Hounds Take A Late Thursday Walk

Due to the temperature today we decided to take the early evening version of the "Daily Hound Walk". Maybe I should change the title of the blog to that.

Reason being, I haven't discussed my RV thoughts nor had the urge to buy one in so long I can't remember the last time. As far as the other part of the title "Other Stuff" I haven't had the urge to blog lately including my last post on Sunday.


As with all past summers, when great hot weather arrives I find myself doing more things outside for most of the day instead of being in front of a computer. Before I know it the the time is near 8pm and I don't have the urge to blog. A few weeks ago I was blogging early in the morning and even later that day but the early mornings now are me taking the Z4 out for a drive while the temps are cool and the air is cleaner. I love those morning drives.

We've been getting in our hound walks a couple of times per day but even some those walks were all 'natural' without bringing the camera. Overall though, I just haven't felt like blogging the past week or so. There is less computer time available with me doing other things. The things I do during the day is just not good blogging material ... it's just life in 'the tropics'.

Tonight it felt cooler than the temps being listed on WeatherBug and the hounds were happy with that. I was happy there wasn't any gnats to bother me and that the tall grass was dry.

The hounds did a lot of sniffing around but they were always too late for the rabbit or the bird taking off from ground level. Here Stella is in the exact spot the rabbit ran into but a few minutes too late. She can smell the rabbit but cannot see it.

I finally got her to start in our direction and we all moved on.

Once again they are a couple of minutes late to see the bird taking off right in front of me, close enough I almost stepped on it. They were excited but didn't see anything so they headed home.

I know it's getting hot when Stella stays on or near the path I am walking, plus her pace is slow ... all she is thinking about is getting back inside the house where she will lay down and fall asleep literally within minutes.

About the time the last bloodhound walked through the door tonight, Heidi decided it was time for her to go outside ... although she turned down my offer to go outside as we were starting the walk. Her times outside have mostly been long enough to pee and poop ... but there were a couple of days this week where she went to the door to be let outside and then laid in the sunshine without the bloodhounds nearby.

She is doing well. It's been 10 days since her last Epsom Salt soak and as a test I have not applied any of the water/vinegar mix since then. I started seeing new hair growing, plus first thing in the mornings her skin was looking great so I thought I'd go with just the food and nothing else. She is back off the grain free food and is eating kibble with chicken and rice ... showing no signs of skin allergies due to the dog food change.

I know it may be hard to understand for those that read blogs but don't blog themselves, and there's nothing wrong with that, but for example it has taken me 1 hour and 3 minutes to get this far. That start time was from the time I slide the camera card into the computer to download the photos. Lately, even an hour is more time than I want to spend in front of a computer when it's still nice outside. So I guess time will tell if the urge to blog more will come back.

I could blog on a weekly basis or even on those days where I am "rained in" but I do know when the sun is out and the temps are high ... it's just hard for me to sit in front of a computer very long. I like being outside doing something.

The weather has been great this week in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Please Stop Raining

Today has had the feel of rain to it but the radar didn't show anything until late this afternoon. Could be a short rain shower and then three of the next four days will be sunny, based on the 10-day forecast.

With weather like that, not much is done except a lot of reading on the internet or my current book. All of the hounds sleep most of the time without wanting to go outside. I guess we need days like this to make up for the months of June, July and August.

After the strong winds last night this was the only sign of any damage and it's not really damage. A few green leaves were blown off the trees but didn't find anything else. My Exede Satellite Internet signal stayed strong throughout the storm.

After lunch the hounds wanted to check to see if there was any chance for a walk. Stella didn't get much further than the carport ... until Sadie touched noses and then led her to the field.

They were ready for the walk but the ground was still too saturated. I had to talk them into coming back inside and wait a few hours. This all seems to be pretty boring to me to blog about. It is the fast paced life we lead here in 'the tropics' ... not much changes from day to day. I think they have scared all of the deer away for the rest of the summer.

I know it's way to early to judge whether the new mix of water/vinegar is working but Heidi's skin looks as good mid-day as it does first thing in the morning. That is usually not the case. I have noticed she had spent a lot less time itching last night and today.

The tops of her paws looked really good this morning. Normal skin color was still hanging in there late this afternoon. Usually that skin has turned red by late afternoon. I have put the mixture in a spray bottle that has a mist setting and that seems to work better than me dipping cotton balls into the mixture and spreading it that way.

