The Countdown Continues

I thought the Aerostat was going to be launched this morning for only the 2nd time since January 20th, but it never did. Not a border patrol plane but a good way to look at the border I guess. He flew over the house this morning. Date to pick up the VW was confirmed yesterday, Directv disconnect and install scheduled today on the phone for May 7th. Hounds and the dog's medical shot record printed out and in briefcase as well as my letters of credit from each utility company in hopes of eliminating any deposits required for setting up new service. Things are right on schedule. The border "incidents" continue locally on a daily basis. It is really amazing how this place has changed so quickly.

From The Patio This Weekend

Not much to say tonight. I pulled the Nikon off the shelf to take the photos for this post. That is the Aerostat that Biden grounded in December. It was back in the air for a short time on Saturday. Maybe a test run if he changes his mind on using cameras on the border. I had a lot of different animals pass the house in back today and you can see it was a pretty laidback Sunday for the hounds and the dog.

Hounds And A Dog Supervise

I could tell today was going to be a little bit different. After my too long of a bike ride yesterday I was taking the day off from riding but I also had a few things I wanted to get done around the house today. There isn't a lot of maintenance compared to the old house back in the tropics but there are things I want to finish. I had sprayed some Round Off on the other side of the fence a few weeks ago. Killing the folliage against the fence keeps the snakes away and the county mower that comes thru once per year cannot get up next to the fence. That Round Up does a good job except on Mesquit Trees and just like last year I had to cut the small branches down to ground level. Instead of walking a few blockes and around the corner, then those same blocks back to the house, I decided to use my ladder. One of the tools I brought with me when I moved.

The Hounds And A Dog Sleep Off Saturday

As you will see, we didn't do a lot today. "The hounds and a dog" seemed to have been hit with a stick of laziness and about their only activity was moving to different sleeping spots. They DID shows excitement and motivation for their afternoon meal. My groceries were delivered once again and I found something interesting about the blogger issue I had. You might remember I mentioned anytime I hit the return key the cursor would go to the bottom of the screen. Well today, that was depending on which browser I tried.

A Roadrunner Visits The Hounds !!!

While I was on the computer this morning looking at the latest photos of the basset hound puppies, a little over 3 weeks old, I heard my vertical blinds moving in the living room. It wasn't windy, it was sunny and the window was just opened enough where Stella would not see a passing dog or person and want to jump out through the screen. Walter can stand on his back legs to look out the window so I figured he had seen something where he was going nuts and was up into the blinds making all that flapping noise.
I turned the corner into the living room and was scared. The hounds were standing by the door but were looking at this mysterious creature trying to escape and making all the noise. Walter was in so much shock he was not even barking and Stella was only observing. It is one of the disadvantages of keeping the back door open so the dogs can come and go as they please. (No I am not going to install a doggie door into the wall). I have had smaller birds fly into the house but nothing this size. I grabbed my broom trying to swat him out of the blinds and away from that screened window I feared he would rip through ... I also opened the front door.

He flew over the couch when he saw me or the broom and headed back under the loveseat. I saw no sign of him under the couch or the love seat and figured he must have existed out the front door so fast that I didn't see him leave. I walked around the love seat toward the window and there he was ... sitting on the lower shelf of the end table. I moved back around the other side of the couch keeping him in front of me, as I slide the broom handle through the small space between the couch and loveseat .... he sprinted out the front door, running down the driveway like any good roadrunner would do.

Before all that excitement it looked like it was just going to be another normal day here in the southwest. Sunny skies would lead to afternoon dark gray clouds with possible rain. I caught Walter sunbathing alone this morning when I couldn't find him inside. Glancing up I saw the smaller lizard was back on the fence.

Walter looked right at it but didn't move, didn't bark and acted as if he had zero interest in the lizard. He did not even walk in that direction to get a closer look ...  he studied for a while then just looked away after he saw what it was.

