A Bloodhound Nose ??

Basset Hounds are bred to flush rabbits out and into thick brush, the woods, a field or a backyard. To do that Heidi would have to get out of bed first and it's almost 11am. I have seen a Basset Hound in action though and Sadie (the WA Basset Hound) did just that, flush a rabbit into the thick brush where the rabbit stops in panic. The shoulders of the Basset Hound is made specifically to charge through brush so thick you cannot even walk through it.

The Bloodhound has the better nose though and is bred to track deer whether they are walking through a field or woods and after a hunter has shot them. A few years ago Sadie and Stella would sprint after deer they would see in the field but I haven't seen a deer in this field since November 2017.

From the pictures I take of Stella everyday you would think that she has a great Bloodhound nose but I have two pictures today, really just one picture but two stories, to prove she either doesn't have a great nose, or maybe she lost focus or maybe since it wasn't deer scent she didn't care. Yet we all know how she loves deer scat. Her nose story continues.

As I walked over to get a better view of this tree limb, I practically stepped on a rabbit hiding in the brush. It was not more than a foot away from me when it took off sprinting toward the gully. Heidi has a great nose for tracking rabbits and no doubt would have been baying and chasing that rabbit as fast as she could. I've seen her do it in this field but not today, she was still in bed.

Stella had walked right past the rabbit no further away than the distance from the path on the left to the edge of the brush on the right. What, maybe 10' away? She is well past the place I almost stepped on the rabbit so she is not even close. Don't let that picture throw you off.

Now Stella does not have the worst nose in Bloodhound history because she does show signs of tracking deer scent or deer trails just like this morning. There were a million signs that deer had been running through this field a few hours before we made our appearance. I don't think you would want to see a million pictures of a deer hoof print in the soft ground so I have included just one of those pictures further down the blog post.

Sadie was 'the tracker' ... strong strong desire to track scent. Stella has a more relaxed approach to her tracking. I have no doubt that she would stop immediately if I mentioned the word "food" or had some small bone treats in my pocket. THAT is one thing she can track ... any kind of food or treats.

In my lightweight down jacket I was enjoying this Saturday morning walk with no wind to speak of. WeatherBug said it was 34° but my carport thermometer said it was 42°, so I kept picturing that 42° in my head as I walked. Hard to believe it will be in the teens on Monday for a high temp of the day.

I let Stella go where her nose led her. After all she is a Bloodhound and looks as if she is tracking something. So I veered off my path to follow her.

You can barely see a path straight ahead and that was made by deer traffic. The camera did not capture the path as clear as my eyes.

This is a little better view of a deer path cutting across the middle of the field to the left of me as I followed Stella.

Looking at those two pictures you would think that I am entirely wrong with my assessment of Stella not being a tracker. She looks professional in each of those pictures. Remember how much she loves finding deer scat and adding that to her kibble diet as more protein? Remember how good her nose is supposed to be?

Well she literally walked right over the top of not one of these piles of deer scat but the second pile not two inches away. HER NOSE WAS DOWN LESS THAN AN INCH ABOVE GROUND !!!! How did that happen? Too old? Too new? Not hungry? Lack of focus?  :)

This is one of the million pictures I took this morning of deer hoof prints in the soft ground. They were everywhere, from right on my path to all over the field. So there is deer still in the area, I just have not seen any of them.

With her tracking scent over this morning, she starts the slow walk home. When I say slow, I mean even slower than that. Each step is in slow motion so that you wonder if that front paw is ever going to touch the ground. She walks like she is suspended in air as I anxiously await for her to catch up to me. I'd like to get back to the house for a brunch I plan to make sometime today.

Then ... a sudden burst of energy where she is almost running BUT she has to do a full body shake at the same time she is running. As her body goes forward trotting, her ears show that her head is moving left to right back and forth as she shakes. Who needs a good Bloodhound nose when you have agility like that?

