The Hounds Cruise Through A Lazy Friday

Stella heard thunder last night and became a little nervous but did not really go crazy. Paced a little but not much. I was told when I got her that she was afraid of thunder. Sadie did nothing but lay down and sleep as did Heidi.

It wasn't too long this morning before the skies turned dark and rolls of thunder were being heard. I had to look at the weather sites to see that it was suppose to be a day of thunderstorms. By noon the sun was trying to come out through the clouds. Needless to say, there has not been a lot of activity her in 'the tropics' so far today.

Heidi's skin looked good this morning as I applied the 4th dose of Wounded Warrior Ointment. All of the redness was gone on shoulders, her legs, insides of her rear feet and armpits. It's hard to tell because of her skin folds but it did look like there was not any inflammation.

Heidi came outside after her lunch. I thought I saw some skin improvement first thing this morning. By noon I wasn't so sure when I looked at her. Then I look at this photo and see a lot of the redness is gone on her rear legs and stomach. She still continues to chew small spots on the edge of her rear shoulder.

While Heidi headed to the front yard, Sadie was chest deep in wet grass. Stella didn't leave the driveway and just stood looking at me as if to ask what now? I thought of taking the walk but 10' into the field I see standing water. If it is that bad at lower elevation it gets worse as we get further away and a little higher.

Once Sadie found out the walk was temporarily called off until later this afternoon ... but that would take some strong sun to help dry out the ground ... she didn't get too far and did a little posting for the camera.

For the first time in a long time my 55-200mm zoom actually worked at the setting of 200mm. It had only been working at 135mm for the past month. I keep having to turn the ring counter clockwise to move the lens back to the original position when set at 55mm. A new 55-300mm Nikkor lens is sounding better all the time.

Temps are rising, sun is trying to come out and those big rain clouds are slowly moving east.

Bloodhounds are a great breed ... but I think it takes a special person to own one. They have a couple of things that other breeds don't have and one of those is drool. Some hounds drool more than others. In this case Stella's is hanging lower than I have seen in a while. It's as strong as that Gorilla glue you see advertised but can be wiped away easy with a Bounty paper towel.

Well back to my addiction of the day ... Mahjong. I am still attempting to get those last few games below 3 minutes and 30 seconds. I justify it by being retired, plus it keeps my hand and eye coordination in good shape.

It's a quiet Friday in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Grass Cut And The Hounds Take A Walk

It wasn't soon after that last photo in the previous post that I could tell not only was I going to cut the grass in certain spots of the yard ... the hounds were going to get their first walk after a 5 day layoff. I started by letting the bloodhounds sun bath in the yard while I picked up more sticks from the last storm. During this time I could tell I would mow half of the backyard. As far as the front yard I was going to mow the edge of the driveway all the way down the drive. Other than that I would mow just the upper corner of the yard.

I will have some trim work to do later this week. I am thinking of installing landscape edging like I have in the front, all along the back of the house to keep the river rock and grass separate ... but that will be later, not this week. Plus you can see those pesky weeds are growing fast in my driveway just yelling at me to spray them and put them out of their misery. That will also happen later this week.

After sitting in the sun for about 30 minutes, Stella was completely wore out for today. Looking at her you would have thought she was on her last legs. She did find out that if she stood next to me, it to be pretty easy to let her bloodhound drool find a place on my leg. That stuff is the best glue ever manufactured. A whole field to roam or a freshly cut yard to lay in ... she has to stand right next too me.

Our relaxation in the sunshine was rudely interrupted by one of the local rednecks. Whether a new engine adjustment on purpose or an accident engine malfunction, his truck backfired passing the house on the highway and freaked Stella completely out. She was frantic running around not knowing where to go. I was able to get her and Sadie back inside the house.

With the time change to Daylight Savings Time it makes it even easier for me to lose track of time. When I glanced up and it was a little past 4 pm, I knew it was time for their first walk in 5 days ... wet grounds or not. It was wet. I could feel the small pebbles of water hit my legs as I walked and could see the stomachs of each hound getting wet as they moved along.

As you can see they were more than thrilled to give their noses a workout and enjoy the sunshine. Stella did great running free.

Each time I called her name when she was heading in the wrong direction ... she came running. She must know she is on "double secret probation".

There were still enough things for her to investigate and a few times she was caught lagging behind but never failed to run when called.

Sadie rarely strays on the walk. She certainly has changed from her wild youth to a pretty laidback bloodhound who will be 8 years old in a couple of months.

Those weather experts are saying we should get some rain for a few hours later tonight. After that is about 3-4 days of pure hot sunshine. I am thrilled our winter was short and mild. BTW, I did change the blog back to show 3 posts on the first page.

It was up to 78° today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.