He was back in deep thought trying to put his plan of the day together. He is pretty independent like I have mentioned before but he likes structure in his life with few impulse decisions.

The Aerostat was flying high this morning but that didn't mean it was going to be a day of great weather. They would pull it back down before this afternoon. My hourly weather this morning was showing storms this afternoon but they never showed up here. It just shows how fast the weather can change in this area. Yet a lot of the rain in the forecast is in those mountains and we never get a drop. I can say I have only had one day of a normal monsoon these past few weeks, where it was short and hard rain, enough to flood the streets but didn't last longer than 10 minutes.

Just like I do or did with cars, I always look at houses for sale on Zillow, not that I am in the market for a house. Very few if any have a view like this. There is a house down the street for sale so I guess that would be one with the same view. With all the rain we've had, it's nice and green at 4,650 ft elevation.

It was another 'wasted' day for me. Lack of energy, lack of motivation, hungry but for nothing I have in the kitchen, or thoughts of a drive but no idea where I want to go. It's gone on for most of the week and is never a fun time to go through. Consequently I spent most of the day catching up on my sleep since most of my nights have a majority of 'disrupted' sleep as the app calls it. As I stepped outside this afternoon around 5pm I caught this rainbow down in Mexico. The radar showed there had been some pretty severe storms in that area and on the back side of the Huachuca Mountains.

Looking toward the Southwest towards Coronado NF and Miller Peak ...

This is nothing new and something Walter started within his first couple of week here. He's a digger but not what I would call a big or obsessive digger. He found this Mesquite tree root weeks ago. It's not going anywhere, they are that strong. But he likes to see if he can pull it out to use as a chew toy and I keep filling it back in because I like my rock yard without holes and red Arizona dirt.

He knew I had found what he had been doing most of the day when I was awake. Every time that I am taking a siesta the hounds also sleep in the same spots they do at night. Maybe I don't know it and am actually adapting to the hound lifestyle during this 'stay at home' stuff. There is a fine line between the hounds lifestyle and that of a retiree.

Saturday was so exciting I can't remember what we did. It was early evening when they were sleeping head to head and Walter snoring at different times. He is really getting heavy and hard to pick up any more. He has 12 more months of growing before he will be full grown. He will not be much taller but wider and his head will finally grow in a proportionate size. I think he enjoys the company of Stella and she enjoys him the majority of time. At times he wants to play, she wants to sleep so I have to come to her rescue.

Not sure what the plans are for the rest of the night. When a bloodhound wakes you up before dawn, these nights for doing something don't last long.

Hope everybody is staying well like we are here in the "Wild West".

A Spur Of The Moment Hike On Monday

With the hot sunshine out every day with cool temps, the hounds have been spending most of their time sleeping on the warm stones in the backyard. They rotate back inside once they get too hot. The weather has returned to beautiful with morning temps in the 30's. I'll take that with no complaints because I am not experiencing windchill temps below zero and no ice or snow. There has not been a lot going on ... but yesterday I took an impulse trip back out to the San Pedro River and hiked almost 4 miles in the late afternoon.

It's good to know that with each sunrise we are heading toward spring where the sun will start rising earlier, the hounds will get their daily walk in the morning right after my coffee and not in the afternoon. Then I will bike in the mornings right after we get back from the hound walk. I find it hard to ride in the afternoon because I am always finding something else to do. I don't have any projects going on like I would have in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. I don't miss the house maintenance and lawn care or in some cases, shoveling snow.

My move from Cox Cable Tv to Apple Tv and streaming Amazon Prime Video along with YouTube tv has worked out better than I expected. I have all the same sports channels I had on cable. I have more movies to choose from that are free on Amazon Prime Video and the programing on Apple Tv is not large in numbers of shows but the ones they have are great, from what I have seen so far.

