Sadie And Stella Run Away

This morning's walk started out like all other daily walks. When they took off running I didn't realize they would not stop and run out of sight. Evidently we had just missed deer in the field.

Another great day to get things done here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Start Another Weekend

It's like all other weekends, even most week days ... the hounds started another weekend like they do any other day. The deer scent was extremely strong this morning. With a strong breeze from the NW and the temps not even touching 70°, we took off into a wet field looking for deer.

It's pretty amazing that weed grows wild, taking over anything in its path and one seed can grow 500 others. At least that is what the article I linked last week told me. Maybe I should plant as many as possible in my small north side yard and see who wins between this and ivy.

It's hard to see in this picture, but Stella made a left turn as soon as her paws felt that wet grass. She had free rein today and I was almost positive she was heading to those small woods straight ahead behind my neighbor's house. She surprised me.

It wasn't fast but she made her gradual exploration for deer scat back towards our path.

Another thing this shows is just how close to the house the deer get while all of us are in a deep sleep in the predawn hours.

Sadie's search was so intense that you could hear her jowls move with each inhale. I had a dog sitter tell me years ago after taking my bloodhound Bertha out for a walk in this same field, she had never heard a dog make that kind of noise while walking.

I was happy to see Stella slowly change her direction towards us as Sadie and I walked on. The wet field was taller than my boots, so my bare legs were getting wet with each step. That breeze from the NW felt good this morning, a sweatshirt was not needed, the t-shirt I wore was just find.

Once Stella walked on the path she started running toward me, not trotting. She has done that every day this week so improvement with her hips continues.

It might look like the 'normal' stopping point in the walk for Stella but today was different. The scat or scent was so strong that at one time Sadie's head and shoulders moved under Stella's stomach and almost lifted her off the ground as Sadie stood up under Stella. My camera was not fast enough to catch that comical act.

As Stella ran up behind me and the past me, joining Sadie ... I knew this morning I would be joining them in the far corner of the field. That is the main lounging area for the deer and based on what I had seen so far on the walk I knew the hounds would have to check that area out.

When they did not stop to eat but continuously followed the scent, they acted as if the deer were within minutes of them. I knew the deer were long gone and were missed by hours.

Stella had found a deer bed, with the brushed mashed down.

Sadie was not in the lead this morning ... Stella was taking charge of 'the hunt'.

That deer scat is buried deep in that brush, level with the ground.

They followed the edge of the field just like the deer would be doing as they walked or trotted to the woods to the north or the soybean field to the right, just past the rolls of hay.

Sadie was positive the deer had jumped the short fence hidden by overgrowth.

As I made the final turn toward home on the path, I told both of them to "come on" and they sprinted past me and didn't stop. I could only catch them in these next two pictures with a 200mm zoom.

The whole time walking I never felt a mosquito after a night of rain. I also didn't see one butterfly the whole walk, unlike yesterday's late morning walk around 11am. We were back to normal time this morning as you can tell by the amount of shade covering the field.

Stella headed to the north part of the yard ... with many stops in between.

Sadie never let up in her efforts of finding 'stuff' to eat.

You can barely see that old rusted pole marking the edge of my property and the neighbor's surveyed field. Our survey's don't match but I'll take the extra 100' of  land that his survey gave me. Who knows what the real property lines are around here.

Sadie finally ran to get home. Stella and I were already back at the house. As she slowed down trotting across the cut lawn ... you might be wondering why did she run from the middle of the field without being called???

She doesn't want Heidi or Stella touching or drinking water out of 'her' bowl. The Bloodhound Property Laws are on a page at the top of the blog.

With the hounds sleeping, the temps cool and the sunshine back out, it was the perfect time to take the Z4 out for a Saturday morning drive. Traffic is light, so it will be a very nice drive through the hills and curves on the two lane state highways.

The rain was light and didn't amount to much. I'ts sunny again here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Have A Late Start

It doesn't matter what time the crew gets up and starts the day, the routine is always the same. It just means that everything happens an hour or two later. Sadie let me know I needed to skip my two cups of coffee I have before the morning walk ... that rarely happens. So she took a nap while she waited.

We slid out of the house quietly as Heidi as sleeping on 'her' couch. It was a little after 10am. We had better light for taking pictures, the sun was a little warmer on my back, the dew in the field was heavy.

Sadie started her walk with a fresh batch of powered brown dirt to eat ... Stella was eating tall wet grass, yet when I stepped into the field both hounds stopped what they were doing and ran past me.

Stella stretches this tall grass into her mouth ... almost like using it like dental floss.

Sadie was locked into deer scent and took off along the path the deer take at times.

I was willing to let Stella go her own way this morning but once again as I turned around, she was trotting behind me to catch Sadie and I.

