An Afternoon Of Smoke

The lighting for taking pictures always seems better in the afternoon than the morning. I changed the camera settings from 'single point' to 'auto area' to see if was just my eyes or better quality. It was the perfect afternoon today with a slight breeze from the south, 71° and bright sunshine. I had yet to feel any kind of the pain I felt yesterday in my jaw. We did have a surprise visitor on our walk ....

You can barely see who it is but look closely and it's a butterfly checking one last time if there is anything left for a short snack.

With smoke filling the air and the smell inside my house because of the southern breeze Sadie, Stella and I took off for our 2nd walk of the day and our usual time around 3pm. With the hot summer temps gone we no longer have to wait until early evening for that afternoon walk. Heidi slept while we headed out.

I am seeing some signs of skin redness more and more on Heidi since we pulled out the wool blankets. Is she allergic and I didn't notice after all these years? I'll have to put them away and bring out some of the soft fleece blankets I have to see if her skin makes any changes.

It is pretty common that in the afternoons, Stella may whine to go for a walk but that doesn't maker her faster. She usually strolls slowly along the path or if she wanders off ... still nothing is fast.

It's nowhere near 80° but today she has her tongue hanging out while she walks ... it didn't feel that hot.

As we got closer to the house I made sure that neither hound got ahead of me, giving them a chance to run down over the bank to help supervise the neighbors brush fire. He told me today he likes winter weather and that was one of the reasons he moved from Texas/Louisiana. He also likes the Sycamore trees so it looks like those large tree trunks will be staying and will help keep the bank together and my driveway in place. I thought at one time the owner of that house would cut them down.

I didn't have to do much work to keep Stella in back ... she does that naturally but I caught Sadie a couple of times stopping to look ahead where the smoke was and I could tell she would like to get back to seeing the neighbor. While I told her "stay here" she walked most the time right beside me.

While I talked to the neighbor from my driveway ... Sadie stood and watched the large fire he had going. She was just waiting for me to give her permission to get a closer look ... that never happened.

I glanced out into the field at Stella and she was in that pose that shows she is looking to see what I am doing and if she can get away for more exploration. I've seen that pose too many times not to think otherwise ... I knew she was going to head north if she thought I wasn't paying attention.

She did ... slowly ... as if she was quiet I would not see her nor hear her as she walked away from the house toward the woods behind the other neighbors house.

She did not know I was watching her through my camera lens while walking toward the north edge of the yard. I wanted to see how far she would go before I called her name.

Once she heard her name being called she knew she was caught ... again ... an slowly walked toward the yard. Another gallant attempt to escape had failed ... but she never stops trying.

With the first baseball game on tv at 5pm I seriously considered an hour siesta before it started. It's too nice outside to take a short siesta but with three hounds sound asleep and one of them snoring, it's hard to stay awake sometimes.

I was reminded today why I stopped using Google Chrome as my browser and moved to an improved Safari after Apples macOS update. I had been helping a friend with some computer issues on her new iMac and Laptop when she asked if I used Chrome or Safari, since she might have to move from Firefox.

From that discussion I decided to use Chrome for a day to see if I could save some data. In the past, on average I'd save 10% data usage in a 30 day period. That doesn't sound like much but that 10% savings would give me an extra 2Gb in 30 days.

What I forgot happened today ... with all automatic updates turned off, all video autoplay disabled, adblocker app on ... before I could shut down Google Chrome I "something" running in the background used 600Mb of data in a matter of a minute. I was lucky to glance at my Activity Monitor just in time to turn off Google Chrome.

I've never liked Safari's all-gray Favorites Bar and the different tabs with open websites. The color icons of websites open on different tabs look much better on Firefox and Chrome. I find that Firefox is a pure 'data hog' ... and Chrome always has an unexpected data surge of some kind even with your computer locked down as tight as possible.

So I've moved back to Safari with all of those features built in, website loading speed just as fast if not faster as Chrome and advertising companies not following every step I take on the internet.

Other than that data surge ... it's been a really nice day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today.

Binge Watching Dexter

Wednesday afternoon I decided to start binge watching Dexter. I've been up watching show after show until 4am for the past two nights. I sit here Friday at noon with no food except some salad left.I had plans of grocery shopping on Friday's right after the morning hound walk ... but I am fighting off the urges to get back on the couch and turn on Dexter. I am one DVD away from finishing Season 3 ... there were 8 seasons to the show.

With that change in routine I have missed fantastic weather, except for the two dog walks per day without the camera. I did not turn on the first NFL game of the season last night, instead I watched Dexter until 4:15am and had to force myself to turn off the tv and go to bed. Almost 16 hours of straight viewing.

After I downloaded my camera card this morning I had only 19 photos since the 6th. I only loaded 9 of them into this blog post. I have not public blogged and as the days move on my desire to continue that blog disappears further and further away from me.

