Hounds Enjoy Their Last Warm Winter Day

After weeks of hiding inside, only coming outside long enough to relieve herself ... yesterday the weather was so nice that Heidi came outside and stayed outside. She enjoyed herself. She doesn't know it yet but as soon as this post is published she is headed to the bath tub for a warm bath and a manicure afterward.

While I walked around picking up those small tree limbs in the yard, all three hounds roamed and explored on their own. Of course Stella had to test me and disappear. I stopped my tree limb expedition and changed it to a 'hunting' expedition. She can sneak away so fast.

Heidi did a lap around the house slowly, then inspected the outside border of the backyard and driveway. It was so warm that I think we could have stayed outside all afternoon yesterday. I thought it was unbelievable weather but I remembered yesterday when I took a picture of Winston on Christmas Day in 2015 and it was just as warm.

Here is a picture from that day. He had hurt his back 6 days before and could no longer walk. Even after two years I still miss that basset hound, he was the greatest. Yet by midnight tonight there is suppose to be snow showers until 6am, so we will be seeing colder weather.

I didn't pick up all of those limbs but almost filled my 32gl trash can to add them to the small pile. It doesn't look like it now but by next spring I'll have a good size pile to burn.

After I rounded up Stella as she walked out of the woods in back of the house, I had no choice but to put her on the 80' tether that is anchored in the field. It keeps her in the area within my view but gives her enough room to room. As you can see she had no problem walking into the brush and dead ragweed just behind the burn pile, getting tangled up.

I never heard a thing last night during some solid sleep but there was evidence this morning it had rained pretty hard last night. It was very warm this morning as we headed out on our walk. I can always tell if it's raining lightly before we go out by looking at the passing cars from inside to see if they have their windshield wipers on. This morning it was safe enough to try a walk through the wet field.

Stella surprised us all by taking off north in the yard ... opposite from Sadie and I. As I called her name she gradually turned and walked toward us. It took a while for her to get even close to us,  plus a little nudge from me to move her into the right direction. No doubt the most stubborn hound I've ever had in 30 years.

Sadie was moving fast enough with her nose to the ground that she was faster than the camera.

Once Stella hit the path ... she and Sadie were running around that first turn. They know it will take me a while to catch up to them.

It's hard to tell but this is one of the worn paths into the woods the deer take. It goes through the brush and after about 10' will change to a steep gully. When she walks out of this area or any part of the woods there are still thorns that grab her coat and tangle her up at times.

Sadie of course is on a scent and is focused on that ... nothing else.

By the time I was walking about halfway down the back side of the field I could feel a drizzle of rain hitting my face. None of that made a difference to Sadie. She had a lot more area to inspect.

Sadie continued to inspect an inch at a time, along that back side of the field.

I didn't take this picture today to check the camera alignment but to capture the fog. It was almost 8:30am when I took this, so there is no chance of any sunshine today.

Turning toward home, the wind from the SW increased and was blowing light rain in my face. I could hear it hitting my rain jacket.

Sadie thought she was feeling the same rain so she started her sprint toward me without me saying a word. As I snapped the camera shutter as fast as the camera would focus, I came up with only four photos from the time she started running from the back of the field. One of them was too blurred to post.

They will never run directly to the yard non-stop, no matter what the weather is doing. There is always something they need to check out before ending their walk.

To Stella it's just another day ... no worries in the world ... just food, sleep and walks. Pretty simple life.

As expected, I found out after my first day of riding my bike inside for 30 minutes on a trainer yesterday afternoon, that I would need to take today off to recover. It will get better but it's always hard to start riding again and getting into bicycling shape. I have enough muscle pain today that even Ibuprofen is not working.

The Garmin Connect App sent me a new update the other day. Along with a new Apple update for the iPhone, I was hopeful that my Garmin VivoSmart 3 would connect to the new phone like it did with my 6s. So far this morning it has not. I'll find out later since I just turned the phone off to reboot it. I can download the Garmin data to my computer with no problem but it makes it so much more convenient to see that updated data on the phone.

I had something I was going to ask all of you on this post but now I can't remember what it was. Typical isn't it?

It's foggy, it's warm and only 3 days till Christmas for those that celebrate it. It's hard to believe how warm it is in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Start Monday Early

Little did I know when I snuck up behind Heidi on Saturday that I would be 'out of commission' on Sunday. She was doing her lap around the house in great weather on Saturday when I took these first two pictures. That small amount of sunshine can definitely make a winter day feel much different and is always welcomed.

Heidi is pretty set in her ways. I have found that basset hounds are not as stubborn as bloodhounds but it is part of the pedigree. So the times I have tried to get Heidi outside in previous years has never worked. I guess I could carry her from the couch to outside but she would immediately sprint for the door to go back inside as soon as her paws hit the ground. That would be some exercise for her, I guess. Otherwise she goes outside 2-3 times per day/night to relieve herself and is more than excited when her meals are served. She loves sleep.

We took our 2nd walk on Saturday with no camera and Stella attached to the retractable leash, giving her 25' to roam. With all the ballgames on tv I didn't have time to take our normal leisure walk and that was the reason she was under my control. Our 'halftime' walks have to be quicker than normal, yet Sadie gets in her nose exercise and some running. It's nothing new to them for Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

This morning was a different story. All of us woke before dawn and since we did not take any walks yesterday due to my 'sickness', I felt I owed it to Sadie to get started with her first walk as soon as possible. She gave me a lot of 'stare downs' yesterday when she found out I couldn't take her for walks. This morning we found fog, and a light drizzle after daybreak but it was good enough to head outside earlier than normal.

