I Clicked The Wrong Button On Monday

We woke up to cold temps (low 40s) and windy today but that is not what caused the strange blog post to show up when you tried reading it last night. Monday night I loaded the photos I was going to use for my next post, enlarged them like I always do before typing my text. Only I did not have time to put a post together so I was just going to save it and "close" it ... by habit I hit "save" and then the "publish" button ... thus the blog showing up on other's sidebar and nothing was there when you opened it because as soon as I did that I went back and deleted the post that was nothing but photos.

It was a restless night last night, up and outside many times because Heidi is having some upset stomach issues. She still rolls on her back every morning and growls at herself, trots to the kitchen when food is served and begs for my food like always, so I know she is okay. It does make for a sleepless night though hearing her walk past my bed and then trying to get to the patio door before she does. My new hip is getting a good workout during the night.

To backtrack a little, Sunday I took a few photos, not many. I put the 70-300 lens on the Nikon and made it a "day of zoom". Here are a few of those photos.

Yes even the hound photos were zoomed in.

After my big day on Saturday of riding my longest ride on the bike and then taking a 2.2 mile hike with some climbing after lunch, I knew by Saturday night I had done too much. I wasn't sore but I was really tired. The hounds picked up on that I guess so Sunday they were not interested in any walks. They spent most of the day Sunday just hanging out with me as we took a day off.

Stella did some deep thinking trying to figure out why she tore the blinds down again. I'm not sure she came up with any answers. Luckily I have found out from the company that installed them, their promise is true ... free replacement and labor for ONE TIME ONLY!!!

It just just a few years ago when I went "cold turkey" and quit buying and drinking 2 liter of Pepsi and would drink that during the day of watching football games. This drink doesn't taste as good but is much better for me ... pure filtered ice water. I think over the past couple of years it has been a factor for keeping my weight off.

Monday morning I felt much better and I knew as soon as the cup of coffee was gone I was going to take my longest ride on my bike and in fact I was going to ride my road bike back on the roads that I use to ride. A description of that ride is on my blog sidebar or you can click here if interested. It was my initial goal the first afternoon I came home using a walker to get around the house. Back on September 9th when I was released from the hospital the surgeon told me to "walk as much as possible and I'll see you in two weeks."

Riding a bike seemed like a dream instead of something possible. I worked up gradually to riding 15 miles out on the road towards Ramsey Canyon and riding for 1 hour 30 minutes. This morning I feel good enough that I could ride the same course ... but its windy and 48° so far this morning so I'll hold off for a while and see what the day brings.

At least with Heidi's digestive issues, she is able to make it outside and I have noticed she has the same route all the time. Walk toward the west corner of the fence, make a left and follow the fence line to the other side of the yard and then hunt for the perfect spot. It doesn't matter if it is 4:00pm or 1:15am ... same thing. She is never in a hurry either.

I might have mentioned the neighbors have a new 8 week old black lab puppy, pure bred with papers.  Evidently they changed from their plans of crate training it to just putting it in the backyard and shutting their patio door, leaving it alone for hours at a time. Consequently Stella is hearing new sounds from morning to night. If I knew that I would not hurt myself, I would climb my 5' concrete block fence and bring the puppy over to my yard or house. Last night it set a record of an hour or more straight of howling, barking and crying in the dark ... no one was home.

I could tell the way the day was moving along on Monday afternoon, the skies that is ... that a storm was brewing somewhere. Probably not here but somewhere. As we moved into the early evening friends from the Midwest were sending me screenshots of their weather and photos of their backyards ... they were getting a full blown winter snow storm. Asking what was going on???? This morning I see they are somewhere between 9°-11° depending on if they live in Chicago or in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

So 48° and windy doesn't seem to bad after all.

Before I decided to buy this house I asked myself a few questions to make sure I was making the right decision. These were two of them.  (1) If they were to develop the land all the way up to your fence with houses and yards would you still want to live there? -- YES.  (2) Are you willing to use poop bags and pick up after the hounds after ever meal and take them on all hound walks just in case? -- YES. Lets say they have not developed the land behind but I have become very use to you know what.  :)

I originally bought some bags at Pet Smart with the small container to put the rolls of bags into and hook it to a belt that I never wear. So the nice container that came with it was never used, with the bag just in my pocket. That supply ran out so I decided to be cost effective and buy the next batch at Walmart which had more bags in the pack and less cost. Once those ran out I came up with another plan.

For a few dollars more I could buy a box of 1,000 !!! bags and have Amazon prime delivery them in two days. They have been sitting in the pantry until the Walmart supply ran out and as you see that happened just a few days ago.

During this transitional period of adjusting from never having to be close to "it" with Stella using the field behind the house at all times (taught to her by Sadie), Heidi's were only as near as the length of the pooper scooper handle ... something I forgot to pack. These work out great though and I have passed the boundary of being bothered by what I am picking up with my hand wrapped inside the bag for protection. I now notice I get a little pissed on our walks where I see that other dog owners are not as dedicated for a clean pathway.