Obviously after five weeks of the lamb based dog food instead of chicken as the main protein source, that has not made a difference in her scratching. No fleas that I can see. No red bumps, no skin irritations. It just itches.\

With another Saturday morning walk in the books she was energized to get back inside so she could sleep. Her and Heidi's eating schedule is off today, way off. All because of Stella.

Since I was in a deep sleep I have no idea what woke me but when I finally came out of it I heard hound toenails making a sound on the hardwood floor as if they were pacing or moving back and forth. At first I thought it was Heidi because she kind of tip toes in the dark but then I heard a stomach making a gurgling sound ... that is always Stella.

So I got out of bed to let her go outside. It was pitch black in the house and outside because it was 4am !!! While she trotted off around the Mini out towards the field, I put on my lightweight down jacket and slipped on my cheap Chinese flip flops and headed outside with my bright LED flashlight. It wasn't that cold outside even while standing there in a pair of Russell Athletic Gear gym shorts.

I could see as I stood behind the house she was straight out from the house halfway between the yard and the woods. She had found some nice tall, possibly wet grass to eat and was eating like it was her last meal. Luckily when she was finished she trotted to the house where I was standing. It may have been more about me sneezing than her being obedient.

Of course, since I couldn't go back to sleep I got up. Computer on, lights on, with Heidi still sound to sleep. Stella was checking out the dog food container to see if the lid just might be off or loose for her to grab some kibble ... at 4:15am!!!

Finally after 30 minutes and hearing her stomach gurgling again I decided that maybe some kibble would settle her stomach. Of course as soon as that measured cup of kibble hit Stella's stainless steel bowl .. Heidi woke up and came sprinting to the computer room because breakfast was being served.

Yes, they both had breakfast at 4:30am.

Just like their normal routine after breakfast, they both went back to their dog bed and slept soundly. I never heard Stella's stomach gurgle again after that. So you would think by now as I type this both hounds would be barking and howling for lunch but they are both asleep ... that's what happens when you get up at 4:30am.

I did get back to sleep for a solid four hours of sleept. Thus the late start for the morning walk.

I have a basketball game I want to watch at noon. Right before that I plan on having eggs, with steamed spinach right there in the cast iron skillet and warmed up salmon. This change in eating is really helping and I continue to feel the change in appetite and the amount of food I eat in a day. Getting under 1,500 calories is not intentional but is easy to do with what I have been eating.

Otherwise, I have no plans after the ballgame is over. The book about Steve Jobs is a very slow read but at the same time it is very interesting. I bought the book when it first came out four or five years ago but never finished reading it. So that is the plan, read the book from start to finish.

I'll see what Heidi has planned for this afternoon but I can almost bet that it will not be much different from the pictures I posted last night about her afternoon. She might stretch her threshold down to 60° but until then don't expected a lot of active pictures of her outside.

Hard to believe we are 29(?) days from April.

All is good this morning in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Stella Gets A Half Walk

As the afternoon progressed we had a 'heat wave'. I kept an eye outside while I played Mahjong at the kitchen table, watching the one field become flooded as time moved on. It looked beautiful outside with sunny clear skies and it was very tempting to go for a walk.

Right after the hounds lunch we did step outside but it was only a short time. It was 15° and damn cold. Neither hound wanted to get much further than the carport. We were all back inside fairly quickly. They slept, I fixed some baked wild salmon and steamed brussels sprouts for a late lunch or early dinner. I kept the tv on in the background but it was tuned to a sports talk on FoxSports 1, Colin Cowherd.

Stella and I took off a little after 4:13pm, not really knowing what to expect. I decided we would go until we got too cold or high freezing winds hitting us once we made the first turn. We didn't make to the first turn before jumping over on the return path and heading home.

We were gone a total of 7 minutes.  LOL

With what I think is increased scratching by Stella, I looked back at photos of her to see if I could tell when this irritating habit started. Besides the weather changes, starting from the summer moving to fall, there were only two things different as possible causes.

