Thinking About Winston Today

With the icicles dripping with water, the snow is finally melting slowly. It has a long way to go because when I walked out into my side yard yesterday to clear a small pop up spout ground level for my sump pump ... I walked in snow that came up to my knee. I started thinking about Winston this morning and decided to put this together. The photos are not in any kind of order.

A Little More Snow

 

Henry definitely could be in that cartoon.

First Stage Of Storm Arrives

Saturday morning started off clear with a forecast of snow starting around 10am. Things had changed since Friday though, and it looked like it wasn't going to be as brutal as the Thursday forecast. Not much was planned as I had gone out Friday and bought an extra 44# of dog food, some dry food for me in case we lost power like last year. Not having ice was going to be nice. I can handle a lot of snow as long as it's not wet or icy.

Last January Was Different

First of all, none of these photos are in the order I posted. All of them happen in the first two weeks of January last year. Can you believe I shoveled my driveway and patio of thick ice and snow five months before I found out I was in a situation of "heart failure"? I also cut up all the fallen tree limbs and carried them to the back berm during that time. We had an ice storm with no electrical power four days and nights. Walter loved the snow as did Ava. I will let the photos tell the story ... January 2025.

Update With Old Hound Photos

First of all, like most holiday seasons, the days of the week have gone out the window. My brain seems to be a day or two ahead of the actual day. A lot of football games on tv will do that to a person. So Friday night Walter and I tuned into the pre-game shows to pass the time until Indiana's kickoff at 6:30 CT. 

It was interesting to see all those ESPN "experts" backtracking with their love fest of Indiana Football after bad mouthing them for two straight years. Only Pat McAfee, the old Indianapolis Colts punter has gone in the opposite direction of ESPN and backed them over the same time period.  

You can see Walter was game ready 4:30 CT.

That Warm Weather Turned Cold Fast

With all of the warm weather near Christmas we had heavy fog almost every night, early mornings. The patio deck and the windows looked like it has rained all night when I would let the hounds and dogs out first thing in the morning. The sun would eventually burn off the fog by noon. It was better than ice and snow so I wasn't complaining. 

A Warm Christmas

It was ten years ago when we had a Christmas like this weather. Winston had become paralyzed about a week before this photo on Christmas Day. He couldn't figure out the warm weather either but found it much easier to drag his rear legs as he continued to 'walk' in the back yard and into the field. I just saw this morning where I live now, tied their highest temperature of 68° on Christmas Day. It was a record all the way back to 1938 when global warning was all over the news.

Blog Links Added To Sidebar

As you can see Walter likes all the hounds and dogs he lives with. Last night Watson thought he could climb on the couch, fit on one cushion and squeeze between me and Walter. Of course he barely fit and was sitting on Walter's feet and head waiting for him to move. Walter decide that was fine, raised his head and went back to sleep, using Watson has a warm pillow.

We Have Survived Single Digit Temps

The temps dropped fast Saturday night heading for a low of 5° by the next morning when I slid the patio door open for the hounds and dogs. Just as it was forecasted, it arrived. The only saving grace was my weather app that comes with the iPhone, was showing me it would not last long. As I write this Monday night at 5:30pm CT, the temps are up to 33° and it feels like a heatwave outside.

Changes Instead Of Quitting

 

Over the 14 years I have had this blog there have been a few times I wanted to quit. Yet two things keep me going. (1) I like to write, even ramble at times but those times have been fewer since last November. (2) Readers still enjoy seeing the hounds and dogs.

Rainy And Cold

It's cold this morning at 8:46am ... 44° but at least the sunshine is bright after three days of rain. I can tell by this first photo that the 40+ photos did not post in the order I took them, nor in the order I uploaded them. So the stories might jump around a bit and seem out of order as you look and/or read. 

My friend sent me a photo of the pizza she had made over the weekend. Can you believe that pizza crust is made out of shredded chicken. She sent me the recipe from a keto chef on Instagram.

