesome weather right now in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.