Heidi Attacks The Walk At Sunrise

It might look like a normal sunrise but there were a couple of things happen in the background that made this day so much different. It started in the middle of the night, the bedroom lit up by the full moon and a whining bloodhound ... Stella. It was hard to tell what time of night it was because everything was so bright ... but it didn't look and didn't feel anything like it was time for sunrise.

It was 3:00am ... THREE O'CLOCK AM ... 3am !!!!

She wasn't going to give up on her request either. Time meant nothing to her and of course once Heidi woke up to Stella's tail wagging against the chest of drawers (on purpose) she was sure it was time to get up and of course have breakfast. After 15 minutes of telling them to go back to sleep I was the one that gave up. I flipped the light on and the three of us marched down the hallway, around the corner and into the kitchen.

Of course they always go outside first thing in the morning so out they went. I must admit the sky was awesome with the full moon making it feel like daytime. I poured the kibble out quick, shut the back door as they walked in, flipped off the light and headed back to bed by 3:30am while they ate their kibble.

What did they do when they were finished?

They came back to the bedroom, Heidi to her dog bed and Stella over against the opposite wall ... AND WENT BACK TO SLEEP !!!!  LOL

That did not mean all three of us would sleep late. We were still up by 5:30am witnessing another beautiful sky to start the day. Before coffee was even made I was putting on shoes to take the daily morning walk. Only things were different this time.

Instead of being back in one of her many sleeping spots in the house, Heidi was wide awake and standing next to Stella waiting for me to get the retractable leashes right after I pull a new poop bag off the roll and stick it in my pocket. I could not believe Heidi was wanting to take the walk with Stella and I.

By the time we got back and I had finished my cup of coffee I could tell by this view it was going to be another beautiful day, all depending on when I wanted to get started.

With both hounds on their respectable leashes inside the house, a safety feature in case other kids or other dogs are taking their walks in front of the house, we headed outside with Heidi leading the way. Stella always like to stop a few steps outside to sniff the air to see whats up ... but not Heidi. She was practically sprinting for the sidewalk.

With only two hands, two leashes and a possible used poop bag, there just isn't enough room to take the camera. Heidi was in a 'trot' mode and wouldn't slow down for a walk. At first I thought she was trying to keep up with Stella who was leisurely strolling out in the street along with me ... it's a neighborhood and few if any cars are out at that time of day. I prefer to walk out away from people's yards as we head to the vacant land down the street.

Then I thought Heidi was rushing to a spot to pee but that wasn't it either ... she was in a fast walking trot ... as fast as those short basset legs would take her. After about a 1/4 mile and no let up on her fast pace ... it occurred to me ... before I picked her up from GABR 8 years ago she was known as a 'runner' ... breaking away from the house and running the streets and sidewalks until the local animal shelter would catch her.

I had to wonder if the surface under her paws brought back those distant memories of running away or away from someone chasing her and that is why she would not slow down to a leisurely walk like she use to do in the field. She did stop a few times after we got to the vacant land to sniff things and she eventually slowed her pace down to a walk, then to a very very slow walk. The watch said .6 of a mile by the time we finished.

Stella thought the best thing to do when she got back was to take a quick nap outside while I got ready to do my morning bike ride. It was actually cool this time of day so those cold stones also felt good to her.

Heidi on the other hand got no further than the love seat after she walked inside the house and found the best place to sleep. She was still sleeping in that same spot when I returned an hour and a half later after my bike ride. It will be a few days or weeks before she has the motivation for another morning walk.

I didn't do any hiking today ... just a normal day around the house with a short visit to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. After that it was to Fry's Market for some fruit, sour cream for the burritos tonight and a stop by their gas station to fill the gas tank up. Based on my awards for shopping at Fry's Market they were giving me 20 cents off per gallon of gas. Not a bad deal.

Like I said it is full moon time as all of you know. I did nothing for this photo last night except switch to a night time automatic setting and held the D3200 still in my hand. I'm surprised it came out as good as it did.

I changed the setting to full automatic, no flash and held the camera steady in my hand. That moon is about as full as you can get. I expect tonight to be much of the same and I can only hope the hounds try to sleep through the 3am hour and start bothering me around 4:30am or 5am.

That is the thing though ... IF I don't hear or respond to Stella's whining on any morning, then her next option to wake me up is to start wagging her tail of steel against the chest of drawers knowing that will be loud enough to wake me up and hopefully not the neighbors.

