It's Wet But It's A Friday

We woke up to the sound of rain but all three hounds headed for the door to be let outside before my feet even touched the floor. It was barely daybreak but obviously they were ready to start their day and that always means breakfast. I knew Stella would not leave the protection of carport, Heidi would sneak out under the roof overhang and Sadie would sprint to the field, rain or no rain. As I poured kibble, Stella stood at the door looking inside and waiting for me to finish.

The past few days the hounds have determined for some reason, that it's time to start getting up before 7am and start the day. By the time I finish making my coffee, they have all finished their meal and have headed back to sleep in different spots scattered throughout the house. They are awake for no longer than 10 minutes, 15 at the most.

Within the next hour the rain had stopped, the temps were even cooler than before and Sadie thought it was time for her walk. I agreed and before I could step 5' into the field, Stella was already trying to sneak away toward the neighbor's yard a vacant lot away. She could not believe I caught and stopped when I called her name.

After telling her to either join Sadie and I for the walk or go back inside, she decide a walk would be nicer so she headed toward our path to join us. She walked into my leg as she moved around me on the path and kept walking. She will not walk around me or Sadie when she is heading somewhere. Even in the house she will walk right on your foot if you are in her way.

As the yellow daisy and orange wild weed flowers die off, these are taking over the field but mostly just behind the house. It's very interesting to see they are just in that area, for reasons I will not write about. Still the location of these purple flowers make me wonder.

I did not prefer to take a photo of the butts of bloodhounds but wanted to show they were both wanting on the path. Stella wanted to keep her paws dry as possible and Sadie had claimed the path as hers. It took a while but Sadie finally veered off on her own path she follows along the edge of the field.

It is one of those days where the rain will be off and on. We might catch some of the storms that are in the forecast but we always seem to miss some as they move south of us. These wet conditions have put some projects on hold while giving me the chance to start my new drainage system along the back of the house.

It will not be right next to the house but about 3' out, or at the edge of the grass and river rock. The system I have now I put in 20 years ago and I have noticed that water is starting to puddle too close to the house instead of draining. With this rain it will be the perfect time to dig my 12" ditch and pull out the old drain and install a new on with a gravel base.

The hounds kept their lead on me this morning. They did their normal route, stopped at their normal spots in the field and I didn't have to say a word to either of them to get them to follow me home. On the way back they stayed on the path and walked right behind me most of the way, out of the range of the camera.

As I see the weeds growing around these rolls of hay, it looks like they may not come back to pick them up. I was told last summer by the son that cuts the field, they didn't need the hay but they cut the field as a favor to the neighbor who owns it because he gives them some of his land to farm on. Evidently they have gotten out of the cattle or horse business because a few years ago that same son told me they used all 32 rolls of hay during the winter.

I took this with a 50mm focus to show how far the hounds get out in front of me at times. Another strange thing is, they never turn right to check out what I have called "the far right corner" in past posts. I am guessing there is no to little deer traffic coming out of the gully. I believe the ATV action last summer in that gully and in this field chased the deer away. Deer experts ... am I wrong? I know nothing about deer or any animal that is wild.

With all the weeds and wild growth in the field I can barely see the paths that we follow. When it's grass you can see where I have worn down a path, so defined that Google Maps will pick it up on their satellite photos.

No photo today to prove it because Sadie kept moving when I tried to take a photo of her right side ... but I could not feel that lump this morning before our walk. It shocked me enough that I stepped back to take a look at it and saw nothing along her stomach line.

I still wonder what effect if any, deer scat has on Stella. The vet told me not to worry about it.

I guess I was wrong. You can see that lump on Sadie's right side. As I looked at it as she walked by me, it would disappear based on her walk or running.

Stella has turned 9 years old and seems to be moving a little slower by the month. She wanted in the back of the FJ the other day when I was unloading groceries but couldn't jump like she could last year. She has no problem though climbing on my bed in the middle of the day for her siesta.  LOL

A smaller roll of hay but with the weeds starting to hid the roll you have to wonder if it will ever leave the field. Surely they will not leave it there.

Even though it was a steady rain this morning when we woke up I cannot say the field was any wetter than it is sometimes with hard ground and heavy dew. I still use the North Face snow boots as my rain boots. At least they are being used in some way.

Property line pole, where the neighbor told me he wanted it left there after the survey. What is interesting his survey does not match my survey from 25 years earlier, completed by the same survey company. By his survey I have gained a lot of yard, but now there is the question ... is the fence along my driveway on my neighbors property or my property?

At the base of the driveway bank it shows that to be the center line of a 70 year old railroad right-of-way. It is 15' on each side of that center line. Which puts my property line 13' past the fence line. It's much like the right-of-way the state highway owns, yet people have yards and mow within that range of property.

