Ava's Cut Improves

With the sun shining, widows open with a cool breeze the past few mornings, I was about to tell you or asked if you noticed I had changed to blogging early in the mornings with photos from the day before. It is a good time for me to write and seems to work out well, better than trying to fit it in around dinner and tv ballgames. Surprise this morning when I only had 10 photos to upload to the blog ... so I guess I will have more later for a late afternoon post.

We have had a few nights now where the temps have dropped to the 60s, windows open but by noon they are all shut and the AC is kicked on for the rest of the day. 80s have been the high for the past few days but Watson doesn't care ... the cold tile feels good to him. He turned 3 years old this spring.

By late afternoon it feels good and all the hounds and dogs head outside at their own request. During the heat wave I have only been mowing outside the fence so it the yard might look a little shabby in photos you see. Weather will be back up in the high 90s by this weekend starting today.

Ava has figured out she can use that cone as a weapon when playing with the hounds and Walter ... but he hates, growls at her and tries to escape. She will actually run and plow into the side of Henry with that cone, knowing he cannot reach her in time to retaliate. 

Walter was a little confused yesterday on why I was waking him up for his lunch. The others let me know it was past lunch time. You can see his displeasure in his left eye.

Two days ago I was a little concerned and confused about Ava's wound looking like this. It had been dry the day before. She had worn the cone before it was dry until now. So how did that get red, irritate and looked like it had been chewed on?

I was happy to see this morning that it was back to being dry and really looking good. By next Wednesday those staples will be ready to come out. Speaking of next Wednesday, the vet called me yesterday to go over their consent form to save time next week. All I will need to do is sign it. They left me speechless. Really, I didn't even comment but had to say "yes" that I agreed to the cost of the bill.

"The cost will be $465 for spaying UNLESS she ways more than 50 pounds !!!" Well 10 days ago at their facility she weighed in at 47 pounds so I have no doubt she will weigh more than 50 pounds by next Wednesday and most likely weighs more than that now. 

Yes I have considered buying some sort of pet vet insurance with four dogs but for 37 years I have had hounds and dogs and have never spent a total amount that is more than all the premiums I would pay for insurance. My thoughts are similar to auto and home insurance. They are not a favorite topic with me, "insurance".

Well this is the point I let the post save itself and keep it as a draft until later today.

I told the vet a few weeks ago it would be hard to keep Ava from running. She loves to run. She loves chasing any thing flying in the air, inside or outside and he likes playing rough with Henry and Watson. That look she is giving me is letting me know that I cannot stop her from having fun, just because she wears a cone and is under doctor's orders. You will notice since the earlier photo of her cut this morning, that it was draining. That is because she has been sprinting from one side of the yard to the other, full speed ... ignoring my calls to stop.

As she has grown the past few weeks, her head has gotten bigger and her nose is longer. Is that nose now long enough for her to reach her cut with the cone on and lick or chew at it? I haven't seen her try that with the cone on but I wonder if it is possible.

It is really nice outside today and feels like a manageable 87° mid-afternoon, but the AC keeps running and the hounds and dogs really do prefer being inside. The following photos will show that, along with Watson sleeping right on top of one of the floor vents that has cold air.

After their snack of some of my baby carrots, three of the them ran to the door to go outside. Walter instead moved into his normal sleeping position in the computer room to enjoy more of the afternoon. By the time I grabbed a camera and headed out to take photos, Henry, Ava and Watson were all in the shade, hiding from the 87° sunshine.

He assumed his old seat on the patio deck yesterday after hiding in the shed for the Tuesday storms.

I think it's time for another test with "no cone" and see how she does today. I'm tired of it, Henry is definitely tired of it and Watson doesn't care. She fits that cone completely over the heads of Watson and Henry to clean them up after a meal.

This is grass I planted a year or two ago, inside the fence in the upper part of the backyard. I wish I knew what kind of seed I planted. Is that Kentucky Tall Fescue???

Whatever came out of that guys seed spreader is growing unevenly and I am not sure all of it is grass. It will take years before all of that is filled in. I will add more seed this fall and a new batch of straw.

They really don't mind the heat but once that patio door is open they are more than happy to go back inside with me.

She is able to find bugs like this. Doesn't it look like her cone is close to being too small now. It is an XL. She is growing fast.

With the Reds winning this afternoon, there will not be a game to listen to tonight. It might be movie night. I saw either on Facebook or X a new streaming service with free movies and shows. For those of you looking for ways to cut your cable/satellite tv bill I have found good luck downloading Google TV that was already loaded in my Sony tv. There is the same kind of program in Samsung tv's with a different name. I have been happy with my exit from Directv and their outrageous prices.

Each day is going to get hotter here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana for the next week.