Hounds And Dogs Move Into Fall

It has been a nice transition from those high 90's temps day after day into low 80s with it in the 50s at night. The AC has been turned off for weeks and the windows have been open 24/7. Not only have I enjoyed the change in weather but so have the hounds and dogs. Basically we are living a life of leisure the past month or so.

It's Been A Busy Month

I thought while I was taking a break between tasks on my constantly changing "daily" to do list, I'd catch everyone up on what I've been doing as well as a lot of photos of the hounds and the dogs. Yes, Walter made an appearance outside today, it is that nice of a day.

The Hounds And Dogs Return

I continue to check off things on my house "to do" list but also have time to take photos of the hounds and dogs over the past few days. I've been asked "how do you handle so many dogs" ... well I walk them individually except Walter, who will not walk. 

They basically take care of themselves during the day and are usually asleep for the night by 7:30pm every night. They play together, sleep and then surround me anytime I am sitting outside or lying in the middle of the bicycle room floor. We do that daily. Handling five of them is pretty easy actually. 

So, nothing but photos this post.

Hounds And Backyard Work

 

With the high temperatures dropping back down into the normal range of the low mid 80s, it has been nice working outside. It has been a battle this summer trying to keep some sort of grass in the backyard. My friend up north said she has never seen it like this and has the same issues I have here. With all the rain/heat/humidity it was the perfect storm for weeds and grass to grow out of control.  I spent Sunday pulling out the Plantain, almost filling a large 34 gallon trash bin full of it.

A Shocking 16 Days In June

I have decided to write about this personal experience of mine with hopes it might help someone out there in the universe that might read this or have a friend or family member send it to them to read. Maybe like me, they don't have symptoms of any heart issues but can feel something isn't right. I hope my story can lead them to getting checked out and possibly saving their life. 

Decisions Decisions AAAH !!!!

I'll warn you, not many photos, no photos of the hounds and dogs with very little information. This is just a short post to start the month of August and hopefully 30 days of cooler weather. That photo you see is a MLB field inside a NASCAR race track in Bristol TN. Not normal and not really a fan of this idea, but another money grab by MLB, where they have sold 75,000 or more tickets. Some seats are so far away that it will make baseball players look like little bugs running around. Game is on Monday Saturday night if interested, Reds vs the Braves. 

Adjusting My Eating Habits

This blog post is going to be quite different than the usual ones. NO photos of the hounds and dogs or the yard. In fact I have not taken any photos of the hounds and dogs since my last post on the 21st.

Why?

The hounds and dogs are hunkered down inside to escape the heat dome. Until late afternoon, they do not spend any time outside except what they need to clear their systems. Then they run back, all five of them, to the patio door. They drink all of there water inside, in the mud room.

This post is going to be more about my changing styles of eating and why. Not a diet but just adjusting things I am eating now compared to say, two months ago. Nothing dictated it, except me ... I feel best eating this way.

High protein, high fat, low carbs. Since I don't get enough protein most of the time, even eating a lot of beef, I like this Whey protein in an afternoon smoothie with blueberries and ice. I used this in recent years as a post-ride recovery shakes.

Ava Is Barely Saved From Euthanasia

It is hard to explain how things work out in life at times and in Ava's case it is almost mind blowing. In the early part of June she was snapping and nipping at my friend's ankles and feet as he tried sitting on the couch. The more he tried to get her to stop, the more aggressive she got. I yelled "Ava Crate" and off she went. Yet the sound of her barking was indescribable and shocking.

The Hounds And Dogs Stay Inside

The temperatures have stay above 90's most days this month. The next four days will be hotter than the last 10 days. So the hounds, dogs and I will not be doing much outside that is blog worthy. I did get the backyard, inside the fence mowed yesterday. Mower was set at its highest blade setting. I finished the hotter than hot afternoon with some ice cold hibiscus tea.