This pot of flowers I planted in August really did well. I'll remember that next spring when I fill all of my flower pots earlier this year.

Another reason I have not gone grocery shopping yet today, besides catching up on this blog ... is once again I have changed my mind or am uncertain what type of food to buy for the next week. I keep thinking which 'diet' I want to follow. Paleo, Vegan, Lacto-Veggie ???

Sadie has loved all the walks this week but the past two days of Dexter she has had to drag me off the couch and outside.

Heidi has even made it outside to soak up the sunshine on her own. I didn't have a camera on her yesterday but looked out the window as she laid in the backyard sleeping under the sunshine. She has seemed more energetic lately but has not gone on our walks.

Her toenails need trimmed. She needs a bath but her coat still remains softer than ever. Here weight is good and her allergies are under control this summer with no meds of any kind.

Stella continues to scratch but has no bare skin or hot spots. I still cannot find any fleas on her.

Since the tv has not been turned on the past two days to anything ... I didn't see the latest Hurricane updates until this morning. A huge one heading for Florida and will shoot up the east coast.

I put on jeans this morning instead of shorts. I even pulled off the Nike's from the top closet shelf to wear. I bought them 3.5 years ago, cheap model and really comfortable. I also put the spare tire cover back on the FJ on Monday night? maybe Tuesday night?

The burn pile and all the tall ragweed will be burned to the ground this fall or no later than next March/April. Supposedly that pole back on that path is the SE corner of my property.

I can't believe I don't have any urge to go buy food since I am totally out and a football weekend coming up, including the NFL games on Sunday.

I moved my camera settings back to 'jpg-fine'. I think the quality of these pictures will be okay for me.

Dexter or grocery shopping?????

As you can see it's another beautiful day today. I uploaded the blog pictures from my iMac, closed the post and then came out to the kitchen table to write the blog post so I could enjoy the day.

I am still happy about trading the Mini Cooper for the FJ. That black MCS Countryman is still for sale after two months. I probably should have kept the red stripes on it. Anyway I love the FJ. I know it will not be driven 4,000 miles per year and will last me as long as I live.

Another day of watching Dexter here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Invite Problem Update

First of all I can tell a difference in the first picture I take every day after I changed the settings to 'single point focus' on my camera.

As you see the field was "mowed" of soybeans and will most like see corn planted there next May.


I have found out some things for those unable to accept the invitation to join the blog. Of coarse those people cannot read this post, so I have sent them an email telling them the problem or what I am trying.

So this post is really used as a test because there are two way for me to set this up privately ... add your email address to a box named "add readers" ... some of you have been able to accept the invite with no issues. The other way Blogger lets me send an email to those I add every time I have a new blog post.

So this post is also a test for those on that email list ... I am on that list, using a different email address than the one tied to my blog. When I added my other email address to the "add readers" block, I got the email immediately, clicked the link and it processed without any problems.

I searched on Google with the exact error message some have sent me, not being able to get back in ... it has been a common problem with Blogger as far back as 2010 and nothing since February 2015. Of coarse on the Google Forum or Blogger help ... I have yet to find a solution from them although I am still searching.

It was interesting that as the blog owner not that I received an email tell me that I had accepted my own invite, just like I did for those that have accepted ... but what it said:

"The purpose of this message is to inform you that your invitation to my email address was accepted, but using a different email address. If your invitation has been accepted by someone you do not know, you can remove them by visiting the “Settings > Basic > Permissions” section of the Blogger dashboard.

Happy blogging,

The Blogger Team

Well that is NOT true Blogger or Google, I accepted using the same email address that the invitation was sent to.

Also if I sent an invite to someone that did not have an gmail address, those people were able to sign up using a 'google account' but I cannot figure out how someone can have a google account without having a gmail address.

It looks like rain ... but intellicast shows me it's just a day of being very heavy overcast, so I can mow the leaves and yard later this afternoon after it is good and dry.

The picture below is a 'teaser' of my post tonight with a very very very long story to back up the decision. It was an "accounting" based decision.

Well since Sadie has been tossing me various bones at me, begging me to play fetch inside ... I'll put on the waterproof hiking boots and get our first walk of the day in before their lunch. When you are up until 4am and can't get to sleep even after that, the day starts kind of late.

Why does Blogger have to be such a pain here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

The Bloodhounds Demand A Walk

With most of the day overcast, the hounds slept until lunch. If I forget what time it is, all three hounds are going to let me know it's time to eat. While Heidi was outside she had a fresh application of the water vinegar. She was looking a lot better than this but I missed a day and that proved to be costly in the improvement department.

Heidi wasn't going to go on the walk but Sadie, Stella and I gave it a shot. About ten feet into the field water came up over the edges of my shoes. That is how saturated the field was with the recent rains. The thing is, if it is that wet "down here", it will be worse the further we get from the house, even walking uphill.