It was dark enough that I used the flash on this first photo and I should have continued to use it. Instead, I had most of my photos turn out too blurry to post and I was still unable to capture the darkness like I wanted to.

I'm sure that Stella doesn't know the days of the week but she is pretty consistent in coming up with a new routine on Mondays. Why I don't know but she started one this morning. By routines, I mean what areas of the field she will wander off to while Sadie and I continue to make the whole walk.

With it feeling warm and the field not being too wet after our overnight 0.01" of rain, it was a good morning to walk. I didn't really know there was a drizzle until the small spots started to cover the sleeves of my jacket.

With the low light and my unsteady hands (evidently) I am posting more photos than normal this morning that are blurry.

With that drizzle becoming a little more prominent I cut off my walk on the back side of the field and turned onto the ATV path. It's not a lot of difference in distance but is shorter and is usually taken when the weather is bad. Sadie doesn't mind, she can exercise her nose anywhere.

This gives you some idea how the early morning looked. Actually it was darker than this photo shows. You can tell the dormant hay is wet. The fog and mist reminds me of my days living on Whidbey Island in the winter.

Drizzle, rain, hail, sleet or snow ... doesn't matter to Sadie. Tracking the field is like me needing coffee.

It will be interesting to see if this will be Stella's new area for the next few weeks, during the times I let her hang back on her own. It's not new territory for her, she has always roamed over by the woods behind the neighbor's house but it's been months since she has wandered to this area.

Of course she is not going to come while I call her. It's Monday and she is always more stubborn on that day of the week, than other days. It is not too far off our alternate path but she did not move until I walked right up to her, then she gleefully trotted away to the path without me saying a word.

Sadie in the meantime was bring up the rear as Stella and I moved out on the path home.

Both hounds will keep searching right up to the yard but once their paws hit the grass they know the walk is over and the next thing on their agenda is a nap until their lunch. Unless there is scent of the field cat or deer.

It looks like Stella is ready for another new week. College football has started it's Bowl games and will now start being on tv every day/night from now until after the start of the new year. The routines of the hounds will not change but there might be a few more of those 'halftime' walks, that is at a little faster pace. I love this time of year being the sports junkie that I am.

Evidently no cat scent in the yard this morning since both hounds ran for the house once they walked into the yard. Or it could have been that drizzle becoming a little stronger that made them a little more motivated to get back inside.

I read a little about this new law they are passing about Net Neutrality. I won't go into detail but from what I have read, it will take up to a year or longer before it goes into action. It will probably be delayed even longer due to all the appeals held up in court. All of the major internet service providers have come out with statements saying they will NOT be making the changes the media is suggesting as a worse case scenario.

That means they are saying the internet will remain fast and open for all. That they will NOT prevent certain websites from showing up on your computer nor will they charge you more money for faster speeds with plans similar to your tv programming. Yet, in today's climate I find it hard to trust anything that large companies tell us. So, sometime years from now we will find out if they are telling us the truth. I will never pay on a tier system for faster internet speeds.

It always surprises me when the counter in my camera flips to 0001 to start another 10,000 photos.

Not much planned today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Sadie Demands Her Walk

Rarely do we walk if it is rainy or if it has rain throughout the night, like last night. Today was a little different. The temperatures in the morning were high 30's and supposedly heading to 48° by late afternoon.

While walking around the yard during their trip outside after their breakfast kibble, it had stopped raining but the ground was still frozen rock hard from the low temps this past week. No worries, it will be a high tomorrow of 17°. That is weather in Indiana.

Sadie gave me her normal 'stare down' when she wants a walk. She will stand and look at me without a move. If inside she will sit and give me that same look without a move ... most of the time, she gets her way.

The ground is rock hard but wet from the rain.

One disadvantage of winter, plus the fact I cleared out some brush in the fall where I normally don't ... the hounds have a new area to get into in a direction that I do not want them heading. It's that theory of 'give them an inch they will take a mile' ... still Stella has to check out that area and ignored me until I went over to get her. That is one stubborn bloodhound.

With the rains stopped, the ground frozen, I thought it might be okay to get a walk in this morning before the field became really mucky with melting ice while adding more rain. I doubt that we would get a walk in the afternoon if the weather held up to the forecast.

Sadie was happy and was off, she had things to do and smell.

Stella?  Not so much. I can't say that I like her new routine but I know in a week or so she will come up with something different and the routine should change based on her past history.

What was becoming interesting but is quite obvious to most geography experts ... the higher the land went, the wetter it got with the rain water. The first half of the walk was on frozen ground. It was much more soft toward the back of the field where it is the highest elevation.

Stella finally shows up as we are heading back to the house. Sadie is still behind me, deep in the brush that follows the fence line in back of the field. I don't even bother to call either one of them. I feel pretty confident they will both run to me when they are ready and on their own time.

No sign of the AT&T tower and no flashing warning lights that you can usually see even in fog. So hopefully there will be little to no small aircraft traffic in that area today.

Surprised but happy that Stella turned to head toward me instead of running in the opposite direction to the farthest right corner of the field. She is a good bloodhound when she wants to be.

She is running toward me with her eyes on Sadie.

Sadie met her on a full out run, Stella turned and they both headed home.

I think you can tell the depth of the wooded area, that there is a steep drop off not far in the wooded area. It drops off right past the bushes that are green ... very steep.

Stella seemed happy to get the unexpected walk in. She never begs for a walk ... only food.

It is a day to get caught up on domestic house stuff before basketball games in the afternoon. A little book reading and feeling much warmer inside without the freezing temperatures outside.

It is warm and wet today but will be freezing again tomorrow in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.