I stayed up all night last night watching all 10 episodes of For All Mankind, getting to bed at 5am just after I fed the hounds. A few hours of sleep I was up and felt normal except for the concept of time ... it did not feel like 11am. I still have plenty of time to get in a bike ride today after hiking yesterday afternoon. With high 40's and possible rain in the forecast this week, I have to get outside when I can.

After the holidays of not seeing a lot of the Aerostat, it was back in the air yesterday. For some reason because of that, it felt like everyone was back to work when I saw it. Combine that with the increase in early morning traffic in the neighborhood, I could tell it was a 'work week.' Less cars in the driveways and more traffic on the city streets and highways. Things were back to normal.

One little sign I have noticed that my hip continues to heal after it's 4 month anniversary, there is no soreness or stiffness in front of the hip or the socket when I get up out of a chair or the couch. I am also able to get in my cars and truck the 'normal' way now, without facing my back to the seat and sliding in that way. I am also catching myself getting in and out of bed the normal way again, instead of sitting on the side the bed and swinging both legs around on top of the bed.

Small things but big differences.

I still want to take a tour of the inside when it's anchored but there is a zero chance of that ever happening.

Stella likes to check out the temperature of the sun numerous times during the day before she decides whether to sleep outside. She continues to sniff the air or perk her long hears up for any signs of the black lab puppy next door. We hardly hear the puppy anymore as it gets older. It is tall enough now that when it jumps up on their flowerbed on it's back legs and leans against the fence, I can reach over and pet it. Stella can only smell the puppy but can't see it.

I'm noticing in my Blogger traffic stats that when I blog less, the spam comments increase and bot traffic from the Ukraine takes over the lead of all readers.  The other day the number of visits from the Ukraine tripled the number of visitors from the United States with Canada being a distant third place.

With the return of the great weather I honestly thought I'd be riding my bike outside every day this week. I still can get in a lot of riding this week but yesterday I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to or when to ride. Of course if I wait the temps will get warm as it gets later, but the winds increase. 11am seems to be the best time for both worlds to ride. It's not too cold nor windy and I can get home before the winds pick up.

Yesterday about the time I was going to change into bike clothes I had an urge to take a local drive, just to drive. But by the time I was almost walking up the hounds to get ready to leave, I changed my mind. I didn't want to drive just to drive ... I wanted to go hiking.

I had joined the hounds off to the left of them in this photo soaking up my own sunshine. So it was close to 2pm when I decided I was going to get out and do something. Like I have said before, this area is fantastic for doing things outside and the trails or bike paths/lanes are all close to the house.

By the time I had loaded my small backpack with water, changed shoes and grabbed my hat, Heidi had moved inside to the coolest part of the house to continue her afternoon siesta.

When I want a flat trail and quietness, the San Pedro House/River area is the place I like to go. As I pulled into the parking lot I was the third car and one of the other two belongs to the host at the San Pedro House. I was going to have all this vacant land and trails to myself. People were back to work, kids were back in school ... perfect weather with cargo shorts and a flannel shirt. I was going to start my normal path but had a different plan where on the way back I would make a right turn and head for the river, then circle back to the house.

I was walking at a pretty good pace because I wanted to get some miles in for hip exercise and I wanted to get back to the car before they close the gate out by the highway. I wasn't sure what time they do that so I wanted to get back to the car and on the highway by 4pm. I found out later the gate stays open until sundown. I can explore new territory next time even if I have a late start.

I was traveling light, with only a small pack for water and my iPhone. I took my trekking poles for this one spot I would need them but carried them most of the time and didn't need to use them on the trail. My heart rate was up to 109 bpm in no time and never went over 112 bpm. That's a nice range on the bicycle to get in shape without a lot of energy used. I am seeing higher heart rates on my recent rides and find it hard to keep it in the 117-120 bpm range.

While walking the trail I could see all kinds of signs for the past weekend traffic. Horse shoes marked the trail in only one direction, mountain bike tires, ATV tire tracks and multiple hiking boots or shoe soles. With all the fresh prints in the dirt and sand I could tell it has been a busy weekend with people out here.

If I were to ride my mountain bike anywhere off the pavement this area would be the place. With the new hip I cannot fall again unless I want to see my surgeon back in the operating room. He reminded me of that during my last followup appointment. There are only a couple of places with loose sand where I might have problems keeping the bike up but 99% of the trail is hard packed dirt, a few rocky areas but very safe for me.

Here I am heading east toward the San Pedro River or that group of trees on the horizon, left side of the picture.

There are many trails out by the San Pedro House, with a few that I have not hiked yet. No hills to climb, very little elevation change and a dry river bed I'd like to follow sometime. Walking miles in that soft sand would be pretty good exercise ... but the quietness is what I like the most in this area and of course the scenery.

It will be a lot different in a few months on this bench. The temps in the late afternoon will be over a 100°, yesterday it was 62° and sunny. That's the Coronado NF on the far left ... then Miller Peak at the highest point with Carr Canyon next to it. I love the mountain views that I can see in any direction.

Other than what you see here in these photos, not much else has been happening. I think this is the first time since I moved here in June where days feel like they are back to normal. Routines are relaxed, the schedule for doing things is wide open. With great weather, less tv time and less house/yard maintenance, I have time to do all kinds of different outdoor activities. Just as I expected.

I am going through a 'down period' for blogging though. I find it really hard lately to come up with the words, entirely opposite from the times I cannot stop talking/writing. I've noticed on sidebar blog list more bloggers are post less frequently. Some of them have moved to Instagram possibly, or making money on YouTube. Some have just stopped. I remember a few years ago I had 53 blogs listed and most of them were blogging on a regular basis.

I knew once I moved out here I'd be blogging less because there is just so much to do compared to where I lived before. Better year-round weather, more time available during the day and new activities. The hounds have settled in too but their routine hasn't changed that much, just more time outside per their choice. Heidi even leads the walk some afternoons and actually gets excited now when she hears the word 'walk' or sees me taking the retractable leashes out of the closet.

That's the latest update from the 'Wild West'.

The Body Said To Walk

I thought it was going to be a day to "take off" after my big day yesterday. I had multiple short walks of around a 1/4 mile each, went over 6,000 steps for the day and had a restful night of sleep. There wasn't what I would call soreness but something on the side of my hip this morning while I laid in bed. Not painful, not numb nor discomfort ... just a feeling of some sort. As I walked around using the walker in the kitchen making coffee, letting the hounds outside and a few trips down the hallway, the leg and hip started to feel better ... I decided to watch and listen to see what the day would bring.

The hip felt strong again as I turned from the kitchen counter to the fridge, multiple times. I felt strong if I just stood without any support of a walker or cane. I was still willing to give things time today to see if I would continue to walk or take a day off. That would mean no walks to the mailbox, down the street or laps around the backyard ... just steps inside the house with normal activity.

It didn't take Stella long to get back to wanting breakfast at 5am. She unexpectedly let out a loud bloodhound howl as I was about to turn the corner toward the kitchen. It was so loud I was sure she was waking up the neighbors. Once Heidi heard that she woke from a deep sleep then sprinted and slid down the tiled hallway.

I stuck to my guns and told them breakfast would be served at 7am, no sooner ... go back to sleep. Believe it or not they did. Heidi turned back to her bed and Stella snuck into the computer room in the right corner. Both were sound to sleep as sat down with a cup of coffee.

I took it as a good sign that I had walked out on the patio to take some photos and completely forgot to bring my cane with me. I went back inside and moved around the kitchen on my own two feet, putting some things away and fixing some breakfast. Fry's Market would be delivering my online grocery order at 9am so I needed clear counter space.

A friend had told me that Al Roker on NBC Today, had a hip replacement about a week or a few days after me and I should tune in to see how he was doing. He was also walking with a cane but when he was giving the weather forecast he was moving fast, going back and forth, a few steps forward then back. I was beginning to wonder after seeing that if I had been too cautious, too timid at times to stretch my stride out to a normal stride.

I remembered that everyone is different, each recovery is different and to just listen to my body and just walk. By mid-morning Stella has passed out in one of her favorite spots. It didn't take long for them to get use to the new rule of not getting on the furniture. They don't even look and beg to do it anymore.

Heidi loves her new bed from a few weeks ago and spends the majority of her time right there. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is ... if she feels like sleeping, off she goes to the back of the house.

I could tell as time went on I was feeling pretty good and even better than I expected. I thought I'd feel some soreness after yesterday but didn't. When I took a small trash bag out to the bin, I felt strong walking across the driveway and once again I had forgot to take my cane. In fact I couldn't remember where I had left my cane ... couldn't find it anywhere !!!!

Then the light inside my head clicked on and I remembered leaving it on the arm of the patio chair.

Since Heidi and Stella no longer get their lunch at noon, they like to hang out near the kitchen or in the kitchen close to the door where the dog treats are hidden. I think MJ spoiled them with dog treats where she would pass them out each time she left, which was twice per day. Today Stella wasn't moving until I gave her at least one treat to hold her over until their mid-afternoon meal.

Heidi does not like getting her picture taken. She moved every time that I had her almost lined up for a great shot.

My USPS email notice let me know I had a lot of mail today. A LOT of junk mail but only one envelope of any importance. My body was wanting to walk so off I went with my mailbox key in hand and Stella in the backyard with the door closed. So far this past week she has shown no signs of trying to dig her way out under the gate while she stays in the backyard. I don't think she leaves the patio as she stares inside through the door window until I return.

Not intending to change anything on my walk, I could feel my pace was a little faster and my stride might be a tad bit longer. Going earlier in the afternoon meant less traffic, not that I have a lot, and I could make it back home before two school buses dropped off the kids from school.

By the time I got home I had the usual .26 of a mile and felt like walking even more ... so I did lap after lap around the fence line inside the yard. It didn't take long before I was over .65 of a mile and just clicked 20 minutes total time. Definitely not a speed record but that's not the point. I walked the whole way without any kind of support, holding my hand in my hand just in case I might need it. I could have walked longer if I wanted. The goal is to eventually walk 1 mile without support.

It was my longest walk yet ... 20 minutes, no support.

I'll plan to watch both MLB Playoff games tonight but I will not make it through even the first one based on recent times. I am usually tired before 8pm and definitely before 9pm and I don't hesitate turning the lights off and officially calling it a day. The body is dictating when to walk and when to rest.

I read somewhere today that at 6 weeks I should feel 80% normal and will resume normal activities. That is the exact time for my next follow up appointment with my surgeon. After a year I will most likely forget that my hip was ever replaced. It will take about 3 months for the bone to grow into the implants.

I felt so close of taking the car for a short drive and not too far from the house but once again, I have nowhere I need to be and it cannot hurt to add more days of healing before I try to get behind the wheel.

That's about all for today. Sorry I don't have more photos but the hounds didn't do much and I did a lot of reading.

My progress continues in the Wild West.

Yes I Calmed Down Today

I'll be brief tonight and no ranting or raving. It was a nice day. I did get out in public, driving on public streets, walking into stores without any hassles or arguments with idiots. After waking up at 1am and then every hour on the hour until 5:10am ... to let Heidi outside to pee ... the sunrise was a bonus as I sat outside waiting for my coffee to finish. I needed coffee in the worst way this morning. Those are the Mule Mountains over there towards the Bisbee area.

A few hours later I looked around the computer room, the living room and the bedroom ... Stella had disappeared. It was good to see actually, that she had decide it was safe and did not have to follow me everywhere I go ... she was taking some early sunshine in this morning.

Clear skies for the Aerostat.

That pink thing might come off for good sometime Friday afternoon at 3:40pm. She and I are hoping it will and hear the words that we can resume our daily morning walks again by sunrise Saturday morning.

I had to spend all morning at home. I had a FedEx delivery that required a signature receipt so I wanted to stay until they showed up. They showed up a little before noon. The hounds had been fed and were sleeping when he arrived, they didn't hear a thing.

I needed to make a trip to town to buy more fresh caught Pacific Salmon and a little more of that Halibut, as I try not to look at the price per pound for that stuff. It tastes great. Riding 4-5 days per week now I need another pair of riding shorts so I stopped by the M&M Cycling Shop. They had a new shipment of Pearl iZumi shorts in stock and in my size. I also picked up a shop t-shirt since I never have enough t-shirts and a pair of cycling gloves since the ones I have been wearing are about wore out.

That was all I was looking for so I headed to the cashier counter. Leaned up against the counter was a red LeMond bike that I thought was just a display. I always wanted a LeMond bicycle but didn't want to spend the money they wanted to have one. As I was looking the bike over and admiring the craftsmanship built into the frame ... I see a tag "For Sale". Really ???

I asked Mike what size the bike was. My custom made Romic is a 56cm and yes the builder actually took measurements of the length of my leg, the distance between my thumb and finger to the middle of my shoulder and the distance from the outside of my knee to the the outside of my ankle. He asked if I rode hills or mountains sitting down or standing up and pedaling. That was in 1984 when those measurements took place.

The LeMond is 57cm ... you may be thinking how much difference can 1cm make? Well in bicycling it can mean a lot depending on the angles of those frame tubes. For example in 1982 I was having severe lower back and sciatica nerve problems thinking I was on the way to back surgery ... when I found out the top tube of the bike I was riding at the time was too long. Years later when one of my cleats on my shoes that lock into the pedals, was only a couple of degrees off ... it caused me to have so much pain in my knee that I could not ride.

So ... 1cm more ... I needed to test ride it ... they let me take it around the parking lot and that was enough area to figure out if this bike and me could find some enjoyment riding. The test ride was great, the bike was very responsive based on how the frame was made. It had new wheels, new freewheel, tuned up, and it was a consignment sale.

Now years ago when I was looking at LeMond bikes they were $2,500 and up ... now days this kids are racing on bikes that are $4,000 and up. I was in luck today though .. $500. They had just sat the bike out a few hours before I got there. I knew just by the condition of the 'used' bike it would be sold fast.

Just like t-shirts ... as long as I am riding on a regular basis ... you can never have enough bikes. Although for most of my life I have gotten by with having only ONE.  :)

I came home, changed into bike gear and took off to see what it would do. After 17 miles we decided both of us had had enough fun and finished the ride. Our top speed was 27 mph and that was NOT because I was going downhill. This bike could fly as long as I could pedal. LOL

Better mood today from the start even with the lack of sleep. I believe Heidi has decided I need to train her like a puppy since we didn't get that experience when she was a puppy. When I got her from GABR, they thought she was a year and half years old, maybe two years at the most. So yes, while she is outside in the middle of the night squatting in the rock yard ... I am standing on the patio looking at all the stars ... there must be a million of them at that time of night with clear skies.

I need to go ... I hear the first NFL game is on tv for the past 2 hours 25 minutes while I have been guzzling ice water, writing blogs plus answering a few texts. Only a few of us still email anymore.

Don't worry about Heidi ... she is back to her old self of running sprints in the house, rolling on the living room rug while she growls at herself and knows every day at 4pm or soon after that it is time for her and Stella's afternoon dog treat. She never misses and always comes to get me if I forget.

She is due for annual shots this month so while we are at the vet, I'll have them check out that bladder problem she seems to have ... unless she is getting some sort of sick enjoyment waking me up every hour on the hour, every night this past week ... she might.

It was a 'calm' day here in the Wild West.