I started giving her a monthly supplement of the GlycoFlex for her hips and joints plus I decided I would continue their monthly heartworm chews year round, just not through spring and summer. Could it be the heartworm meds that she is allergic to?

When I was taking Heidi to four different vets trying to solve her skin issues a few years ago, the same vet that had been involved in a study of allergies in dogs, told me they found the beef in the heartworm medicines spiked an increase in allergies. While dog food alone was only a cause in 3% of dog allergies

I've gone many years not giving my hounds a year round heartworm chews. The past two summers the incidents of heartworm in dogs in this area has exponentially increased. It concerned me when I heard the total number of cases just in the office I changed to in September.  I decided I'd rather have them take a chance having allergies instead of coming down with heartworm.

Of course it could be something else that is causing all the scratching. I am going to change their dog food from a chicken protein to a lamb protein in their next bag of dog food. Fish? The last time a tried a salmon blend of dog food, Heidi's skin allergies went off the charts, so fish will not be an option.

Stopping again to scratch. Even when it's freezing outside.

She was still happy to get outside. While Heidi has spent all day on the couch in a spot where the sunshine targets that part of the couch. Like a magnifying glass, that spot is pretty warm. Basset hounds are not stupid when it comes to sleeping in the sunshine, inside or outside.

I decided to answer an email question I received today, here just in case other readers are wondering. Someone asked me today by email if this blog was going to turn into a political blog. They didn't care for it. They only wanted to see the photos and read about the hounds.

So to answer that reader's question and for those that might be wondering ... NO, it is not. In fact yesterday's post will be my last about politics or anything government. I will also no longer be reading the news or watching the news just like I did from October 28 to December 9th.

That should give me plenty of time to read, listen to music or watch taped tv shows. Plus I will have less chances to get mad, irritate and mumbling to myself. There is nothing I personally can do about anything politically so I am going back to being a non-participant, until it is time to vote.

All is good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today ... ballgame on tv tonight!

It Feels Normal Again

It is starting to feel normal again. Yesterday had little research about the new watch and camera. I have just a couple of things to look up today. This will be our last day of high's in the 50s as we drop back to normal winter weather by tomorrow, into the 30's. You may be wondering what is Stella doing there, what has she found, is she eating anything? Well when I finish the dog food that is stored in the same container that you see in the 2015 Utah Trip, I turn that container upside down and lightly tap it on the concrete to get the rest of the "kibble dust" out of the container. Just like the kitchen floor, Stella likes to keep the carport concrete as clean as possible. She also likes dog food kibble in any shape or form.

While Heidi explored the front yard yesterday I headed down to the mailbox. Last Friday was the last time I checked the mail and found the camera in a box that barely fit in the mailbox. If it had not fit, my mail carrier would have taken the time to drive up the driveway and leave the box on the step in the carport. If I remember correctly, I made it home from Best Buy in time for delivery. This picture of Heidi was taken at the bottom of the driveway with the zoom staying at the far end of the status bar. Today I am going to find out what that yellow and light blue color is on the status bar ... I am guessing it's a way to tell me that a focused zoom is not possible at that range.

Our walk this morning started out a little different. I wondered if these were signs of things to come. We left a few minutes before 8am and it was really dark and overcast, to the point that I considered waiting an hour. Waiting would have better lighting for taking pictures but it was a good test to see what would be captured in low light. While I was checking some settings and taking pictures of the landscape, Stella had moved right after stepping into the field and collected as many burrs as she could ... unintentionally of course. They don't happen because the ragweed had died, they will also show up with the new growth next spring. I had Stella braced between my leg and arm so I could pull them off before they would get tangled in her coat. This was the best picture I could take with one hand and trying to hold her in place.

Once she felt I was finished, she trotted off one happy bloodhound ... on to more important things.

