The Hounds Move Into Summer

We have been very busy as we move into June. The weather has been great overall and these few photos will show you the hounds have not been doing much at all. That painting you see was sent to me by Chewy.com It was quite a surprise as I opened up the unexpected mail package yesterday. I had sent them a photo of Stella a month or so ago while I was talking to a customer service rep about my auto-shipment of her supplement.

With record amounts of rain, it has been hard to dry out the fields enough to get farming equipment into them to plow and plant this year. I just saw some equipment turn the corner down the single path but I didn't catch if it was towing plows or weed killer for the field of yellow next to this one. We are schedule to get rain around 5pm today.

Due to the rains, they are a few days short of being a month behind of getting that field planted.

After lunch everyday ... it's not much more than this for activity. They turn and head back inside for their afternoon siesta. Depending how warm or hot it is, Stella likes to spend some time sleeping in the sunshine. Heidi spends a lot of time going outside on her own to lay, roll and sleep in the backyard grass most afternoons when it's not raining.

I called for grooming appointments for both of them and after calling three different local groomers ... they can't schedule me until AUGUST !!!! I give Heidi a bath in the tub with no problem but Stella wants nothing to do with bathing inside the tub or outside in the sunshine.

She has cancelled the morning walk and we haven't walked first thing in the morning in so long I can't remember the last time we did that. She is always ready for an afternoon walk where she returns with no ticks on her and by that time I am pulling 5-7 very very small ones off of me. The field is taller than my shoulders near the house in the lowest part of the field and much taller than Stella in the rest of the field.

With the warmer than normal winter this year, I have never seen it worse for ticks as it has been this spring in the 21 years I've been here. They are always on me any time of day or night. In past years I have sprayed my yard for ticks and fleas. Living as close to that field as I do ... the spray didn't help. One year I emptied the rooms and sprayed inside, that did not help.

The only thing that helps is the NexGuard the hounds take one time each year in April or May and that keeps them "tick free" for the rest of the summer. I suffer in the meantime.

Heidi was pretty active today after lunch. She barked, spun in circles and wanted to play.

As I walked up the hill from the mailbox ... she looked as if she wondered if Stella still had a pulse.

There has been a lot of "classified" activity going on around here and even some redactions on paperwork being exchanged. I have no idea what is going on in the world because I have been busy enough to keep the tv off except for the Cincinnati Reds games. My computer time is down almost 66% based on data used ... busy busy busy times.

The windows are open, the birds are chirping and a nice cool breeze from the south/southwest today. The hounds are both in a deep sleep for the rest of the afternoon here at 12:47pm.

It's been great lately in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

FedEx Delivers - Stella's Happy!!

>With both hounds sleeping the afternoon away, me reading about everything I talked about this morning and not too much time spent outside, by 3pm it didn't look like there was any chance of putting a second post together today. Then the dominoes started falling. I heard a vehicle driving up my gravel driveway at 4:07pm. Sadie would have been at the door or standing on her back legs looking out the window to see who was in the driveway, but not these two high-tech watchdogs ... they continued to sleep.

They didn't hear a thing at the door. At the time I was back on my computer reading a camera comparison I had read BEFORE I bought the Canon G9 X. I had also found what I needed to do to keep the Apple Watch from asking me after the first 5 minutes if I wanted to stop the walk or continue. I found out answers about digital zoom, what it did and didn't do.

I came to the point that I was going to take a walk with the Canon G9 X whether Stella woke up or not. As soon as she heard the down parka come out of the closet, she was wide awake, standing facing me with a slight whine ... she was ready for her afternoon walk.

I asked Heidi if she would like to go and didn't get much more of a response than this. She likes that soft leather couch in the winter time, possibly even more than she likes it in the summer with the air conditioning on.

Stella took a step outside and instantly bobbed and weaved away from the strange package sitting on the doorstep. I couldn't catch her with my camera but I could for proof of delivery. By the time I returned from the walk, picked up the package and started downloading my pictures to the computer, Chewy .com sent me an email letting me know they had refunded my order that was delivered "for our mistake" and I could see that refund back in my checking account within 3-5 business days. I made a quick call to their customer service rep to let them know I'd rather pay for it, a refund was not needed, but they didn't see it any other way and was happy that I was continuing my automatic shipment. That's the Chewy Pet Supplies I always heard about ... FedEx ... I'll wait to see how they do in February.  :)

By the time I hit the field with camera in hand I had pretty well made up my mind I was keeping the Canon G9 X. It does some good things, sometimes better than my Nikon D3200. Plus I learned of a way I can get the same kind of picture the Nikon gives me with the 200mm lens. Besides, it's always good to have multiple kinds of electronic toys in the barn, some as backups or most of them filling the need of someone who is always changing their mind. Some days I just feel like using different things of the same thing, if that makes sense. Similar to my old theory of having two cars. Yet, the current one car plan is working out very well. I like it.