Heidi has made the adjustment from green grass to small stone and Stella from tall hay to small stone or waits for the walk.

My hip keeps getting stronger by the day just like the doctor told me it would during our last appointment on October 22nd. That one exercise he told me to do hurt at first but now makes my hip even stronger as well as making my balance better when using the right leg as a pivot point or pushing off point. I see him again on November 20th. By that time I will have ridden my bike over 200 miles since the last appointment.

With it cooler and windy I will not get outside on the bike but that doesn't mean I can't grab a camera and go hike somewhere new today. The high will be 63° and that is good enough to get outside. I just know no matter how good I feel I can't do a bike ride and then a hike later in the day ... it's either one or the other. It is hard not to follow that plan.

Sorry for the confusion Monday night with the blog post not showing up. Habits are hard to break sometimes but 'old dogs can learn new tricks' just as the new pooper picker upper.  LOL

The skies are changing fast this morning in the 'Wild West'.

Both Hounds Get Their Walk Yesterday

For the first time in a couple of months, due to Stella's surgery and mine ... both Heidi and Stella got their walk in yesterday. Each hound was taken separately at different times of the day. Since it had been a couple of months since their last one, they both were asleep early and soundly ... they never woke up to beg for my food during the baseball game nor when I headed to bed. Photos below.

I followed the great news my doctor gave me on Tuesday and had my biggest day of activity. With my Apple watch recording every move and then synchronizing with the Activity app that comes with every iPhone ... I recorded 11,369 steps, a total of 4.6 miles with 3 different "workouts" where I click the green walking icon for a walk outside. 2 of those were the hound walks. Heidi got in .42 of a mile and Stella's normal path we always take was .69 of a mile.

At no time did I feel sore or tired ... I felt stronger than ever.

The one big thing I noticed after the doctor appointment on Tuesday where I was given the okay to bend more than 90°, knowing that stiffness and soreness I would feel in my hip when bending that far was a normal "get in shape" pain and not "you've damaged your new hip pain." With that I was able to sit in a chair and bend over far enough to put on my sock on the right food plus tie that shoe as tight as my left shoe. You don't realize how nice that was to do. I also sat both food dishes on the floor for the hounds without using "the grabber' but used the wall with one hand to balance myself.

Stella must have sensed I was feeling pretty good, it was soon after the temps crawled above 50° that she gave me that look to go walking. Yet I had a long list of errands to run around town. When you cannot drive and are getting things delivered by Amazon Prime and dog food by Chewy, you collect a lot of corrugated cardboard. That is the only kind of cardboard that is now recycled locally. It was good to see the city's set up for recycling drop off since they changed from curbside pickup in June. After seeing their set up I'll start recycling glass and #1&2 plastic again.

With the perfect weather, not getting really hot until mid to late afternoon, Heidi has never been more active. She patrols that stone yard like she did with the green grass in "the tropics", lays and sleeps in the sun on the patio and does laps around the edge of the fence with her nose to the ground. I was planning to give her a walk when I got back from errands but I was going to take her by herself.

I stopped by a locksmith, then the bike shop to pick up the bicycle they had been storing since my wreck. I had dropped it off the day before my wreck for them to change out a long stem for a shorter handlebar stem. They loaded the bike for me. After that it was a trip to the Animal Shelter ... dangerous for me. I wasn't going their to look or get a new dog but to drop off a brand new bag of Diamond Natural for Large Breeds. It didn't take more than 100# of food to see the hounds lose their shinny coats, started shedding and both were licking their paws.

I changed to that brand when I found out that Chewy did not sell Fromm dog food and I had to have my dog food delivered when I couldn't drive or lift heavy weight. Feeding  them a 33# bag of Fromm had them looking the best they had looked in a long time, no shedding and no licking their paws.

They were happy with the donation at the animal shelter. I had to take a look, see what kind of dogs they had. I stepped outside in a large area that was immaculate with the row kennels on each side. I didn't count how many there were but every kennel was filled and as soon as I was outside 99% of the dogs were barking at me. I walked by each kennel looking at each dog. All kinds of different mixed breeds and pure breds. Each had a card telling me who they were and how they arrived at the shelter. A few were the type that you wanted to rescue but I remembered what my friend told me a few years ago ... "Steve you cannot rescue every hound that needs rescued" ... so I continued my walk around the edge of the LARGE area and made it home "dog free."

I decided I'd try a test when I left. I let Heidi stay outside with Stella but I took my phone with me this time so there was no video recorded. I would be able to tell what Stella did by the time I returned a little over two hours later. It was in the low 70s mid-morning so they would be okay. A full water bowl was left but this time in the shade on the stone next to the fence instead of the patio. You wonder why??  :)

I expected the worse ... either a tunnel dug under the concrete blocks blocking the bottom of the gate, or my steel screen door tore into or bent, or my kitchen window that sits low having it's screen tore out. All repairable stuff if destroyed and if it happened it would not surprise me.

