A Nice Peaceful Day

The hounds didn't wake me up this morning like they normally do but when I sat up with my eyes wide open for some reason this morning ... it was 4:10am. I knew the chances of me getting back to sleep were slim so I get out of bed, turn on the light and both hounds are already up laying the living room wagging their tails ... they know breakfast will be served soon.

That first photo was taken a little after 5:30am. So it was normal routine, hounds eat and back to sleep within 5-10 minutes. I sit outside with a cup of coffee watching the day wake up. A lot of thinking does NOT happen at that time of day. I'm just there.

I was surprised the Aerostat was still airborne this morning ... I had to get up around 1am to shut the bedroom window because it was raining hard and the wind was blowing the rain inside the bedroom. I checked the weather before I decided to open the window for the night ... it showed there was a 0% chance of rain all night long.

This is my view from the sitting position in that ugly but comfortable rubber chair.

Stella has become use to being on the "Injured List" with instructions not to take walks for 10-14 days. So the times we use to walk ... she sleeps besides my chair while I drink coffee.

I noticed this morning when I let Heidi out she was walking along the fence line. It was dark so I could not really see what she was doing nor why she was walking that way. After the sun came up I could see that small dry area along the fence. It's the lighter color rock that is dry. In Indiana she would walk under the roof overhangs when it was raining or had rained ... here along the fence.

I rode my 35 year old Romic bike this morning for a little more than a hour. It has gears that are too big sometimes so I don't ride it a lot until I get in better shape. So when I came back home the AC had kicked on ... Heidi decided she would stay inside to enjoy the cold air.

Stella thought it was the perfect time to get in some sun bathing in BEFORE lunch instead of her normal AFTER lunch.  LOL

I barely caught the Aerostat slowly lowering to it's landing spot, which I have ridden my mountain bike out there within view ... I am shocked that is were Brown Canyon is compared to the rest of the mountains.

You would not believe with a sky like that ... it was raining !!!!

The gray thunderhead clouds were above the house and opposite these photos. I thought about going for a hike, take some photos then the clouds started rolling in. Then I got busy making phone calls I needed to make and before I knew it the afternoon was over. Of course the hounds slept their afternoon away .... although Heidi did wake up at 4:10pm to let me know it was time for her bone treat they get every afternoon.

Not much else going one. Stella's vet appointment is at 9am tomorrow so she will at least get a new bandage ... that last visit just to change bandages and check the healing was $34 ... I know I know ... it's not that much and if you have dogs of any breed eventually you will start adding up the vet bills. It's normal. Some things I am just cheap about spending money ... other things, not so much.

Another beautiful day in the Wild West ... I love it here.

Beautiful Day Today

After a few days of bad weather only starting in the early afternoon, the rain finally showed up at the house last night with strong winds. I watched a little of it, it wasn't anything major compared to what I saw this past spring in Indiana. With that rain, the temps dropped from 94° to 62° just like that. It wasn't even 7pm yet and the cool breeze felt fantastic. Stella is getting use to the loud thunder and only looks at it to analyze instead of whine.

The mornings were the typical sky show and great weather but if I did not get home from my morning bike ride by 10am, it was already up to 90°. A couple of mornings I didn't get back before then. After the snake by the garage door last week I aways look at the base of the garage door now when I pull in with the car or the bicycle. These storms would show up around between 1pm-2pm, after bright sunny skies just a few hours earlier.

No hiking this week. There were to days this week where I was set to go but a final check on the weather radar and looking outside cancelled them. These storms were moving in fast and covered all of the mountains in any direction. I've seen photos on Facebook of flooded streets in Bisbee, Douglas and Benson.

For those that are into bike riding, I added my bike blog on the side bar. I had been keeping a training journal on my computer but once again decided a blog format was better at retrieving past information instead of looking through Apple Pages for information I may want a year from now. Plus there might be something I write about that will help someone over 65 years old wanting to get back into cycling or just starting.

I have never felt better and rode 5 days this week with plans of getting my 6th day of riding in tomorrow on a week ending easy ride. Plus my Strava app uploads my rides automatically on the new blog on the left side. You can click the map for a more detailed view, along with a scale below the map, showing how much I rode 'up and down.

This morning's sunrise was fantastic. Stella and I were on the walk barely after sunrise and it was a little dark. Cold at 64° but great weather.

The moon was still there when we got back ... it was time for coffee and 32 miles of bike riding.

With the cooler temps Heidi spent more time than she ever had since moving, exploring the backyard. With the cooler temps those stones are not too hot to walk on like they were before this morning.

For the first time that I can remember she sat on the patio while we were all outside enjoying mid-day sunshine.

Besides her walk, this is all Stella did today. All these photos were taken within 10 minutes ... that's all it took for her to decide it was too hot to sunbath any longer. Time to head inside and enjoy the AC. The temp had just crawled above 80°.

Her tongue hanging out of her mouth means she needs or wants air conditioning.