Last night was the last night for college football games, that are not all-star games. (I never watch those). Somewhat of a surprise win for Clemson but maybe not since they have won two of the last three national championship games. Of course I will move into college basketball now until the Final 4 the first week of April. One thing that is different, I eat less during those games, even on Saturdays where there might be a full day of basketball games being played. There are also many more games shown on tv at the same time than college football. Yes .... some of the pictures are out of focus this morning ... I'll be reading today about that problem.

I have tried my best to stay away from online and tv news again. I've been pretty successful too. I 'glanced' at the news the day the Democrats took their oath for their new positions gained in the last election. After less than 30 minutes of tv viewing and glancing at the online headlines ... I have moved back into "no news". That brings up a question or questions ... I have two websites I follow through my Feedly account. I manually added the sites so I can see their latest updates. So I can also delete them if I want to.

One of these dealt the refugee resettlement, then a few weeks ago the author moved to a new blog where she is now writing about fraud, criminal activity, politics ... things you never see or hear about in the news. I added something the other day I did not really want to but it's always been a subject that I have been concerned about. The attempt and at times success in spreading Sharia Law in the USA. That is a subject that would take multiple blog posts to cover. What is going in in the USA and NEVER covered by the mainstream media is amazing. If you want some idea ... do a search about "Sharia Law in Dearborn Michigan" ...

I just started to write more on that topic, but deleted it. I might do a post about it in the future and the concerns I have ... so is it important to be "aware" of what is going on in the news or is it better to "totally ignore" whats going on in the news, reported or not?

With all of the college football bowl games, playoff games and then adding all those NFL playoff games the past week ... my diet flew out the window and I paid for it in just a few short days. Breads, pasta, waffles etc are never a good thing for keeping weight off. In fact in five short days I gained two pounds.  Since changing my eating habits for the better three or four weeks ago, I have gain four pounds. Yet there were a couple of weeks where I had lost two pounds during that week. With college football over, there will be no more 12 hours spent watching games on tv and eating out of control. I've also gone back to really watching carbs intake or should I say wheat, and grains intake ... focusing more on veggies and salmon. This weight gain over took the daily large salad I eat for lunch. I have no doubts though that the weight will drop as soon as next Monday's 'weigh-in', based on my new 'focus.'

When I was in a car accident in March 2010, stopped on a highway 3-way stop and rear-ended by a high-speed truck pulling a horse trailer, I knew I'd eventually have problems with numbness of some sort. I have been to LMT's and PT's for treatment over these last 9 years. A couple of years ago my little finger on the right hand went numb, then a little numbness the ring finger. Chiropractors and Massage Therapists have not help as the numbness always returns. Each of those therapists gave me exercises I could do at home when that nerve problem flared up. Basically the finger numbness has never gone away.

Something new started a few months ago. It's not constant and I assume I aggravate it by the amount of time I sit in front of a computer. On my left shoulder, in front along the collarbone, it will go numb for short periods of time (minutes) where it feels the same way as hitting your 'funny bone' on your elbow. I probably need treatment 3x per week to really get rid of those two issues. Payment is not covered by Medicare nor my supplement insurance and to me it's not worth the $180-$200 per week out of my pocket for those three treatments. Compared to what other people go through at my age, it's really not that big of an issue for me. I am really lucky to have good health.

When I was at Best Buy on Friday picking up my new Apple Watch, an older lady asked me about the new Apple iPad she was looking at. I was waiting for the sales rep to come back with my watch. She told me her Apple MacBook Pro had died after 10 years of use and she was seriously considering replacing it with the new Apple iPad Pro they announced a month or so ago. I won't go into details but I probably spent almost an hour talking to her and the sales rep about the new updates to computer, smartphones, watches etc. We all agreed it was impossible to keep up with every new electronics development and/or release. As we talked about how Apple had gone with the bigger screen for their phones in 2017, this year's 2018 models were going to a smaller screen but the clarity was phenomenal.

