I Am Retiring From Blogging

I know in the past I have either announced I was going to stop blogging (December 2015) or took unannounced months off (May 2019) but this time it's for good. 

I am going to stop blogging.

Just like that old oak tree pictured there, things change over time and it has gotten to the point I really struggle to put a post together. Probably some have noticed that in my posts.

With two dogs and two hounds there is plenty of stuff to blog about I guess but when most of that is here at the house ... to me as a reader, that is not something I want to follow or read.

I know, I know ... most are here to see photos of the hounds and dogs. Yet, even with a new puppy, taking time to take photos just to put a blog post together is becoming a chore.

An old blogger told me once, "some of the best photos you ever take will be the ones you don't". I have to agree with that because a lot happens around here besides what you see.

I actually thought about this in 2021 after moving here. As I drove around the area, out in the country, it dawn on me, the "Other Adventures" were left back in SE Arizona where I had moved from. Taking photos of farmland just isn't that exciting. As far as the "Hounds" ... none of the current hounds or dogs jump into the car raring to go for a ride like in those hounds in the past.

Long time readers might remember that Heidi would ride in the passenger seat and the two bloodhounds Sadie and Stella would jump up in the back of the FJ on their own and loved taking drives with me. Right now I see that Henry is the avid car traveler and Ava shows no signs of resistance getting into a car.

Watson and Walter are a different story ... So where are the "Hounds and Other Adventures" while I and the four legged creatures turn into max homebodies and travel nowhere with a camera???

This blog started in 2011 soon after I had read about Glen living in a van, traveling the country and blogging about it. It was one of those slow days at work on a Friday that I found him on a Yahoo Business page. Once he moved to Instagram I quit following.

So the blog started as my RV blog, where I was looking for help in deciding what kind of RV to buy so I could do the same thing as the bloggers I was finding and reading about. In 2015 after our tent camping trip in Colorado and Utah, I had found my answers on IF I could RV full time on the road with Winston, Heidi and Sadie.

It wasn't just them that would have made it hard to travel like that, although I'll will admit, walking three different hounds on three different six foot leashes was quite interesting and a few times a little scary.

I also found it was me ... I guess I am restless by nature and even like a day on the patio in late afternoon where I should be able to sit and enjoy the quietness ... I usually don't stay long and I am up doing something else.

Well in June 2015 I found myself just as restless. The trip had been planned out. The driving had been made, camp had been set up and it was quiet in Utah ... nobody around for miles ... yet I sat in that camp chair thinking of moving, feeling bored and wanting to leave. We did leave the next morning and headed home.

I tried to quit blogging in December 2015. Winston was hurt the last half of that month and was put down January 5th 2016. But I had lost other hounds and still blogged, eventually setting up their own page as they passed on. Those pages are at the top of the blog.

So back to now ....

I told myself a long time ago when someone asked me if I thought I would blog forever, or how long did I think I would keep blogging ??? "if it ever becomes a hassle or a job, then I'm done ... finished"

That time has come.

Regular readers know who you are. We met through this blog. Over the years we have made comments back and forth on the blog, talked by email and a few met in person. Communication will not stop just because I am not blogging. Other's that love seeing photos and can't wait to see the next post ... I just can't do it anymore.

With two hounds, two dogs, a house to maintain inside and out, with books to read, ballgames to watch and occasional day trips ... days seem to have fewer hours to get everything done. I find it harder to do what it takes to put a blog post together, even it is just one paragraph and the rest photos. 

So the hounds, dogs and I say farewell in the blogging world. I will leave you with a recent photo of each hound and dog as I sign off. 

I will say that if my blog starts getting hammered by foreign country bots, spammers etc ... I will change the setting to "Password Required". That will keep the blog intact and shielded from spam. It has happened to others I know that stopped blogging. 

Thank you for stopping by all these years. The time you took to stop by to read, look at photos and/or comment is/was appreciated. Thank you for your comments, emails and visits.

This is Goodbye from "the topics" of Southern Indiana.