What Will The Hounds Do This Week?

It seems like any kind of routine change happens on Monday's with these hounds. So you have to wonder, what will the change be this week or is it even going to happen just because it's Monday. I had the first change by getting up an hour earlier but only after I felt a bloodhound nose nudging my arm and some light whining as Stella was standing next to the bed. You might think she wants to go outside to pee but she only wants food and to eat her breakfast. With bright sunshine that early I had no problem starting my day.

I remembered the other day I told myself I would trade all of this rain for sunny skies even with winter cold temps. Well today I got my wish. We didn't take our first walk until 10:30am but it was only 25° and yes, it felt cold. Yet it was nice not having to walk through a wet field.

Stella was into adding protein to her diet this morning. That is about as nice as I can say it. I hate that habit of hers. Sometimes she will stop if she hears me say 'No' but other times she might decide to be stubborn and act like she doesn't hear me.

We had a late start this morning because I spent time reviewing and adding some things to my reviews of my Apple Watch and my Canon G9 X camera. I started them months ago when I bought each of them the first week of January. I am happy with both purchases.

I am somewhat surprised I like drinking black coffee after decades of drinking coffee with two teaspoons of sugar in each 12oz cup. I also find that I don't have a feeling of bloat after those two cups of coffee like I had been feeling lately. I don't have one grain of sugar in my house, with no plans of buying any. Some times I will add some heavy whipping cream but that does not add any kind of sweetness to the coffee. 3rd day in a row with no sugar in my coffee.

With it being so cold outside I will still stay inside reading books. I might pull a movie off the shelf to watch today. Usually when it gets near to the baseball season (31 days to opening day), I like to watch movies I have about baseball. It has almost turned into an annual tradition. Last night the movie feature was "Money Ball", a true story that did just like they thought ... it has changed the way baseball rosters are put together and the way the game is played at the major league level.

I basically let Stella walk on her own with very little verbal herding this morning.

Stopping and thinking ... not sure about what but she did not move from that position to scratch herself, she just sat there for a short time then came trotting toward me.

Finally she decides it's time to head home.

A little jogging to catch up with me. Plus she thought she heard me say something about "lunch".

With food on her mind she didn't take the time to inspect all the trees, she wanted to get inside as soon as possible ... would lunch be served?  :)

With it cold outside most of the day Heidi flat refused any photo session of her today. She was outside long enough to relieve herself and then SPRINTED back to the door to be let inside. Late in the afternoon while I was playing hours of Mahjong, Stella walked over to the kitchen door and nudged the doorknob with her nose to let me know it was time for our afternoon walk.

Although chilly, it was close to 40° and still sunny, so no complaints about the weather. As you can see Stella did her normal very slow afternoon pace.

As I post this I am returning to the couch for more book reading. Not much going on today here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Super Bowl LIII Sunday

It was nice feeling the weather warming up Saturday at noon. Still we didn't do much, at least nothing to blog about Saturday night. Right after the hounds took their break outside right after their lunch I headed to the local library to hopefully pick up some brand new books that had arrived. I receive a weekly email from them every Saturday morning on new arrivals for books, DVDs, audio books and CD's. These books are also new releases in bookstores.

Speaking of bookstores, a major brand, Barnes & Nobles Book Store in Bloomington is closing or did close February 1st. When I thought about it, somewhat of a surprise then I asked myself when was the last time I browsed the store with a hot cup of Starbucks in my hand? When was the last time I bought a book? When I thought of other people with similar visits or purchases as mine, then it wasn't a surprise that it was closing. Sad but not a surprise.

While I went to the mailbox and Heidi roamed the front yard, Stella didn't move from this spot the whole time we were outside. Only to get up and go back inside.

I was lucky to pull two of the books off the "New Books" shelf, one that I wanted and one was something that looked interesting. I then scanned their displays of interesting books sitting out on display and pulled another new book from that collection. The book that looked interesting is "Notes On a Nervous Planet" by Matt Haig. I read 26 pages late last night. The book I could not put down all afternoon was "Team of Vipers" by Cliff Sims. I read half of that book, with small print and a lot of detail. I'll finish it today before the Super Bowl game at 6:30pm. The third book I picked up was "The Deep State" by Jason Chaffetz. That looks to be another fast read once I start it tomorrow or late tonight, depending on if I finish the Team of Vipers book. I believe The Deep State does exist.

I finally pulled myself off the couch last night, put the book down and took Stella for a early evening walk after 6pm. The air smelled of smoke but I am not sure which of my neighbors have a fireplace. I took a few photos but all I really wanted was to do the walk as fast as possible so I could get back to reading. There was enough time when we got back to fix some dinner, baked salmon and steamed broccoli. With all of my fruit gone, I really crave sweets at night.

This morning was a different story. It was already close to 50° by the time we stepped outside, over an hour later than normal. The skies were blue and the air was clear of any smoke smell. It was an enjoyable walk yet I could still feel just how hard the ground was as we walked. It felt as if it was still frozen. Later I did see puddles of frozen ice. I also found the mole tracks in my yard were hard as a rock.

The Canadian geese filled the skies today. As I watched them, they seemed lost and were heading east instead of south or southeast. Stella had no interest in looking at them nor did she stand still trying to figure out what that sound was ... she kept her nose to the ground and kept tracking scent.

A couple of different groups still heading east ... but it gets more interesting in the next few photos.

Once they were in the skies above the field behind the field we were walking, they broke the group up and flew in circles, only to head back west out of formation.

I had no idea what they were doing ... it didn't look like they did either.

Normally at this point of the walk is when I can catch Stella running. I trotted to get as far ahead of her as possible but as you see ... she walked and didn't even trot ... just enjoying a Sunday morning stroll.

Obviously a lot of animal traffic in the yard last night.

Making that same right hand 90° turn so she can walk along the side of the house to finish her walk. How long will that habit last?

Of course none of the blue skies or warmer temps changed Heidi's daily schedule.

I don't think she was happy I woke up her taking photos a little past 9:30am.

I have not read or seen anything about the Super Bowl today. On purpose. I have no idea if there is a crisis going to happen, nor who the halftime entertainment is. In fact seven hours before the official start time (not the kickoff) I am still not sure that I am even going to watch it. I might tune in to see what is going on or I can check the score on my phone while I am reading books. IF it becomes a 'political statement' I will turn off the tv as fast as I turned it on.

What I will probably do is take advantage of this great weather today, go outside and pick up all the small tree limbs or twigs from the yard and add them to my burn pile. That is what the blue trashcan is for, collection. Plus it's flipped over in back of the house under the overhang too keep it from becoming a rain collector that would be solid ice even today. Or ... I'll spend all afternoon reading since the books are that good.

A beautiful Sunday here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.