I had good news when I got home.

Normal night time position for Stella while I watch ballgames. That walk she had earlier put her in a deep sleep where she didn't move for the rest of the night that I was up.

I didn't see them standing at the gate when I pulled in. They were when I left. I glance in the living room window that lets me see the patio door from there. Neither hound was standing at the patio door. THAT was also a good sign. I quietly entered the house and walked to the back ... Heidi was asleep in the shade on the patio and Stella had cleared out all the stone for a cooler dirt floor to sleep on in the shade in the corner of the yard.

No scratches on the steel door nor any signs of that taking place on the patio floor. I even saw evidence Stella had slept out by back fence when there was shade, once again a spot where stone had been cleared to the dirt floor for cooler temps. I returned home a little after 11am with the temps already up to 77°. The gallon water bowl was completely empty but it was not tipped over this time.

Heidi normally wanders at night between her bed and the living room before we call it a day but last night she never came back to the living room once she head toward her bedroom. That walk was good for her. She didn't walk fast yesterday but her tail was up and wagging as we cruised down the sidewalk.

I almost forgot one of the fun things I did yesterday before coming home in the morning. I did my own grocery shopping instead of having them delivered. I didn't buy much and the heaviest bag was just two 1/2 gallons of Almond Milk. I did not go through self-checkout. I had no problem navigating the store without being ran into by someone's cart ... yes it has happened before.

Also after some lunch I put the hounds in the dark cool bedroom and took off downtown to the only place that sells Fromm Gold for Large Breeds dog food. I use to have to drive 50 miles round trip for this food, not anymore. Less than 2 miles each way. Furbabies Pet Bakery is only open noon-5pm but they have all the top brand names plus they have home made dog treats.

Right after I took this photo I asked Heidi if she wanted to go outside ... it's the nightly question I ask and she will trot to the patio door for her last pee of the day then go back to sleep.

But not last night ... she didn't even look at me. She just changed her sleeping position and went back to sleep. It wasn't until 2am when she woke me up to go outside.

Someone asked me the other day how I was able to feed the hounds without breaking the 90° bending rule. Before I let my dog sitter go, I had her move that case you see things sitting on from the garage to here. Just that added height put the food container high enough that I could get to the food out without bending over much. The bag was high enough for me to reach without bending over.

Once the bag was lighter I could pour it into the food storage container, all without bending over and breaking the 90° rule they gave me. I'll keep this setup a while longer until I can bend over without bracing myself with my opposite hand.

Yes, those stains you see on the trash can, and the case are nothing more than bloodhound drool and nose smudges from Stella smelling kibble and wanting kibble between meals. Since I am now allowed to bend over, today will be "clean up Stella's dried drool" from one end of the house to another. Luckily only a damp microfiber rag is needed to get that job finished.

 

While waiting to talk to Mike at M&M Cycling, to get my bike, I noticed a display of Hammer Nutrition. Most of the product was for bicyclists that race and for recovery after their training or racing but one product caught my eye. "Joint Health Support." I had nothing to lose and when I saw the words  "go to work immediately" I bought a bottle. I took their max dosage recommended yesterday twice and I have not taken it yet today ... I had ZERO soreness this morning after my biggest day of activity since my surgery. That's all I'll say about it. Pretty amazing.

While taking photos of Stella last night I focused in on a Menu I have sitting on the shelf under my small and soon to be replaced coffee table. It was a place I visited while on deployment in 1994. Great food, strong beer and owned by Australians. Mad Dogs in Kowloon Hong Kong. I have no idea if it is still there.

With me able to walk Stella again I am trying to remember if we walked before or after her breakfast. It was just after sunrise but now sunrise is a couple of hours later than before. Plus it's about 20° cooler now. If I wait until after 7am, we don't have our empty streets where she can trot on and explore at her leisure ... all within the 25ft retractable leash So we are kinda between a rock and a hard place to decide when to go. I do know for sure that our walk in the late afternoon when it was cooler with the wind but not the temp, was the wrong time to walk ... to many cars and noise.

Heidi's walk will be late morning like before.

The doctor told me that I would start experiencing more improvement than I had so far and based on all the activity I did yesterday and how I feel this morning, I'd have to agree. I've never felt better nor moved better and it's only 6:11am as I type that. I have some things to do at home today as far as cleaning the house but I hope to take a short trip for some hiking with my camera this afternoon.

I'll post today's photos later tonight. One thing about the new iPhone camera ... I love the photo quality. This morning I discovered the possible reason why they are so clear and sharp. The photos downloaded into my computer with .HEIC instead of .Jpg or .Jpeg. This explains it the best ... smaller file with better quality than a .jpg file .... yet when I moved them from my computer to the blog the transfer program turned them back into .jpg files so you should have no problem opening them.

It's going to be a good day in the Wild West today ... I feel a short roadtrip today with camera(s) in hand.