Lack Of Interest & Little Action

There has been a little lull in the action around here. The rain will not show up until later this afternoon. I have everything done that needs to be done outside, and the inside domestic stuff. I have no urge to drive anywhere, buy anything nor finish reading the books I checked out a few weeks ago. The only interest I have not lost is looking at houses on realtor's website. I did that last night until 1:10am.

A blog vacation might happen here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Hounds Take A Late Thursday Walk

Due to the temperature today we decided to take the early evening version of the "Daily Hound Walk". Maybe I should change the title of the blog to that.

Reason being, I haven't discussed my RV thoughts nor had the urge to buy one in so long I can't remember the last time. As far as the other part of the title "Other Stuff" I haven't had the urge to blog lately including my last post on Sunday.


As with all past summers, when great hot weather arrives I find myself doing more things outside for most of the day instead of being in front of a computer. Before I know it the the time is near 8pm and I don't have the urge to blog. A few weeks ago I was blogging early in the morning and even later that day but the early mornings now are me taking the Z4 out for a drive while the temps are cool and the air is cleaner. I love those morning drives.

We've been getting in our hound walks a couple of times per day but even some those walks were all 'natural' without bringing the camera. Overall though, I just haven't felt like blogging the past week or so. There is less computer time available with me doing other things. The things I do during the day is just not good blogging material ... it's just life in 'the tropics'.

Tonight it felt cooler than the temps being listed on WeatherBug and the hounds were happy with that. I was happy there wasn't any gnats to bother me and that the tall grass was dry.

The hounds did a lot of sniffing around but they were always too late for the rabbit or the bird taking off from ground level. Here Stella is in the exact spot the rabbit ran into but a few minutes too late. She can smell the rabbit but cannot see it.

I finally got her to start in our direction and we all moved on.

Once again they are a couple of minutes late to see the bird taking off right in front of me, close enough I almost stepped on it. They were excited but didn't see anything so they headed home.

I know it's getting hot when Stella stays on or near the path I am walking, plus her pace is slow ... all she is thinking about is getting back inside the house where she will lay down and fall asleep literally within minutes.

About the time the last bloodhound walked through the door tonight, Heidi decided it was time for her to go outside ... although she turned down my offer to go outside as we were starting the walk. Her times outside have mostly been long enough to pee and poop ... but there were a couple of days this week where she went to the door to be let outside and then laid in the sunshine without the bloodhounds nearby.

She is doing well. It's been 10 days since her last Epsom Salt soak and as a test I have not applied any of the water/vinegar mix since then. I started seeing new hair growing, plus first thing in the mornings her skin was looking great so I thought I'd go with just the food and nothing else. She is back off the grain free food and is eating kibble with chicken and rice ... showing no signs of skin allergies due to the dog food change.

I know it may be hard to understand for those that read blogs but don't blog themselves, and there's nothing wrong with that, but for example it has taken me 1 hour and 3 minutes to get this far. That start time was from the time I slide the camera card into the computer to download the photos. Lately, even an hour is more time than I want to spend in front of a computer when it's still nice outside. So I guess time will tell if the urge to blog more will come back.

I could blog on a weekly basis or even on those days where I am "rained in" but I do know when the sun is out and the temps are high ... it's just hard for me to sit in front of a computer very long. I like being outside doing something.

The weather has been great this week in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

A Quite Rainy Day

I actually enjoy days like this if they don't happen often. It's warm enough to have all the windows open, you can hear the birds talking and a light rain in the background. It's been a steady very light rain all morning, so a lot has not been done outside. The hounds sleep, I read the internet, play Mahjong or try to finish the book Area 51.




We didn't do much after their lunch. I had to make a trip to Bloomington and that was going to test Stella the 3-4 hours that I would be gone. They wanted to check the work I did yesterday clearing that small section of yard, sniff the field a little and then come inside.

Since I was going to be gone for 3-4 hours, I decided I would load up the Kong balls/bones with treats. They would be able to smell the treats but not get them out of the Kong balls. With the Kong bones, after a lot of work, they would be able to get the treats out to eat. I thought that would give Stella plenty of time to work at something besides her separation anxiety destruction.

I am not sure if those were shared between the two bloodhounds but I could tell by where they were when I got back, they were the main focus of activity. I didn't see any kind of damage when I returned home.

For her own protection, I always move Heidi and let her have the run of the house. About the only movement she has I think is from the chair she sleeps in and the water bowl. I am not sure if it is the supplement the vet gave me called Hera A Spike but her eyes have really improved this week, plus she has been a little more active. She is still scratching at an obsessive pace at times, but over all her skin color is normal and less irritation on her back paws and legs.

With her and the bloodhounds eating the Fromm For Large Breeds kibble, 2.06 pounds per day are consumed. I have been feeding Heidi the same amount of food as Stella gets to eat. I think she would even eat more if I poured it out into her bowl. In fact I don't think she would ever stop eating. With the new supplement the vet gave me to give her, I will take Heidi back in 30 days just to get her weighed and see if there is any gain.

As long as it is raining there will not be many photos the next few days. Along with college basketball getting into their conference tournaments and then the NCAA tournament ... my days and nights will be and have been shortened to from the time I wake up until noon. After that it is nothing but basketball games on tv, fitting in some meals in between or during games and a hound walk once the ground dries out. After a few weeks as the number of teams still playing decreases, then I will have days available but not nights. That is the way it is for a sports addict that loves college basketball in the month of March.

That will make no difference to the hounds schedule. They will not be neglected but will do their normal routine, whether there are games going on or not  .... sleep, eat, sleep, eat and walk when the ground is dry.

This morning Sadie checking to see if she wants to step out into the light rain or not. They don't mind the rain but she always checks before walking out into the rain. As far as Heidi, she will run immediately behind the Yews in front and stay under the roof overhang to stay dry. She is strictly a sunny and at least 70° basset hound.

After Sadie and Stella moved out into the yard, they didn't have a lot of motivation to take off in the field, and it wasn't long before they turned and started walking back toward the house. Rainy days bring decreased activity.

With the rain and not much going on here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana the hounds and I may take a 'mini' vacation from blogging. At least until it stops raining in a few days and the grounds dry out. Thanks for stopping by to read the blog and check the photos of the hounds.