When I finish my projects and am bored some morning next month I will take a trip downtown to the courthouse and have someone explain to me what all of that means.

Stella made an abrupt right turn as she headed for the house. She doesn't like getting her paws wet any longer than she has to and whenever it rains she feels the driest way to walk is on the river rock that is along the back of the house.

Well the sunshine is out at 11:07am. I might start digging my ditch after the hounds have their lunch. That sounds like a lot of work and besides it is Friday, a day off.

All is good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ... thanks for stopping by.

The Hounds Roll Along

Although the days change the hounds stay the same day in day out. The weather might make them deviate from their routines but overall nothing changes with them too much, and me either. A couple of things that have, cooler temps and my 'to do' list items keep getting marked off as I complete them. I knew that once I got started the momentum would start to roll. The hounds take me for walks when I need a break.

With the extra kibble I am giving Stella I can tell that she is gaining a little weight and her ribs are starting to disappear. I also caught her trotting a few times this past week during our morning walks.

Stella was sure that she was out of my line of sight. I can't remember what I was saying to get both of their attention. Sadie's lump on the right side has not changed.

I am stuck right now on what to say ... I am almost speechless and out of ideas.

Stella's collar made it through the last load of laundry. Looks like new and she was really happy to wear it again. It's the one she came with. Hair is growing back on her ears and inside of her legs. Maybe she had only summer allergies?

One morning while I was taking pictures of butterflies and clouds, Stella was making her attempt of sneaking away toward the backyard of the neighbor. She was walking with purpose, a little faster than what she walks near me and was ignoring all of my calls.

Sadie decided on her own it was time to make a rescue.

The only problem was when she stopped to look for Stella, she was facing the wrong direction. She was facing north and Stella was walking northwest.

It seems on every late afternoon walk, on the way back to the house, Stella will stop stand and smell something toward the neighbors a couple of houses down. Or it might be that she hears someone. On this day she decided that standing wasn't going to be good enough ... so she sat, not moving facing the direction she does every afternoon. I am sure it's food she smells.

No ribs showing.

You can see the lump on Sadie in front of her rear leg. At times when she is standing still, I can barely feel the lump at all.

Through all of these walks ... this is what Heidi does 99.9% of the time. She must be preparing for the freezing temps in the winter. Well back to my tasks at hand ... I've really been in the mood to work lately. I'm getting a lot done.

It's been a great summer in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana this year.

Sadie Is Curious About All The Excitement

Sadie was wondering what all the excitement was about after the blog exploded with increased traffic, three different friends texting me nonstop last night to talk about 'the' lipoma. She couldn't figure out why I kept trying to get on the right side of her with the Nikon or iPhone camera in my hand. What was going on ?? After all she had ran on both of her walks yesterday, got a ride in the FJ and never missed one piece of kibble.

So as we stepped outside on a cool morning, just like all other mornings she nudged my hand with her wet nose and then took off sprinting into the field. I am amazed by the amount of weeds that have taken over the field since they cut it in early June. It was almost all grass before the cut and now it's hard to see any of it.

Stella finds it though, before she starts every walk at the edge of the yard/field. Nothing like some nice wet grass to eat before she starts her half mile wander. She had no plans to escape today as she trotted onto the path of worn weeds and followed me until I got out of her way.

The added dropped the cool temperature of 68° a few more. It felt really nice compared to inside the house, which was very warm as it retained the heat from yesterday. I turned off the AC and opened the windows about the time I turned off the lights for the night. Hard to resist low 60's and low humidity.

A lot of scent to track this morning. There were some deer scat added to their searching results at times but not a lot. Even Stella thought a couple of times she had found a track that lead into the thick brush along the woods.

As I looked at them walking together I still had a hard time understanding that both of them weight the same yesterday. I even let each hound sit on the scale long enough for the digital scale to stop on a number ... then a few more minutes in case it wanted to be more accurate. Each time, 79 pounds.

The more I thought of our vet visit, an office I have been going to for 17-18 years, the more I realized that things had changed over time and I will moving to the vet in town. She is the same vet I took Heidi to almost four years ago with skin allergies. I remember the responses I got as Heidi walked into the office. I remember how well the vet explained everything during her inspection where I had to ask very few questions.

Yesterday afternoon the decision was final when I realized I had missed them not taking a blood sample of each bloodhound to check for heartworm. It was not on my invoice either so I called the receptionist who I have known for those 17-18 years.
 

When I asked I found out that the heartworm test was no longer part of the annual exam "Unless you ask for it" ... I remained calm with my pulse shooting through my Garmin Smart watch and my mouth wanting to rip into that answer. As I hung up the phone I knew that was it ... I was never going back to that place.

