Hounds Energized By Freezing Temps

Looks like December was trying to bring in some winter weather this morning. I could tell it was cold, the bloodhounds acted like it was cold because they were energized more than normal. Heidi was too ... she used her energy to crawl deeper under her sleeping bag. No way she goes outside in this stuff ... until lunch was served.

Although I had not left the yard yet, I could hear the frozen field crunching under the heavy paws of Stella and Sadie running. There is something about feeling the crisp freezing air during a morning walk.

Neither of them were going to wait on me. They knew where they were going and I did to. I wonder if Stella will ever take another morning walk any further than this first turn? Her routine will change eventually ... I think.

I stop calling her and telling her to "come on" at this point, it's a lost cause. Let her do what she wants.

Sadie in the meantime is onto something more important and by the way she is acting it has to be near. I could hear her jowls making noise as I walked past her. Only once in 9 years has she ever snorted something inside her nose where a vet trip was required to get it out and some anti-biotics just in case.

It was good to see that I'll be watching College Football tonight. I wasn't sure if I could wait for the big day on Saturday when all the questions about who will be in the playoffs will finally be answered. Of course the committee will keep fans like us hanging until Tuesday night before they release the teams. Or will they do that on Sunday since the season will be over? I can't remember.

I pulled out my pdf file last night for Apple Numbers manual and figured out their complicated way of starting new charts and getting the correct data points. Microsoft's Excel is so much easier. Still, I figured it out, played by their rules and finished all the charts I need for my 2018 spreadsheets.

I didn't have to ask this morning but Sadie was more than curious where Stella was. She was sure she was headed in the right direction and even had her ears out wide to catch as much scent as possible.

Looking through the white frosted field I didn't see signs of Stella anywhere. Had Sadie misjudged where she would be? I took a closer look from left to right and didn't see her anywhere.

As I started that scan again from left to right using my camera this time ... there she was. She hadn't moved 10' and was to the far left of me and nowhere close to where Sadie was going. I had a feeling that Sadie had changed her focus from finding Stella to enjoying some frozen deer scat. Maybe to her it's like me eating M&M's with peanuts. I love those so I can understand how the bloodhounds love what they do, although it's a habit I wish they would get rid of.

This picture accomplished what I wanted. I wanted the sun and that jet contrail to be the main focus. I think the blacked out trees makes everything look much different than the time of day it was taken.

With my face freezing cold we finally made it back to the yard but they were not really finished with their inspection. I doubt that deer are this close to the trees but maybe a field cat, raccoon ... something has been in their yard while we slept.

By the time lunch was finished, the temps were above 50° and it seemed like the perfect time to take our second walk of the day. Actually Sadie kept staring at me long enough that it was easier to go for a walk than me trying to explain to her that I was a little busy at the time.

By that time I had already gone out to replenish the food supply and add some fuel to the FJ. It was really interesting and nice to see that as I told the hounds "I am going grocery shopping" ... Stella got up from the floor where she was sleeping and walked to the bedroom knowing that she would be staying in there with Sadie while I was gone.

With all of the wild ragweed gone for the winter, that gives Sadie much more room to walk into he woods that is behind the burn pile. It's not bad if that is all the further she goes but her boundary is that ridge right behind her.

Once she saw I was headed to the field, she sprinted out of the woods, passed Stella and headed around the corner.

While I was looking into the woods to the right of me, then toward the sky, I didn't notice which hound had taken off to the middle of the field. When I saw a bird take off from ground level, I thought it was Sadie because she is my bird chaser. So for the longest time I thought it was Sadie and I was far enough away that I could not see a collar.

Not until she turned and started trotting toward the path did I realize it was Stella out in the middle of the field.

I could not believe the change in temperature since our walk earlier the morning, not 4 hours before. We were up over 50° and I could walk without a jacket on.

Here is living proof that Stella does walk the full walk in the afternoons. A different routine for different times of day.

With Sadie, she will want to go back outside 5 minutes after she is inside but Stella always sleeps in the afternoon as she slowly migrates from the computer room floor, to her favorite spot by the kitchen island and then out to the couch for a night of football or basketball.

They were happy, I was happy with how nice the day had turned out. It was time to get back to the house.

For some strange reason as I was about to put premium gas into the FJ today, I noticed on the gas pump the price had dropped over 20 cents per gallon since the last time I bought it. Some people think I am crazy for putting premium gas in that type of vehicle but I like following what the owners manual says. The design engineers know more than I do about stuff like that.

Stella can smell food (yogurt) a mile away, as she stands right beside my computer desk chair to see if I happen to drop any or if I give her a spoon full of it. She will have to wait until the container is gone before she gets any of it. Her and Sadie always get the last of the container of yogurt and cottage cheese.

Heidi also can wake up from a deep sleep if there is some sort of food she is interested in. She is a little more particular in what she will get up for, than the bloodhounds.