About that time the sale rep reached into her pocket and pulled out "look what I am trying out for Verizon?" ... a SMALL smartphone probably not much bigger than the palm of my hand. I doubt it was 2" wide, not longer than 3-1/2" ... a screen that was just as clear and sharp as any retina display! In that small computer she had everything her Samsung 9 smartphone had. It was amazing!!!!

Yet as much as new electronics attract me I wouldn't buy one. It was small enough I'd probably lose it, or I'd have it in my back jeans or cargo shorts pocket then sit on it. It would also be too small to see the GPS map while I am driving lost going in circles or trying to find that turn I missed. Still for what it was ... it was nice to see, hold, tap extremely small icons to make it come alive. She said it was still in the 'testing phase' and that was the reason Verizon had not emailed me. I told her I had not seen any advertisements on tv or online. It was just another new electronic 'toy' that people will buy because it's different. I usually don't buy new unless my computer breaks, or my iPhone needs upgraded. I didn't think I would ever move from my 8+ iPhone but after seeing those screens on the new XR model, I'll probably upgrade in a year or two.

Speaking of electronics, as I become more familiar with the Apple Watch ... it is still impressive. It is 'connected' to my iPhone by bluetooth and the phone doesn't have to be that close for everything to work on the watch. For example I had the phone inside charging while I stood ~80' away at the mailbox down by the highway. I was still getting everything I would get standing right next to the phone. If it were not for the good iPhone 8+ camera I would trade this watch in within the 15-day limit and exchange it for the GPS/Cellular model because it is just that good. I had a phone conversation for almost two hours yesterday, ON MY WATCH !!! ... we both agreed our reception was much clearer than the smartphones we use for that long distance call. The verbal commands or the questions I ask Siri on my watch are just as fast responding as my iPhone. Once again ... amazing things inside a very very small piece of electronics.

I checked again for fleas on Stella ... there isn't any. I checked for any kind of skin irritations, redness or even a bare spot from her chewing more than I think she should ... there isn't any. She stops to scratch herself in the same places in the field and yard ... does that make it more of a habit? Inside she scratches herself as part of her self-grooming process ... does that make it a habit? Is it her food? Could be. I am not going to play that "chasing the tail" again with different dogs foods like I did for Heidi's skin two to three years ago. Her skin problem was much worse than what makes Stella scratch. It might also be the season, cooped up in the house much more than laying outside in the yard sleeping under the sunshine.

After normal use of the internet for about the same number of hours yesterday, I can say that the Wordpress Dashboard is the cause for the mysterious data leak. I did not have that problem with the "wp-admin/dashboard" Another reason I think that is the cause, the Wordpress techies emailed me last night telling me they were "still working on the problem" after I sent them a FYI email with my data use results for the day. I used only 400Mb yesterday after using 800Mb or more per day since moving the blog from Blogger to Wordpress. Each post still has pretty close to the same number of large (450Mb) number of pictures. So I'll keep an eye on that and see if the low data usage continues.

Google Chrome "Data Saver" app does not save as much data as it use to but the nice thing is, it will list in order every website you visit and how much data that website used. It goes from the highest data usage to the lowest. You can check 1 hour, 3 hours, a week, or a month ago .... Facebook use to be the #1 data sucker but recently it's been Wordpress .com by 10x as much.

I have run out of things to ramble on. I covered what I had listed in my "notes" program. Oh ... I will NOT be tuned into the President's nationwide speech tonight ... I'll either have the tv turned off or I'll be watching a basketball game during that time. It's a never ending battle in D.C. and it will never get better no matter who is in Congress nor who is elected President. Cooperation, negotiation, and compromise are words not even in their dictionary anymore. I'm going back to 'no news' ... screw it.

Heidi has risen and has a pulse, as she gulped some water then sprinted to the door after her morning nap. She was out and back in so fast I was not able to eject my SD card, insert it into the camera and take some morning pictures of her. This afternoon might be a good time for writing a post only about her, with pictures.

It's another fine day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.