Awake too early but still another fine day here in the Wild West.

Plans Changed On Saturday

Once again this morning as we got up it looked like rain was just minutes away. Would Stella get her daily walk in? What about my bike ride? I decided to let time move a little, fed the hounds breakfast and fixed some coffee to see what was going to happen. By the first cup of Volcanic Red Deep Roast Stella and I decided to take off for her daily walk under dark gray skies and some wind.

By the time we got back 17 minutes later things had not changed much. For once the daily forecast was showing possible thunderstorms early in the morning instead of late afternoon or this evening ... not really ... early morning, all afternoon and tonight is the prediction for rain. Yet it's was cool enough to open the windows, slide the blinds over and enjoy some fresh air all day.

Stella decided the best thing to do in all of this bad weather was to sleep as close as she could to my desk chair so I could not sit down or if I did squeeze into my seat I could not get out. I saw a little white dried bloodhound drool on the chair after I downloaded the photo so it's time for me to walk around the house looking for dried drool spots to clean off the walls IF there are any. There will be.

Heidi didn't want to sleep, didn't want to take a walk, didn't want to go outside ... she just wanted to roam inside today. I saw an open space of sunshine in the late morning and took off on my mountain bike for a short 12-13 mile spin around town, using the bike path most of the way. I knew there was a chance I might get rained on but all the heavy rain looked like it was south of us in the mountains. I'd head north toward town.

I was almost the the Sun & Spokes bike shop when the rain came out of nowhere and drenched me before I could ride the three blocks to get inside. I stayed inside there until the rain lightened up and then headed out in light rain for my 30 minute ride home. I was already soaked and knew I was going to get wet again ... plus with all the rain a lot of the streets were flooding along the sides and the intersections.

When I have this much water puddled around the ugliest chair in the world, I know it rained a lot while I was gone. It was time for lunch for the hounds and I. For some reason I had the urge to eat something healthy besides a cheeseburger and fries so I postponed my trip to the diner south of me on Hwy 92, then ate at home.

As the afternoon progressed, the hounds slept, moved from spot to spot to sleep even more and then finally got up for a little aerobic exercise inside.

Stella came out off a deep sleep when she heard me in the kitchen. She was licking her lips and there wasn't any kind of food involved, maybe in her mind but not in reality. I was just pouring me a glass of cold water.

Heidi itched her eyes and ears on each side ... did a few 360° spins that my camera could not catch, barked a few times ... then laid down. That is usually the extent of her exercising everyday. She does do sprints around the house but that is usually late morning after I get back from bike riding.

I bought that rug to add a little color to a room with walls and ceiling painted the same color in a nice light tan. I like the colors they chose. One color throughout the house, neutral enough that I could add whatever color I wanted, where I wanted.

Remember while she is doing all of that movement she is growling to herself and just finished barking in the photo below.

Even before the couch was delivered, this was one of Stella's favorite sleeping spots. It still is since she has figured out she is not allowed on the couch.

When I see Heidi walking this way toward her dog bed in the bedroom I know she is calling it a day ... she is still on Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Stella and I are on Arizona Standard Time.

Getting close to the Reds game and it looks like more rain here. Hopefully it is not raining in Cincinnati Ohio.

No sounds of thunder today, and the closest lightning strike was over 60 miles away based on WeatherBug. Stella decided to do an afternoon inspection of the backyard.

I could stand on my patio for hours and hours and take a million photos of the skies from the Mule Mountains all the way over to the Coronado NP. The skies are always changing. Yet there is one thing that I have never seen in the short time I have lived here ... passenger jets in the sky above me.

After some deep thinking, Stella decided there was nothing else to do but go inside. She will follow me to whatever room I sit in and lay down and sleep near me. I still need to do a post on her separation anxiety that increased a little during our move. That is a post in itself with all the stories I will tell and 'some' photos, not all.

It really was a nice day in the Wild West. I hear it's Pirate Weekend down in Bisbee.

Maybe Some Answers For You

With the latest blog posts these past few days I am sure there are a lot of questions floating around through the list of readers. It's a long story with too much information to write about. That would take multiple blog posts to explain how we "snuck" out of town. One answer I'll start off with ... yes, that blue chair does not go well with the other colors of the house and patio but it was comfortable and I didn't want to spend a lot of time deciding what to buy. It is still in a 'temporary' status but still comfortable. The difference in colors is me thinking outside the box, as they say.