Today has been very nice and a great way to start the month of December in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Bloodhounds Walked In Freezing Temps

The first reminder that I did not turn the heat on before going to bed, hit me soon after I made my first step onto the floor. It was cold inside the house, like 58° cold. As I let the hounds outside for their first trip of the day, everything looked like it had a layer of snow but luckily that was only heavy frost. The hounds were happy to come back inside for their breakfast kibble and a quick nap before their first walk of the day. It was colder of course outside.

By the time I had shot my 2nd photo from the corner of the back of the house, Stella had already taken off and was running away. I had no idea what she was doing or where she was going but it was obvious she had a plan.

While she slowed (left side of pic) Sadie found interesting activity in the woods. I had barely stepped into the field and wasn't sure if I was ready for an all out sprint after her. I would have had to start sprinting after her if she were to head toward the gully.

As I kept an eye on Sadie, I glanced up looking for Stella. You can tell how far away I am by the incline of the field ... but for some reason Stella was heading in the opposite direction of our path and at a pretty good clip.  Where was she going? I now had two bloodhounds going in opposite directions so in my mind I had to chose which one I was going to focus on.

With Sadie backing her way out of the brush and back on the path along the edge of the woods, I turned to look for Stella.

At first I didn't see her anywhere and thought she had ran into the woods behind the neighbor's house. Then just barely did I see something that almost looked like a dead weed but it was too big, then it started moving ... I knew that had to be Stella moving through the field.

When I yelled her name it must have startled her ... notice the ear movement as she raised her head up quickly.

Then just like that she took off running for Sadie around the first turn. The wind chill of 24° must have added energy and motivation to the two hounds this morning. I didn't mind the chill. With little to no wind it wasn't that cold.

Just like yesterday, as I continued to walk, Stella stayed behind. I figured we would pick her up on the way back.

Sadie had plenty of work to do along the back edge of the field. She is out there for one reason, to inspect and identify scent. She is rarely concerned with what Stella is or isn't doing.

I kept zooming the lens to 200mm so I could see what Stella was doing and where she was. Sadie and I had barely made our final turn home and I could see that Stella was slowly walking toward the path to meet us.

There is nothing fast about Stella most of the time ... every time she walks it is slow and easy.

Just as Sadie and Stella met on the path, the trotted toward home but most likely to get to the new deer scat before I could stop them.

I had to remind myself this morning that any new leaves that fall to the ground in back, would not be raked. This area is raked for the last time and very few leaves are on the tree limbs above. The backyard is officially ready for it's first snow.

The hounds wanted to make sure that I raked all the leaves away from the fence and tree trunks. Once they approved of my work they trotted for the house.

With no wind I must admit it was tempting to get an early start on Phase 3, the final phase of the 2017 Leaf Project. It just didn't seem right to be outside raking leaves at 9am in 35° with a wind chill factor lower than that. I'll waited until the hound finish lunch before I got started about a 15° increase in warmth. I knew with the new large rake it wouldn't take me that long to finish the job.

Next spring I'll be straightening those edgers and backing them up with more dirt. It just shows how  much of the ground moves over the years. I am also thinking about making a new edge to the driveway possibly make it a little wider and changing the angle a little bit. With that dirt being a mixture of hard clay mixed in with gravel base that idea may not last long next April.

It was sometime close to 11am where Sadie was giving me her 'stare' that is usually signifying it's time for a walk. Walking now was not the usual time and was a strange request. Then I had my answer, Stella started howling which led Heidi to barking ... it was time for lunch.

Now 11am may be a little early for their lunch since they were fed around 7:15am but their stomachs didn't change a few weeks ago when Daylight Savings time 'fell back' ... so to them it was noon and time to eat.

This gave me a chance to go outside and check to see if it had warmed up enough to start raking leaves earlier than planned. My iPhone showed 35° but the old accurate carport thermometer was up to 42°.

Heidi agreed with me within a few short steps toward the driveway ... it was damn cold and not even close to 42°. With a slight wind from the SE not only was it making it feel colder than ever it also changed the leaf plan from raking across the yard to down the yard ... I always follow the direction of the wind when raking.

Heidi got no closer than this before turning around and running back inside. She decided it was way too cold to pee, that she could hold it and her Marmot sleeping bag was much warmer than standing outside freezing, trying to decide what to do.

I had the feeling it was not going to get near the forecasted high today. I almost talked myself out of finishing the lawn raking but with rain tomorrow and the Z4 parts arriving on Monday, I knew I had to finish this front yard today. So I put jackets on in layers and it wasn't long before my red North Face jacket was laying on the porch.

This took me only 1 hour and 5 minutes. That included clearing the culvert of leaves so any rain, snow or melting ice can pass through under the driveway.

I went inside and grabbed the two 20v batteries, pulled my new toy out of the shed and blew the few leaves left in the driveway, down to the highway letting traffic blow them away. Actually it took only one semi-truck passing by for those leaves to disappear.

With what battery I had left I started blowing the leaves along the drive over and under the fence to the bank where they were dry out and be burned in March or April as we burn off the bank.

The last fire for 2017.

Another productive day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.