In the land of hot humid summers with fleas and mosquitoes ... and you don't even do a heartworm test unless asked to do ... my bullshit flag is flying high today.

You would think with all of the condensation you see on that plant/weed that it has to be humid and sticky early in the morning ... but humidity is sitting at 63%, high for some, low for me.

A mysterious light leads Stella down the path. A little news on Stella's lack of running or trotting in the past year. I have not seen her full out run in the field for so long I can't remember the last time she did. This morning with the morning breakfast kibble waiting for them in their own stainless steel bowls, I walked to the door to let the three hounds inside.

Unlike every morning, only Sadie and Heidi were waiting to run inside. Stella who is usually first, was not around ... until I was about to close the screen door. She was sprinting as fast as she could, trying to make the turn around the FJ and make it before I close the door ... sprinting is the key word there ... for food.

Today's photo of the fatty tumor I am keeping an eye on ... dead center. I am making an appointment with my 'new' vet in town. I had a couple of comments last night on the blog relating their experiences when their dogs had the same thing. Like what I read on the website searches I did ... surgery is needed only when it makes the dog uncomfortable to sit or lie down. Another said her vet sucked out the fat with a needle inserted, the FIRST time she was at the vet.

All good information.

I always read the comments and try to reply to all of them too.

It was a long slow process completing this walk this morning. I let the hounds do their own thing at their pace. Once I wasn't sure we would ever leave the back of the field.  LOL

I am not sure why I had my head down walking, or what I was looking at ... I didn't miss him. He never moved as I took 2-3 photos hoping to get a good one. I passed him and stood and waited for Sadie to see what she would do. I now changed my statement from a few days ago where I thought Sadie was chasing a field mice to a toad. As Sadie's nose came closer I was expecting that I would have to yell at her to leave the toad alone. He was still there as she slowly walked right past him, giving him no acknowledgement that she had seen him.

The mole traffic is increasing on the north end of the yard. I went out with my tamper to smash those small dirt hills back to ground level ... that usually makes no difference.

Sadie was ready to get back inside for her late morning nap until lunch is served. She did lay on her right side last night under the coffee table and slept while I watched the baseball games. She shows no sign of pain and really she shouldn't if it's just a fatty tumor.

Yes, they are snow boots ... but they keep my feet dry on these morning walks where the field is covered in heavy dew.

I had a lot of ideas on what to do this afternoon after the hounds were fed their lunch. I ended up doing other stuff. It was nice this afternoon, in fact all day. The low humidity was making all the difference in the world and when I saw how low it was on a weather app, I looked at two other weather sites and confirmed it was 41% around 1pm. Stella thought it would be a great time for me to pull out the hound mitt and get a nice brush.

Sadie had so much hair being collected by the mitt, yet not all of it, I had to use the wire brush to get her undercoat. For some reason this year she has never stopped shedding. I barely had any hair come off of Heidi and brushed her while she slept. She has basically refused to leave the couch, only to eat today. She loves the air conditioning.

Since I was doing hound coats I decided it was also the perfect time to clean their ears. I don't use any commercial ear cleaner, just a basic 50/50 mix of water and vinegar. The vet is always impressed with how clean the ears are for the bloodhounds and basset hound, since their ears are built to collect wax and yeast. Their ears don't get much air and it takes routine cleaning to keep them from needing medical attention.

Stella was still amazed by the great weather around 2pm. She went to the door to be let out ... she had plans which you will see within the next two photos.

This morning I was about to make an appointment with a different vet, located downtown. While feeling the lump on Sadie it was not rock hard but it wasn't squishy like it was yesterday. It felt more the normal stomach although the size was still the same. I decided to wait until tomorrow morning and see if it goes back to having some fluid, gets harder or reduces in size. I know today based on what I felt, there was no fluid that could have been taken out by needle. I didn't feel any kind of fluid like I did yesterday.

I should have never cut my yard a notch lower last Sunday ...

It wasn't soon before Stella had had enough sunshine and she was more than ready to get back into the cool living room or on the cool kitchen floor so she could take a nap.

Sadie must have felt the same way because once I yelled her name, she came running out of the woods all the way to the yard, brushed my knee and headed to the door.

I have had a few email subscribers tell me that they did not receive their email about my new post yesterday until about 11am today. That is about 16 hours later than when I posted it. Since I also subscribed by email to see if the system works, I had the same results. Blogger has always been slow with their email notifications.

I guess you can probably tell the larger tall photos were taken with my iPhone 8+ camera. Sometimes I forget I have that camera when I am outside. It's better for low light and indoors than trying to zoom in on the hounds.

Hard to believe it's Thursday already, as if it makes any difference. Now if I can find some motivation to wash the Z4, things will be back to normal.

I'm still just hanging out in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ... not doing much.