Why the secrecy about the move? What was I was doing last May when I wasn't blogging?

It's called being naturally paranoid, a private person (which makes blogging hard at times) and a reluctance to break out any information simply because I do not want the unexpected visitor knocking on my door because they have found me and want to see the hounds.

I have sent out a few invitations to people that I have met through this blog, a few in person but after reading in the past of people knocking on Al and Kelly's RV door late at night just to visit them or RVsue having strangers (blog readers) driving by her campsite and now her house, to visit her or see her pups ... I just don't want that.

(It took less than one hour for those two landscape pictures to change this morning)

I know that if I blog about what the hounds and are doing or where we are going for those short day trips like I use to ... the smartest and most motivated people will figure out where I am. It will not be hard to do. So I guess there is that fine line where I have to decide what to cover in my blog posts. I know I can take ONE photo of a place I want to go and write about and you would know exactly where I am.

I did not blog about this move a lot in May because I did not have time. I was doing that many projects at home and by the end of the day all I wanted was dinner and sleep, plus 600mg of Ibuprofen. There wasn't any time to blog. I had a date in mind for leaving but we ended up leaving about 6 days early and almost impulsively ... but that is how fast things were falling into place.

You might think the smell of bacon and eggs from the kitchen would have had a basset hound right at the stove begging for a piece, since Heidi is the biggest food beggar ever ... but not a sound from the computer room. I had to zoom in on her and get a blurry photo so I would not wake her up.

How could I leave a house like that, with all of that land around me and the quietness?

Well as time passed I was getting very very tired of the extreme weather, the ticks that I could never seem to get rid of, the highway noise which had increased with traffic with the new Interstate 6 miles south of me, and the redneck neighbor that was a nice guy but was into Mud Drag Racing. So you know you can't go racing without revving up those loud engines before you go. Plus I was finding it harder and harder to mow the yard in the middle of the summer heat and humidity.

That block dot you see in the picture is the same problem that Al mentioned on his blog post the other night. I clicked on his link for the cleaners he bought, copy the name of them, pasted them into my Amazon search and had them at my door the next day. BTW, that black spot is from my Canon GX 9.

The west has always attracted me and I had lived out west many years ... 15 years in southern California and 10 years in the Pacific Northwest plus a ski season in Breckenridge Colorado. I knew the day the hounds and I drove over the Rockies towards Rifle Colorado in June 2015 on our camping trip that I was definitely moving somewhere west in the next few years.

There is just something about those wide open skies that has always attracted me like a magnet to the west.

The factors I looked at were cost of housing, areas for hiking and bicycling, temperature ranges in the winter, conveniences for medical care, groceries, bike shops and restaurants. If you remember I mentioned a couple of websites I was using to compare towns. Those both proved to be accurate and very valuable. Plus a few people that knew this area well provide great information.

I did have a Plan B just in case this move did not work out. It would not take long to figure out that I did not need that Plan B. Before I decided to move I asked myself "if I put this much money into the house, the eroding bank along the driveway, updated appliances and floors, a new roof ... would I still want to live here?"

The answer was always 'no' ... it was time to move from 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

This was Stella's thought process this morning trying to find that perfect spot to take her morning nap after her walk. There was some scratching at the rocks to clear out, some indecision, but eventually she came to the best area to sleep.

That gate behind her reminds me how she tried to dig herself out of the yard the day I was out buying groceries. You would have thought a yard with a fence, a patio with shade, plenty of water and even the back door left open so she could go into the house if she wanted ... would have worked. But her separation anxiety kicked in ... she was howling "the loneliest howl ever" according to my neighbor across the street. When he came over to check on her ... she was digging through the hard soil to get under the gate.

I have other stories about her anxiety out here in the west, but that is for a later post.

How can I go from no neighbors to having one on each side of me, 20ft away ??

I thought long and hard about that. You would not believe how much I thought about that as I looked at the pictures of the house I bought, the neighborhood via Google Maps Street View. I had not had neighbors that close in 22 years!! What would it be like? Could I hear them talking if they were that close? What would it be like if they were 'bad' neighbors or like to have huge parties?

