Hounds Hibernate With Temps in Teens

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I didn't post on the blog. There was just nothing to blog about. With the temperatures floating between 18°-21° most of the day yesterday and it looks like that again today ... we didn't get out much. After Sadie, who I cannot carry if required, raised her left front paw yesterday around noon because it was frozen or had snow/ice between her toes ... staying inside seemed to be the right thing to do.

They hounds slept, I read books, had some hot soup and a nice siesta. All nothing to write home about nor blog about. I am finding the book I picked up at the library this week, Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen is a great book, right from the start.

With weekend temps projecting to drop to the low teens or single digits ... expect more of the same. It might be a good time to "ramble" a little, dig through the photo archives and tell some stories of past hounds or places I've been. Many of those photos still need to be converted to a digital format. So I'm not sure what the blogging situation will be.

In the mean time here are a few photos from yesterday afternoon and this morning.

The afternoon yesterday felt pretty warm but neither hound had any desire to stay out long. These first photos were from yesterday morning. We did take off on a walk later yesterday afternoon but I didn't have my camera with me. It was a nice change of pace.

I knew it was too cold yesterday morning when I glanced out to Sadie seeing her lift her front paw. She limped back to the house.

It might look warmer this morning but don't let that sunshine fool you. It was 23° when we took these photos and WeatherBug said it "felt like" 15°. I had to agree with my fingers freezing almost immediately.

The "to do' list is starting to be developed for the spring of 2016. High pressure washing the fence along the driveway will be one of the first things done. Some minor repairs of nailing some parts back together and I am going to add some steel fencing posts to help support some of the wooden posts .... yes, the same type of steel posts that I just cut down about 5 years ago.

If my memory serves me well ... I am pretty sure that I cut these shrubs at ground level about 3 years ago. My neighbor at the time denied he set them on fire while burning "my bank". I guess the south side of them became mysteriously burnt, reasons unknown. The time is not the factor here but "ground level" is. If I am correct about that, then I have some serious erosion going on that will have to be taken care of. Any suggestions for saving a bank that is being eroded away?? In the meantime I'll do some research on the internet.

The problem has always been, the 10 acre field behind my house angles downward and towards the south end of my property. All of that underground water flows towards my house and veers towards the south end of the property over the bank where Winston was sitting just last May. Back 60-70 years ago, my driveway use to be continuous with a small brick road that went between these two trees. The red brick is still down in the bottom of that gully. It would come out to the road that is still there today and used.

I learned from a cousin that grew up a few houses north of me and was very familiar with my house, that annually they would bring in a load of pea gravel every spring and fill in the washed out yard that is at the edge of my property and bank. A few years ago I had 2-3 truck loads of 'mine dust' brought in, recommended by an old neighbor and that stopped the underground water. Of course that water found another path around the edge of that mine dust over the years.

I may or may not clear that patch of land I talked of last week and make it all green grass. The problem is, a "to do" list is coming together but I am wanting to travel. I'd like to back out to Utah earlier this year to miss the 90° temps and get up to Glacier NP before the forest fires, then head back to Indiana. My issue isn't the list ... it's Stella's separation anxiety.

She is passing tests where I leave for short periods of time, most of the time ... but didn't like being left in the FJ when I stopped in the library this week. Although there is no damage in the bedroom lately, she is still digging  at the door trim and was still able to move my chest of drawers ... with a 25lb dumbbell on the floor to block any movement.

With her anxiety ... it would be hard to stop for grocery shopping. When I buy gas she seems okay, because she can see me. When it gets a little warmer, we will stay overnight in the tent in the backyard to see how she handles that. With that anxiety I am not sure that Stella will be a good camper ... hard to say until we try a few things. I was about to leave a few weeks ago to a friends place in AZ and warmer weather but when she started trying to dig out of my bedroom while I was gone, plans were put on hold. There is no way I am going to let her destroy a friends house while we are away.

That's all for this morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. I'll post more later, possibly today.

Stella's Frozen Paw Confuses Her

I knew when I saw the storm door frozen and the latch was frozen, that was really cold, like single digits cold. My thermometer said 12° and it's usually about 5° warmer than the weather sites online.

As the hounds put their paws on the yard, I could hear the snow "crunching" so that was another sign it was more than freezing.




Sadie charged through the field. I was following her through my 200mm zoom lens. When I noticed her raise her front paw I knew their paws were going to have problems.

By the time I glance at Stella, who had not walked more than 20' into the field ... she was limping. I took the following poor quality photos and sat my camera down to go out and bring them back into the house by hand.

By the time the camera was sat down Stella is trying to walk to the house with looks of confusion and her left rear paw raised above the ground. Surprisingly she was pretty light and easy to carry. She did not put up any kind of fight and was probably happy about getting a free ride back inside the house.

By the time I went back outside to get Sadie, she was standing at the door to be let in.

I hope those 40° temps get here soon.

Around 11:30am the hounds woke up from their morning nap ... except Heidi. I looked outside and saw blue skies, checked the temps on the thermometer and noticed the 12° increase and took the hounds outside.

I don't usually post photographs like this next one, this will be my first and last ... but it's not always "fun and games" here in the "tropics for the hounds. Great personalities but just like any other dog. I'm just happy they always dump tanks in the field.

The cameraman was getting cold, so their stay outside was short. They didn't hesitate to sprint for the house when I said "come on".

I am enjoying working with WordPress here in the "tropics" of Southern Indiana.