The deer scent was strong, the 'natural protein' was fresh and I continued walking at my pace.

Almost every morning now Stella looks like her hips are feeling better as she trots a lot more each day.

By the movement of her ears you can see how fast she is trotting or how slow she is walking. The ears tell the story of what she is doing.

I was taking this picture in poor light of the ATV tracks, not the hounds. Those are from the owner of the field, who lives a couple of houses down from me. Sometimes he rides his ATV along the outside edge of the property, other times his grandson might use the field as his ATV racetrack ... the hounds don't care and the owner is fine with them taking 2-3 walks per day in 'their' field.

Both hounds headed to the far right corner in opposite directions, yet to spots they were familiar with. Sadie has been to this same spot daily for weeks and just recently Stella is back to being interested in the gully that I call the 'deer freeway'.

While Sadie chow'd down ...

Stella trotted through the taller wild flowers, weeds and grass ... in certain spots of the field they are growing fast.

As I walked along the back edge of the field I was happy to see the hounds were slowly 'herding' in my direction without any commands from me. They were on their own to explore.

I missed Stella running but as fast as she made it behind me ... she had to run to get there that quick.

Something is down in between those rolls of hay. That can't be anything deer ... what was it?

Sadie flew by Stella in an all out sprint, brushing the edges of the hay rolls and faster than I could catch with a camera. About the time I thought she was headed for the 'no fly zone' north of me, she turned abruptly and ran back to the edge of the first roll of hay.

She had missed searching the edge of the field and started the first roll of hay.

While I was focused on Sadie ... Stella slowly tried to sneak away into the 'no fly zone' and was heading toward those woods again, just like yesterday. Like I have always said, if I give her an inch, she will take a mile.

She conceded that she was caught again and came my direction when I called her, without any complaining. She is probably laughing inside telling me "that was only a test".

She is letting me know that she IS walking in my direction but only on her terms ... slow.

She was caught again trying to escape back to the far right corner of the field. When I yelled "Stella", she turned around and walked toward the path.

By this time I could really feel how hot it was on my back and neck. Yet, it will be another fine day with the temperature not getting any higher than 82°. Not one mosquitoe tried bititng me on this walk.

Stella decided she would not wait to get inside the house to lick and dry off her wet feet and legs from the dew. She started drying off her legs and paws just inside the yard.

Once she felt they were dry enough, only then she started her slow walk to the house.

Just about the time I opened the door I heard loud barking from a basset hound. Did Heidi have friends over while we were gone? She was 'passed out' on the couch when I we left 16 minutes ago ... that confused look is what happened when she heard my camera beep telling me it was in focus. She never likes her picture taken before 12 noon.

This morning the camera didn't bother her. She continued her morning yoga, and barking to herself ... going back and forth, side to side with her nose rubbing against the carpet. There were a few roll overs on her back but my camera was not able to capture a good quality picture. My "Reminders' App tells me it will be hound toe nail day tomorrow.

Some little unknown facts that have happened so far this summer with a month to go ... Due to diet changes a few years ago I continue to move to smaller clothes. My bike riding the past month is starting to accelerate that loss.

Also some bulleted rambling is included.

• Cargo shorts that I bought in the spring because the old ones were too big, are now too big. After 4 months I have lost another 2" in jean sizes.


• I can't remember the last time I fit into a t-shirt that was a size L ... but now I have room to spare and the XL's are too big.


• As you age weird things happen to your hair. Mine was always wavy and curly but the older I got and the grayer it got ... my hair changed to straight ... except the very back and down the center of my head ... its curly. Why???


• My Garmin tells me after 2 months of use I average over 7.5 hours of sleep per night, not including those occasional siestas.


• Stella's coat is starting to get back to being soft and that strange oil feel to it has disappeared.


• My 'to-do' list is in a holding pattern so I can finish all of it a week before College Football starts August 30. I do my best work under pressure.


• The Z4 has been driven less this summer than previous year, even with great weather. At least it's there when I want to drive it.


• Carbondale IL is the best place in the whole USA to witness the eclipse August 21st. Meaning, it will be darkest the longest, over 2:40 minutes ... they are expecting an increase of 450,000 people to their population during that time.


• I will not look at the eclipse with any kind of glasses or protection, but I can't wait to see the sky go dark and the temperatures drop if only for a few minutes ... how will my satellite internet signal react during that time.


• I have moved from Tricare to Medicare health coverage just because I turned 65. I never had to choose medcal insurance in Obamacare ... how do people ever know what to choose for health insurance under the current system? What does it mean when large medical insurance companies drop out of the market? Do people lose their insurance? Honestly, I don't know.


• How long will it take for me to buy a robot to be a maid?

That is all this morning from 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.