Stella couldn't believe her ears when she heard me say "come on" as I walked back toward the house. Sadie was giving me her look of "you have to be kidding me".

We needed more time, more sunshine but that didn't mean the hounds were happy. Throughout the afternoon while I read or played Mahjong, they wanted to go outside. Once they got outside, they would stand and stare at me so I knew for sure they were only wanting to go for a walk and nothing else. We spent the afternoon doing that more times than I wanted to count.

Finally a little after 5pm I could feel it was warmer, the sun was out and the propped up thermometer in the carport corner said it was close to 70° ... that translates to the real temp of 65°.

Sadie and Stella were thrilled with the decision and took off trotting way ahead of me.

When I saw two pairs of ears flapping in the wind I thought they had found something to chase. Sadie got deep into the edge of the gully to check out the latest deer scent. Stella almost took off for the corner but turned around and came running when I called her name. I didn't feel like going her pace today since the gnats were out in force.

They both explored the edge of the field before we made the final turn for home.

It was Sadie today who wanted to get some running in. Stella never ran and basically took her slow time coming back. Was she protesting for not getting her way?

I gave the bloodhounds NexGard on April 24 for the first time after the amount of ticks was just out of control. Since that time I have not pulled off more than 2 or 3 ticks total. The stuff does work but I am never too keen giving my hounds chemicals to prevent that. I've been reading and have some websites that have natural meds to prevent fleas and ticks. I plan to change to that after the 24th of May if the ticks attack the hounds again.

The camera continues to work so I am not sure what happened for it to change it's mind. I do realize it will not autofocus if there is not enough light or the camera cannot tell enough difference in contrast between the hounds and the field. I've given up on my sharpness research since I had enough blog readers tell me the photos look fine. It has to be my eyes.

My MLB team, the Reds told me and all their other fans they were going to start rebuilding their team this year with a three year plan. I've seen better played baseball in high school. The last time I checked a few years ago the MLB Minimum wage was $450,000 per season ... I might be old but with a little work to get in shape I think I can still throw the ball over the plate.

Let just say my nightly viewing of the Reds has decreased at a rapid rate, where the interest has moved to watching movies if I have the tv turned on at all.

I almost forgot ... I did find a place that let me air my tires for free. One of the local garages that has done some maintenance work for me in the past let me use their air hose. I think I might take Bethers suggestion of buying a small tire pump to use here at home to keep the tires inflated at the correct psi.

The hounds are happy and sleeping again, I am happy because it's warmer ... things are great in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Playing With Different Camera Settings

After feeding the hounds their lunch around 1pm, I put on a fresh application of the water, vinegar mix for Heidi. I found out that you don't even want to take a day off from doing that. By today almost all the improvement she had shown ... was gone after taking a day off Sunday from any mixture.

I continued to read that link from my earlier post this morning about different focus settings on my camera. I ended up taking over a hundred photos just playing around with different settings this afternoon.

Although we had taken a walk earlier, Sadie and Stella still wanted to get me outside again. Stella didn't hesitate one second on what she wanted to do ... lay in the sun. Of course Sadie is too active to do that and as you can see Sadie couldn't stand still.

Once Stella thought Sadie was getting something, it was worth standing up to see what she was getting. It wasn't anything beside Sadie having her nose in the ground inside the tall grass. Consequently she laid back down.

Stella didn't lay there for long though and was up making sure that Sadie had not found some food that she should be getting. She then started that slow stroll out into the field by the bush line.

In a split second as I turned around they were both gone, hidden by the tall grass.



You can barely see Sadie in this photo. Further out in the field the grass does not even come up to my knees and isn't as thick.

Sadie decided she was going to make a run for it while Stella stay in her favorite part of the 'backyard'.

There is a story about Sadie's missing teeth on the bottom row. While she was a puppy and I was gone all day at my job, for her own protection and my sanity ... I kept her inside, in the largest black kennel you've seen for large breed dogs. Plenty of room. Yet she spent all day trying to get out.

More than a few times she had grabbed those those steel rods that formed the cage and could squeeze them together with her teeth and jaws. I could NOT bend them back using pliers. Eventually her teeth became loose and fell out.

Stella still strolling and once I looked through the camera lens and saw her take a couple of steps inside that brush line ... I called her name and she decided it was probably a good idea to head back to the house.

Only at her own pace ... very slow.

It may say it's 62° but it feels like 50°. A day for lot of reading and more coffee to stay warm. Rain is on the way so a early evening walk tonight may not happen.

After all the different settings I tried on the camera, I can't tell any difference in these photos plus the ones in the pervious post showing our afternoon walk after lunch. Heidi decided staying in bed was the best thing to do with the cold temperatures.

When will it get hot in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ?