A HUGE surprise at the end of this post!!!
I don't know if it is the cold weather (51°) this morning or Stella just decided to feel overcome with energy. For the first time in over a year, maybe close to two, Stella was running full spend and as fast as she could. We are on pill short of 60 day having joint/hip supplements so they must be working.
Before I could take my second photo, Stella was already at the field eating grass and I wasn't 30' in the field when I turned just in time to see her sprinting past me. Not trotting or galloping but sprinting as fast as possible. It's been so long since I have seen her do that I can't remember the actual number of months or years.
She was even moving around from place to place in the field and then running back to the path.
While she had to relieve herself I kept walking and moved quite a bit in front of her. I wanted to see what she would do that far away from me. Would she sneak away or head for the neighbors? She had not been next door in many months. I'd have to look it up to see how long ago she was checking out their backyard.
Still in view but barely. I had to use the SX530 zoom to keep track of her.
Then just like that she had disappeared in the tall grass. She didn't come when I called her so I had no choice but to walk to the middle of the field behind the house to see if I could intercept her possibly heading north to the neighbors.
Glancing left to right as I walked, I barely saw her to the left of me. She ignored me calling her name.
About the time I got to her, she took off running toward the path. It was then I remembered she didn't have her collar on this morning. I took that off of her yesterday afternoon because each time she stopped to scratch inside or outside, the spot she was scratching was near that collar.
It was a shock to see her acting just like Sadie use to on these morning walks. It was as if there were too many scents for her to take time with. She was moving faster than my camera could catch. I ended up with a lot of blurry photos that I did not post here.
With the cooler weather last night when it went to the low 40's for overnight lows, it seemed as if there were deer traffic or other late night animal travelers. She was sniffing the air toward the north a lot during the walk.
From the angle of this photo you would almost think that was Sadie instead of Stella. It was between February 2017 - May 2017 that she was mysteriously all skin and bones. I remember that I could see her spine and ribs during that time.
She caught me off guard and by the time I got the camera focused and in position to take photos of her running ... she took off around the corner and ran to the 'far right corner' of the field. Sadie and Stella use to run to this area a lot last winter but never this summer. I let her go on her own just to see what she would do.
The camera didn't catch it but she was running around the corner with her head down and then ran across the area to the edge of the woods.
I was surprised that not only she came my direction without me calling her name ... but she trotted right past me and headed along the edge of the field.
Strong winds from the south today.
That light color you see on the side of her head is her ear flipped inside out from running too fast. At first I thought she was taking off on me and I'd have to start running after her ... luckily she slowed, so no running was needed. I'm not in shape for that.
It was great to see her take off like that. It looked like she was back to enjoying all the field has to offer like she use to. She use to love to run.
No matter how fast she was running or what part of the field she was in, she always looked toward the north sniffing the air.
She took off again at full speed. What had gotten into her? Where did all of this energy come from?
I don't know what she smells but she was obviously very very interested in something north of us.
Did she sit to rest? I have no idea because about the time I was close to her ....
She took off running again and didn't stop.
Who knows, maybe she figured out that she could run again and not feel hip or joints.
It is times like these she needs to be wearing her collar to give me something to tug on, when she gets stubborn.
Trotting away again.
More exploring.
Then a sudden stop and a look north. I look in that direction and saw nobody outside, no cats, other dogs, or deer.
There is a definite worn path about where her front paw is. It comes from the center of the field behind the house, follows the brush line along the north side of my house, leading down to the highway. In the winter snow I can usually see deer tracks moving this way that cross the end of my driveway and across the highway into the field.
Hopefully this is a scent of a field cat she smells and not a skunk.
When I left for the morning walk, Heidi was under the sleeping bag with her head sticking out sleeping. When I returned from the store she was sprinting all over the house barking wanting me to chase her (what a change in her), then she decided to bark nonstop with Stella howling for lunch ... the problem was it was only 9:57am instead of 11:30am. It took them a while to figure out they were not going to be fed lunch at 10am.
The mum is trying it's hardest to bloom.
I waited until the mini heat wave was over, where I could shut off the AC and open the windows to polyurethane my windows and the inside of the front door. Then I waited yesterday for the rain to stop. Today I have moved that polyurethane project to a week from tomorrow when the temps climb back to 65°-68° instead of the 55° I am feeling right now. I guess I could go ahead and put it on since it's 64° inside.
I bought a second Scandisk memory card this morning for the Nikon. I guess that means I have decided to keep the Canon Powershot SX530. I will no longer have to reformat one memory card each time I want to use the other camera. It's not a bad thing to have more than one camera plus an iPhone camera. Different moods means different photos with different cameras.
Heidi and Stella came outside after their lunch as usual ... but Heidi decided it was too cold to venture to the front yard. She went straight back inside.
Besides the times we take our walks, Stella has not out into the field by herself since Sadie died on the 15th of September. Today after lunch she barely got into the field when she turned and came back to the house.
60° inside at noon, so I closed every window. I was back to reading books more than playing Mahjong today. Yet my cargo shorts were hanging in the closet, jeans were on. I even pulled out the wool socks this morning to wear. Am I prepared for winter temps? My reactions today to 51° makes me wonder.
LOL
While I read books, they sleep ... middle of the day.
I had already finished this post for today with more photos than normal and didn't expect a HUGE SURPRISE on our late afternoon walk. I took 67 photos on that walk, almost twice as the normal amount. It wasn't the number of photo I took but who decided to go on a walk with Stella and I.
Here are a few photos as a hint to Friday's post. You can also Click Here then click the most recent post titled "Heidi Takes An Afternoon Walk".
It might have been cold today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana but it was still a great day.