It's interesting how that tree never lost its leaves last fall. There are a few of these trees scattered in the woods. Since it's not on ESPN or other sports channels, I don't have a clue what kind of tree it is.

I decided this afternoon I'd roam with Stella ... she could and would lead the way at her own pace. If I got bored I'd take pictures of the landscape.

Finally down the homestretch crossing the finish line. A few more calories burned in my account, not many but more than I would have guessed based on the pace she has.

I barely caught the end of her full body shake. I may have to try to make a video of her doing that, but it's hard to predict when she will do another one. So that may be a tough promise to keep.

I have no idea what she is thinking ... I never do.

She has started a new way of coming home ... down the small hill to the side of the house and follow the river rock home. On the outside edge of that river rock is one of my big 2019 projects on the list of things to get finished before football season that starts in August 2019.

I had a change of plans after looking at some food spreadsheets from a few years ago. I was documenting what I was eating, weight, body fat measured with calipers, and measurements around my gut. They say a gut that is 41" or larger is just a heart attack waiting to happen. I'm below that now. Those measurements are still recorded monthly but not the types of food. It was pretty interesting to see the date I started logging monthly stats in May of 2015. When I think I have not made or am making any progress, all I have to do is look at the numbers I logged into that spreadsheet as a starting point. Since that time with a few ups and downs, I still am 24 pounds lighter, 8mm less fat on my sides , and 6" less around my gut.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing I noticed in the notes that consisted of short bullets ... whenever I went back to grains, pasta, or fell off the wagon eating chips, drinking sodas, eating pizza, waffles, all the good stuff like "just one or two cookies" or "a candy bar just to celebrate" .... I'd be back to 212-214 in an instant.

Luckily Mark's Daily Apple does not cut carbs as low as Keto's 10-20 grams pre day but agrees with 50 grams per day ... I can live with that. I can't remember the last time I had a Pepsi or Coke but I still have to fight through the occasional urge. Same for candy or "just one" cookie.

Looking back over what I've written here, it looks like I accomplished everything I wanted to get done today. It took lots of reading but it was all worth it. It could be "Movie Night" while taking a night off from sports.

So with all of that, it's been a good day in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Questions About Apple Watch & Canon G9 Camera

I knew after yesterday's excitement with Stella's high energy and playful mood, then the FedEx experience, that today would be anti-climatic. How could it not be? We don't want to do all the exciting stuff every day, we need to spread things out during the winter. There will be days on end of excitement once the weather warms up. Heidi has definitely moved into her 'winter hibernation' and Stella is well ... just Stella, nothing bothers her. I did check shipping status this morning on the FedEx and Chewy websites. Both say the GlucoFlex Plus is on the truck at 7:52am and those famous words ... "out for delivery." Of course FedEx is protecting themselves by adding "By The End Of The Day" ... what 5pm, 9pm, or midnight?  LOL

Stella tried getting me up at 5:05am again today but it wasn't going to happen. For some reason the house felt colder than normal, so I did get up to check that. Then I remembered it was so hot inside last night, around 68°, that I turned the old thermostat too low ... it was reading 60° this morning in the living room. They both agreed another hour and a half worth of sleep was needed. Overcast skies means it's dark and even at 8am it's almost too dark but by 8:05am Stella was at her water dish hydrating herself for aerobic exercise and that is my signal to put my boots on. This morning it was back to hiking boots instead of the snow boots.

The ground was frozen which is a good thing on these walks. No wind so the 28° felt warm and Stella was on pace similar to what she does on the afternoon walks ... slower than slow. I had to do a lot of 'verbal herding' this morning plus backtracking to get her more than I wanted. Her stubbornness was showing today. Looking back to last night and yesterday afternoon, she did not miss a meal, a snack, a dog treat, and had the same position stretched out on the couch. All was good, so what the change in her attitude?  LOL ... she is just a bloodhound, that's all.