College Football 2019 has started today with only two games that I am interested in watching. With all the things to do outside my days of watching 13 straight hours of college football on Saturdays like in past years are over ... you've heard it here first. I'll watch only a few different teams and will put a lot of them on DVD to watch later when I am not outside enjoying the day. IF the fall weather is like today ... I'll never be home.  LOL

My neighbor brought over a baby rat snake he found in his garage ... so that vent in the lower garage wall for ventilation will be their entry way.  One thing strange I have noticed, on two separate occasions I have had birds banging their beaks on my windows as if they are trying to get inside. They are very loud and almost as active as a woodpecker. Once I tapped the window or pulled the blinds back, they flew away.

I continue to lose weight daily and feeling stronger riding the bike. Yet, the best new thing may be the massage bar and massage roller I bought a week or so ago. That takes away a lot of after riding pain, moves the bad stuff out of the muscles. All good stuff. Is it a coincidence that I have slept every night since using the bar and roller, through the night and do not get up?

A great Saturday here in the Wild West.

Stella Has Changed Routines

After Sadie was gone in September 2018 I always wondered if Stella wanted to walk in the field because she wanted to or because I wanted to. There were too many times I would have to practically beg her to join me on the morning and afternoon walks, causing me to wonder. She is always changing her routine but recently the change has been huge. This is her response 99.9% of the time when I ask her "you wanna go for a walk" and there's her answer.

Where she use to whine around 9am just months ago to take the walk through the wet field, only canceled by rain, anymore she is sound to sleep at 9am and will join Heidi in sleeping right up until lunch is served. With the hot afternoons I try to walk early evening but it doesn't matter to her. Here it is late morning and the response is the same. "I'm not going anywhere no matter how many times you say let's go"

With lunch served, if it's not raining she spends about an hour sunbathing. I can't help but think those warm stones make her hips feel better or her back.

Heidi enjoys her bed now being right next to the central air vent. With the temps in the 80's now, she will spend most of her afternoons here, next to the cold air. I have not caught her on camera but she still likes to go outside on her own every afternoon, do a little wandering and then lay under the sunshine if it isn't too hot. Otherwise ... right there on her dog bed.

I decided to watch Stella's walk one day. I was even prepared to follow her next door if that is where she wanted to go. I'd even go as far as two houses down if she wanted to check out the water temps for the neighbor's pool. So I stood and watched to see what she would do.

It turned out to be nothing more than the "new normal", her afternoon walk and only walk of the day for so long that I can't remember when it started to be this way.

Yes, the hay is that tall again, where you can barely see her tail. All the rain has been good for the hay growth but the fields across the highway are still not planted and it's raining again as I type this. About the time it dries out enough to get tractors and plows in the field, it rains.

While I was giving her the chance to go anywhere, she walked from the previous photo over to our return path and came home without a word of any kind coming from my mouth. She does that day after day and goes no further than she has to, to relieve herself.

She likes to shake off all the hay seeds and yellow pollen before she comes back inside.

And the "official" end of the walk by walking along the side of the house.

Sometimes her walks are not even what you have seen. They are not any longer than a quick search on the driveway and back to the house. A few times I attached the 25' retractable leash to her thinking that might lead her to the field ... she sits there and makes sure her 85 lbs are as low as possible so there is no way I can move her. Similar to a heavy rock you are trying to move.

Along with her changes to routine, I have seen and felt changes with me and blogging. I admit I love having the extra time to enjoy the day and I seem to get a lot more done around here without taking the time to put a blog together. I take daily photos but not nearly as many as I did in full blogging mode. Nothing official to announce but a post or some hound photos here and there are about all I can come up with.

Both hounds will be 10 years old this summer. Is that the reason for a slower pace summer this year? I think Heidi may be 10 years old since her age is really an estimate. When I picked her up 8 years ago from GABR they estimated she was around 1-1/2 years old but no way to tell. She shows no signs of older age except some graying on her nose and around her eyes.

Stella is so laid back in personality that there isn't a gray hair anywhere on her. I have noticed more crud around her eyes this summer than usual, from the pollen in the air. She still gets the hip/joint supplements 2x per day but there are times she looks like her hips are bothering her as she tries to lay down. No yelping of any kind but she takes it slow and easy to lay down.

Things are good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Enjoy The Sunshine

Every morning lately Stella is not certain she wants the morning walk. She has to think about it, sniff a little, thinks some more and look around. Today was a morning where she decided she would head out. Until she hit the field, she still wasn't sure. The grass yard was really wet and she does not like getting her paws wet.

It's official ... another morning walk in the books.

After lunch she couldn't resist to take a nap in the sunshine. Her nose was pressed into that stepping stone.

Heidi prefers grass if she is going to sleep.

She went outside three or four different times in the afternoon. She did explore the field again alone but spent most of her time in the yard.

She is a much happier hound in warm weather. Like me, she is not a winter person.

I took a little time for some baked salmon and peas with Kerrygold nonsalted butter. The next big project ... I am painting not just a couple of room like I had planned but all the rooms plus all the ceilings. Luckily I love to paint houses, inside and out. A bottle of Ibuprofen will be nearby right before I call it a day.

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