The Hounds Move Into Summer

We have been very busy as we move into June. The weather has been great overall and these few photos will show you the hounds have not been doing much at all. That painting you see was sent to me by Chewy.com It was quite a surprise as I opened up the unexpected mail package yesterday. I had sent them a photo of Stella a month or so ago while I was talking to a customer service rep about my auto-shipment of her supplement.

With record amounts of rain, it has been hard to dry out the fields enough to get farming equipment into them to plow and plant this year. I just saw some equipment turn the corner down the single path but I didn't catch if it was towing plows or weed killer for the field of yellow next to this one. We are schedule to get rain around 5pm today.

Due to the rains, they are a few days short of being a month behind of getting that field planted.

After lunch everyday ... it's not much more than this for activity. They turn and head back inside for their afternoon siesta. Depending how warm or hot it is, Stella likes to spend some time sleeping in the sunshine. Heidi spends a lot of time going outside on her own to lay, roll and sleep in the backyard grass most afternoons when it's not raining.

I called for grooming appointments for both of them and after calling three different local groomers ... they can't schedule me until AUGUST !!!! I give Heidi a bath in the tub with no problem but Stella wants nothing to do with bathing inside the tub or outside in the sunshine.

She has cancelled the morning walk and we haven't walked first thing in the morning in so long I can't remember the last time we did that. She is always ready for an afternoon walk where she returns with no ticks on her and by that time I am pulling 5-7 very very small ones off of me. The field is taller than my shoulders near the house in the lowest part of the field and much taller than Stella in the rest of the field.

With the warmer than normal winter this year, I have never seen it worse for ticks as it has been this spring in the 21 years I've been here. They are always on me any time of day or night. In past years I have sprayed my yard for ticks and fleas. Living as close to that field as I do ... the spray didn't help. One year I emptied the rooms and sprayed inside, that did not help.

The only thing that helps is the NexGuard the hounds take one time each year in April or May and that keeps them "tick free" for the rest of the summer. I suffer in the meantime.

Heidi was pretty active today after lunch. She barked, spun in circles and wanted to play.

As I walked up the hill from the mailbox ... she looked as if she wondered if Stella still had a pulse.

There has been a lot of "classified" activity going on around here and even some redactions on paperwork being exchanged. I have no idea what is going on in the world because I have been busy enough to keep the tv off except for the Cincinnati Reds games. My computer time is down almost 66% based on data used ... busy busy busy times.

The windows are open, the birds are chirping and a nice cool breeze from the south/southwest today. The hounds are both in a deep sleep for the rest of the afternoon here at 12:47pm.

It's been great lately in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Some Days It's Not There

I don't dare miss lunch time otherwise I will hear Heidi barking nonstop, that leads to Stella howling, until their lunch is served .... straight kibble. That was yesterday not today and there was a reason I didn't post these next photos last night ... the feeling to blog just wasn't there. That feeling shows up out of nowhere and is strong enough to last multiple days. Even now I can't say I have much to say nor do I feel like putting this together.

Where it was cold and sunny yesterday, by 11:30am today it was 47° and overcast. Lunch was served before they knew it, no howling nor barking was needed. In fact I had to wake up Heidi to eat lunch.

It is quite different than just two months ago after moving my main blog over to WordPress. Then I couldn't stop blogging and some days I blogged three times in one day. Then today, I have a hard time just putting a sentence together.

I think it might be caused by a combination of things. Nothing is clear enough to discuss.

If you don't see us for a few days that is where we are .... same routine, same walks. I'll continue reading books and taking siestas.

No answers today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

A Day Of Mistakes

I basically wasted my afternoon today. It took only five hours for me to mess things up with the blog as much as possible, then fix them. I am usually pretty careful when I am working behind the scenes of my blog. Today I made a couple of errors that cost me some additional time. Of course the hounds didn't change their routine. It was a cool 41° but they both spent some time outside this afternoon. Stella took me out for two walks and with a camera in the afternoon walk.

It all started when I thought I wanted to change the blog design back to where it had a front page with three columns showing the most recent and past blog posts. The number of posts on that page is something I could decide. It's like I said the other day, every blog I have checked out does not have all that I want.

Probably what I want the most are wide large photos when you are reading a post. With the current theme and the one I have used since Thursday morning, it has photos 8-1/4" wide. That looks good on a large monitor but may not make much difference if you are reading the blog from your tablet or smartphone. I always check the blog site on my iPad and iPhone to see how it looks for readers.

The blog title looks pretty messed up on an iPhone 8+ but if I try to fit it on one line to fit the phone, it makes it too small on a desktop monitor.  On Wednesday I had found a one column blog with 10" photos but as Ed pointed out, the blogs listed did not have dates. I found out after looking at it, there were also no dates in the archives either. So I changed it to what you see now.