I have also noticed some skin has been shedding from her chest and stomach. I remember last year the vet said not to expect any hair to grow back on her paws, rear legs or the rear hocks ... so I am happy there is signs of hair growth.

By mid-afternoon I wanted to get the hounds walked before the rain was to show up. It was wet, too wet but we took off anyway. I was sure I felt some drops of rain when I started but we were able to finish the walk without any kind of rain.

They both acted like there was something to chase today, active. Luckily nothing jumped out of the woods and they stayed pretty close to me most of the walk. Stella always likes to see if I will let her escape to her 'no fly zone' but always comes back when I call her.

You can't get ears on bloodhounds much straighter than that!!  LOL

It's even hard for me to tell them apart in the photos. I thought a new collar would make a difference a few months ago but it's too close to the faded red collar that Sadie wears. Stella has the black on her tail.

Sadie decided that she would be the one to hang back a little toward the end of the walk, so she could sprint home. That is good for her weight reduction program.

That's about all today from 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Heidi Ends Wednesday With More Water & Vinegar

Wednesday started with more fog, light rain, some sunshine and then more drizzle. By the evening heavy thunderstorms passed through. Originally the forecast was for rain every day up to Friday but I could see on Tuesday I was needing to mow the yard. Again.

I waited until about 11am with the sun out and a pretty strong wind coming from the south/southwest, I thought I might be able to mow in between rains. So at 11:15am I checked and there was little dampness. It was dry enough to try to mow and I could stop if it was too wet. I was able to finish the whole yard and 15 minutes after I finished it started storming again. That was Tuesday.

Wednesday morning was looking like more of the same. The hounds were low energy, didn't want to fetch, to play or run. They turned back inside to sleep while I continued to read about dog yeast infections and atopic dermatitis.

Later after their lunch, the sunshine was out so I grabbed the camera, told the hounds "lets go" and just inside the field my shoes and legs are soaked. The ground wasn't muddy but soft ... I kept walking. I was going to get them a walk in one way or another.

Just in a matter of days, the hay had grown enough to almost cover our worn path. I could barely see where we normally walk. It's also getting to the point that I can barely see the bloodhounds when they are off the path.

They enjoy their freedom out here and it's nice to have them in the opposite direction of the highway where they can go without the danger of traffic.

You can barely see our normal path from the fast growth of the hay with all the rain. This date last year the farmers had already planted their fields. Now some of them around me are plowed but not planted. The one straight across from the house has not had the chance to be plowed yet due to rain.

The hounds head back to the house. There was little gnat traffic today so that was nice. Plus I didn't find any ticks on any of the hounds after their walk on Wednesday.

Stella took off running for the house on her own and by time I had my camera in position all I saw was Sadie and Stella had moved around the thick hay to the right.

Shoes were making squishy sounds as I walked and my feet were completely soaked. I put the shoes and socks on the window sill the rest of Wednesday to dry out.

Later in the afternoon we sat outside in the sunshine. I picked Heidi up off the couch and took her out to the yard where she explored all the backyard. It wasn't two hours later the sun disappeared and the Wednesday evening rain started again. It was pretty dark quick but the severe storms were south of us.

The light rain started just as we stepped outside ... Stella didn't look happy when she felt raindrops falling her her head. Sadie turned after her photo and went to the house.

It was a little after 7pm I noticed the skies getting dark. I checked intellicast radar and saw there were some thunderstorms heading our way. So the screen windows went up and the storm windows went down for some heaving rain and strong winds from the west.

I like the colors in these photos.

I am anxious to see if Heidi's skin improves with the multiple applications of the water/vinegar mix. It must feel good because it's the first time she had just laid still as I put on the solution. She fought me when I put any kind of creams or ointment on her, even the liquid zinc oxide last winter.

Not only is this suppose to relieve her itching but also take away the layers of the yeast infection. It says I can put it on as many times per day as I want or see that it's needed. I still like the idea of the spray bottle but being able to rub it into the skin with cotton balls may be the best way.

Just from what I have read about yeast infections, I will continue to feed her no grain food with no potatoes. I am seriously considering the salmon blend for the first time, where salmon would be the #1 protein. It is the only protein source I have not tried. She is weeks away from a new bag of Earthborn though.

It was cool temps and strong storms Wednesday night in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.