It was interesting that she was staying on the path most of the time and kept walked slowly way out in front of me. Not a lot of 'nose to the ground' in the middle part of the walk. I had already decided that if she was way out in front of me I'd let her do her thing and I'd follow. Just as long as she was heading in the general direction of our turnaround point, towards that tower.

It's something we have not heard before, it's a small dog barking in the distance and I hope it's from inside because to me it's too cold for any small dog to be outside any length of time. Maybe that is why it's barking, it's outside? Wherever the dog is, it grabbed Stella's attention more than a few times on this walk. She stared intently in the direction of the barking throughout the walk.

She backtracks to me ... so I can catch up with her ... then turns and takes off trotting away.

Some fresh new signs that deer were running on our path this morning before we got outside.

I honestly believe that if I did not do any 'verbal herding' and let her take her time .... I'd be outside all morning until she was hungry for lunch.

As you see most of the snow is gone. A temperature range of 14/1 for Sunday and those funny little snow icons show up for Saturday ... nothing major though, probably just ground cover if anything at all. Both NFL games will be on Sunday, lots of college basketball will be on tv Saturday, so I'll be able to handle any kind of weather ... but I am ready for the college football season to start again. Luckily my Reds have made some off-season changes by adding a couple of new starting pitchers, a new manager and coaching staff so hopefully the hounds and I will not have to suffer through a 4th straight season of losing 90+ ballgames this summer.

I have been able to steer clear of any tv news. I glance at news headlines online sometimes when my curiosity wins. It looks like nothing has changed much and won't change much. All the focus seems to be on the 2020 election, so they will continue to get nothing done in Congress. It's the perpetual merry-go-round, with a great salary, and a fantastic retirement plan.

Stella thought she heard that dog barking again, in fact I did too but she is looking in the wrong direction.

Maybe it's over there, in the north woods?

It sure does sound like it's coming from the neighbor's house two doors away from us.

There it is again ... from the neighbor's house. Maybe they are petsitting?

We eventually made it home, taking the 'old' return path for a change. It's pretty amazing how bad the yard can look now and then look so nice and green in April, after I mow. All the mole damage will be repaired by the natural spring showers and I'll be mowing 3x per week to keep up with the tall grass to start another summer. That word 'summer' sure sounds nice to me right now.

I'll be doing some online reading today on various topics, questions that need answered, ranging from my Apple Watch, the new Canon G9 camera (still), the best way to eat as an older male, ... things like that. There will NOT be any blog theme changes though ... I really like this design and setup I have now. Everything is good with the Apple Watch but for some reason after the 5 minute mark on my walks, it will stop and ask me IF I want to end the walk or continue. Does the sleeve of my coat set off something on the watch face to make it think I might want to stop my walk?

The camera?  LOL ... the camera.

The pictures taken this morning looked so good after I took them, while I viewed them on the monitor on back of the camera. They look great there. Then I download them into the computer and they are not. I have to do a lot of editing, especially on these morning pictures. I know the lighting this time of day is not the best for taking pictures. I know these same pictures will look much better if I take them again later during the day. So that raises the question, is an expensive camera worth having just for situational shooting? Like it has to have the right light, it can only be so far away from Stella? I noticed today in the information for each picture there seems to be a consistent result ... when the zoom setting is more than 15mm they are not the sharp clear quality I like.  Like Sally told me the other day in a comment "Why don't you just take it back!!" ... this morning that is a possibility.

If it was a $109 camera then I could see using it as a situational camera but not one that cost more than my Nikon D3200. I could take the same amount of money I paid for the Canon G9 and buy a new lens or two lenses. Yet, the size of the Canon G9 does make it convenient to carry with me.

We will see what happens.

In the meantime I will be reading Canon G9 forums about zoom focus points, Digital Zoom, and any other issues that users are finding. As far as my eating habits I am seriously considering sticking with an emphasis on veggies like always, just certain fruits, but finding the right protein sources while reducing fat intake. All opposite of Paleo or Keto ways of eating, that stress fat and protein. I don't follow either of those but have added more beef to my menus than anytime in previous years. I am also considering eliminating chicken and only using seafood as the 'meat' in my diet.

So a lot of reading today ... maybe a trip to Best Buy maybe not ... and the anticipation of that ringing doorbell as the FedEx driver is sprinting back to his truck. Drop and run is what I call it. Yet, none it really matters ... I am still retired everyday and love it ... my hounds are great house dogs and funny ... electronics work ... car works ... no crisis to take care of ...

Another find day ahead here in 'the tropics of Southern Indiana.