I know somewhere out of 386 themes to choose from, there has to be one that has a front page showing three columns of blog posts AND have blog photos at least as large as I have now, 8-1/2" wide.

Three columns of blog posts to see on the front page or a long list of them?

So besides of 'activating' a different theme I was working too soon, thus making it look much different if any of you stopped by during that short period of time, I also deleted the post with all of the butterflies I posted a few days ago. I didn't try to re-write the original post but added all the photos back to a post earlier today, with a short paragraph.

I also went back to logging in my food in MyFitnessPal app. Stopping that logging of food will be a slow process if I do it at all. I have taken breaks from using that app in the past, so anything is possible.

As we finished our walk I could see Heidi heading toward the door. She didn't see us coming. I called her names a couple of times and had a loud barking basset hound by the time Stella and I reached the yard. She must have been cold.

She is a lot more vocal since her surgery in September for an impacted tooth, plus another tooth pulled after finding a problem while cleaning them. Today she was named an "Official Food Beggar". I was eating nothing more than a raw avocado and she moved off the couch to my feet, looking up barking at me. She doesn't know that she has the wrong approach and the wrong kind of food.

I'll continue my search for a 3-column front page, no sidebars and photos that are at least 8-1/4" wide when you are reading the post or scrolling through the photos. I have an IU game to watch but after that I most likely will be back on the computer looking through themes, IF I can even find one as much as I like this one.

Found one that did both ... columns ... large photos at 10pm Saturday Night

This is the 3rd post of the day from 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Let's see ... 6 days before Christmas in the Midwest, no coat, no hat, no gloves during our afternoon walk. Even Heidi was so excited she stayed outside, barked to show her excitement and even got airborne a little. When all that happens, the mood changes ... all at 52°. It has happened before so don't start lecturing me on Global Warming ... this is 'weather' not 'climate' ... there's a difference. Yes, the globe is warming. By the number of photos and few words you will see just how nice was today.

I have to burn this pile before next spring otherwise after winter weather the pile will double. What's the delay? See that garden hose to the left .... huge tear, it leaks and I keep forgetting to buy an additional 50'er so I can reach the hose and water source to the pile for file control.

Nor was Heidi ... interested in getting off the carport right after lunch. Great weather but they were not moving, a little after 11am. When you eat breakfast kibble at 6:03am ... you get to eat lunch kibble early

When we went back outside a little after 1pm ... Stella 'thought' it might be a good idea for her afternoon walk when I asked if she wanted to go on one.

In fact Stella was THRILLED with the idea of some aerobic exercise ... but only at her pace.

It's like an Army of yard moles have been dropped into the yard. I hate the bastards. I've tried mole traps, underground electric signals, Milky Spore lawn chemicals, a spray with Castor beans, my own mix with Dawn's soap, tabasco, water, vinegar mix, chewing gum in their tracts and even a lawn chair with a bottle of beer and a shotgun while waiting for the ground to move. A constant war living so close to a field.

She almost headed down into the gully until I moved to stop her.

Chopping my steps as she walks in front of me slower than slow. It's her 'afternoon' pace.

One of those times I had to backtrack to go get her ... she's really stubborn ... not a fan of backtracking.

Remember those skies on this morning's post "The Mind is Interesting"?  Here they are 5 hours later.

Not quite to the yard I spot Heidi over by the burn pile ... living proof she does get out of bed and off the couch. She is a great basset hound. How did I ever find her at GABR.

Stella was in shock when she saw Heidi and had to stop to comprehend what she saw. She didn't move as I walked around her.

Sprinting to the house because she heard my voice and possibly the word 'food' ... no, she didn't hear 'food'

That bark sure sounds like the one when she wants to eat.

Still shaking her ears out from yesterday ... I'll wipe them out again today with some dog ear wipes

I have no answers about itching ... over the past three years I've gone to 4 vets, spent hundreds of dollars, tried every blend of grain free food and even weekly environmental allergy shots ..... nothing worked until my latest kibble that I have been using since February 2017.

All of that vet treatment, shots and food were for Heidi's skin condition a couple of years ago, not Stella's scratching. Stella's happy though ... on to her afternoon siesta just like every day. She picked up the pace all the way to the door.

Changes starting yesterday morning before 6am continue today.

• NO SUGAR


• Black coffee


• No rice, no pasta (ran out)


• Groceries today were coffee, then nothing but the fruit and produce aisle
  
  
  
  • Except for eggs and Kerrygold butter, nonsalted


• I am officially serious about what I eat

I love December days like this ... reminds me of those Decemeber days living in Carlsbad California.

You never know about anything with the sudden changes in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. Stella got an A+ on her test today.