The person I bought the house from answered a lot of those questions I had. After I moved in I found out more information about the 'hood' from those that lived near me, or next to me and have been here from a few to many years. It's a quiet neighborhood and safe enough that you see kids walking in small groups or riding alone on a scooter. It so quiet that I am even surprised at times.

It's a great location and neighborhood.

It did not take long to get everything set up. The previous owner had left the utilities on, so the same day I moved in, I found their locations and phone numbers on Google Maps then had all the utilities changed to my name that afternoon with automatic payments set up. Since I did not bring anything the hounds and I were moved inside the house from the UHaul trailer within an hour.

From all the research I had done before I decided to move here, I had a pretty good idea where all the stores were, the bike shops, the main streets in all four directions. I was so familiar with the map that it felt like I already lived here as I drove through town that first time. There was nothing hard about this move.

I tried to keep the hounds eating at the times they were use to. That seems to be the deal for their breakfast at 7:30 Indiana time but for lunch they have both switched to local time. They are still eating between 11am and 12 noon.

Stella still likes a short after lunch nap and does this every day. Not long but just long enough for that hot sunshine to help those aching hips.

I thought I'd get her another bloodhound to keep her busy but she wasn't too interested as you will see in the next three photos.

She still does not like the sound of thunder and since this is the rainy time of year, she will have to hear loud thunder and see great lightning from inside the house for about the next 6 weeks from what my neighbors and my research tells me.

What differences have I noticed living here?

- Well like I mentioned, I get up earlier and go to bed earlier.
- Less computer time, less tv time and MORE time outside doing something or exploring the area
- I ride a bike 4-5 days per week, averaging 13mph for 15-22 miles per ride. There is a lot of gradual climbing here and a lot of panting as I get use to the higher elevation.
- People are extremely friendly and like where they live
- No matter how the monsoons are, total annual rainfall is only 11" and most of that comes in 6 weeks
- College football games will start at 9am in the morning now
- I watch my Reds games at 4pm most afternoons instead of 7pm .. IF I am not out on a local drive
- My mailbox is down the block and around the turn with 20 other boxes
- Heidi takes a lot more walks than she use to
- Stella runs and trots on her walks a lot more than she did
- I have maps for bike riding, maps for hiking trails and probably more area to explore than I can see in a lifetime
- Groceries and eating out are more expensive here
- I'll gladly trade paying a city sewer service in exchange for no septic tank
- It was the easiest experience at the Dept of Motor Vehicles I've had in my life
- There's a great bike shop in Bisbee AZ ... like a museum and a great owner to talk to
- Stella has experienced daycare for the first time
          - With her anxiety and my need to buy groceries and furniture she had no choice but 'daycare'
          - They loved her and said all she did was sleep the whole time she was there
- I'm still waiting on my couch and loveseat to be delivered 52 days after I placed the order
          - Luckily they sold me a nice chair from their showroom floor so I had something to sit on
- Heidi misses her grass yard
- Stella does not seem to mind there is no field to walk through ... Sadie would have been irritated
- I don't ask nor dwell when the question pops into my head "why didn't we do this sooner"
- Yes, I did research to find out when was the last forest fire in this area. (2011)
- I have NOT seen my first rattlesnake, my first scorpion, or my first tarantula
- I like the 4Runner, I DON'T miss the Mini Cooper, I DO miss the Toyota FJ
- I have a lot more friends wanting to come visit me compared to when I lived in Indiana
- I like blogging and wish at times I could be as open as Al is over at The Bayfield Bunch

Another great day here in the Wild West.

The Hounds Enjoy The Sunshine

Every morning lately Stella is not certain she wants the morning walk. She has to think about it, sniff a little, thinks some more and look around. Today was a morning where she decided she would head out. Until she hit the field, she still wasn't sure. The grass yard was really wet and she does not like getting her paws wet.

It's official ... another morning walk in the books.

After lunch she couldn't resist to take a nap in the sunshine. Her nose was pressed into that stepping stone.

Heidi prefers grass if she is going to sleep.

She went outside three or four different times in the afternoon. She did explore the field again alone but spent most of her time in the yard.

She is a much happier hound in warm weather. Like me, she is not a winter person.

I took a little time for some baked salmon and peas with Kerrygold nonsalted butter. The next big project ... I am painting not just a couple of room like I had planned but all the rooms plus all the ceilings. Luckily I love to paint houses, inside and out. A bottle of Ibuprofen will be nearby right before I call it a day.

All is good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.