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.

Sadie & Stella Take Off

With weather like this every day it's hard to stay inside. Sadie and Stella felt the same way although for some reason Heidi is back in her mid-winter hibernation mode. High temps in the 70's make it perfect weather.

For our mid-day walk I had barely made it to the yard and saw Sadie and Stella both running toward the back of the field direction in back of the house. I have no idea what they had picked up but their noses were to the ground and they were off at a fast pace.

I continued to follow the path walking the same pace I always do, knowing that both of them would be within view.

I was not even close to the first corner and they were already in the middle of the field. It wasn't until Sadie stopped to look back in my direction that they slowed their pace. I expected them to head over the top of the hill and go toward the woods.

They were not chasing deer nor birds, just jogging further and further away from me. I don't recall this ever happening when they were not involved chasing deer. I guess they really do like the field cut. I still had not made it to the first turn.

By the direction Stella was heading along the back edge of the field I thought she was well on her way into the 'no fly zone' but I wasn't going to start running after her yet. I continued with my slow pace while keeping an eye on them to see what they were going to do.

Even with this much sunshine, it didn't feel hot. It's hard to believe it's almost July and we are having highs in the 70's for weather.

I cannot figure out why they were in such a hurry to get to this area of the field. They sniffed around a lot but didn't look like they had found any 'natural protein' to eat. I wondered how long they would stay out here if I didn't get them walking back to the house with me.

I wanted to take a picture of the tightly rolled hay but Sadie had other ideas. Evidently something she liked was wrapped up inside the roll.

A single feather out in the middle of nowhere.

After checking the mail, grabbing some water to drink, I headed back outside for an afternoon of reading. Sadie was checking to see if another walk was possible. It had been about 30 minutes since we returned from the mid-day walk.

Once she saw I was not going to get out of my chair to go on another walk, she decided to sneak up on me as if I couldn't see her.

Stella got to the point of indecision ... whether to answer my call and head back to the house or turn and make a run for it back out into the far field. After a lot of thinking, she decided it was best to return to the house.

It was another great day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Hit By A Bolt Of Energy & Color

I can't explain it. I didn't sleep any better last night than I did the night before. Only this time I did not get up at 5:15am. Yet, I could feel and see that things were a little different today, by the way the hounds acted and the way it looked outside.


The field of yellow across the highway looked brighter than I had seen it this spring, even the dirt in the field next to it looked browner. Was the small window of sunshine showing through the clouds the cause of it? Or was it something else?

Sadie is always fully charged from the time she gets up first thing in the morning so that was not different. Stella acted like she had my first cup of coffee instead of me and Heidi was barking for breakfast kibble, something she never does. What was going on?

It was obvious by the time of day and the location, the hounds had found a spot in the yard that the big blonde field cat must have sat last night while we slept. They locked into that spot in the yard and didn't move, while I took pictures and started my walk back to the house. I had to call them to get them to leave.

Although Sadie was wanting to walk at 8:00am, she had to wait until I had at least one cup of coffee and the time for me to do some quick reading. We took off a little after 9:08am and right from the start I could tell this walk was going to be different from the recent ones.

As I turned to look for Stella like I always do at the start, she ran past me and caught up with Sadie. They took off in a semi trot increasing their lead in front of me. That was the fastest Stella had moved in months.

By the time I would stop to take a picture they were another 30' further in front of me. Besides the brightness of the yellow field I mentioned above, this 7 acres of field we walk in twice per day and sometimes three times per day, looked greener than I had seen it this spring. It was much greener than even yesterday and it was hard to believe ... but it looked like it had grown another 6" overnight.

Stella continued her trotting along with Sadie. She had not been at that pace in so long I can't remember when it was the last time she had this much energy. By the time I had snapped a couple of pictures, with a 200mm zoom, they were heading around the first corner and out of sight.

I increased my walking speed a little, anxious to see where they were at. By the way they were acting it would not have surprised me if they had shot down the side of the field and turned into the far right corner toward the "deer highway" down into the gully.

I was happy to see that Stella had stopped soon after the first corner and was enjoying a meal of tall wet green grass. Some would say she is eating that because she has an upset stomach while others say she just likes grass. I'll agree with the latter in this case, since she has shown no signs of an upset stomach.

Sadie was beside herself with what she had found. She had sprinted to the corner about to make the turn right, then turned around and ran back along the edge of the field on the path worn by deer traffic. You could not see that path today due to the taller grass.

After a quick analysis, she literally hopped into the air and jumped into the the thick brush of thorn bushes and wild vines.

She had found where the deer had been spending time but didn't stay long because the scent led her in a different direction.

About the time that Sadie jumped back out of the brush, Stella trotted to catch up and they took off around the corner, sprinting as they made the right turn.

It was good to see Stella back to running, and showing no signs of walking so slow that she would drag her feet. I had not seen this much energy from the hounds in a long time.

Sadie made a quick search along the back edge of the field, while Stella stayed right at the entry point of the "deer highway". I didn't say a word, I wanted to see what she would do today on her own. In the meantime Sadie could not stop moving. Whenever you see her tail curled like that and her nose toward the ground, she is totally locked into something.

Wunderground weather warned me of a high allergy count this morning due to trees, not pollen. My eyes had been watering from the time I stepped outside and my left nostril was itching to the point of near insanity during this walk.

Besides all the increase in colors, the hounds having more energy, the dew was heavy again this morning ... it's the main reason I wear the waterproof hiking boots for these early morning walks.

I didn't have to say a word for the hounds to take off down the back side of the field. Once again they moved out way in front of me. I walked my normal pace and let them go. Obviously they were on to something again and I wasn't going to stop them.

These pictures stop their action but in most cases both hounds are moving quickly when I push the shutter.

Sadie had moved out so far in front of me I had to max out my zoom lens. She was giving me a check look to see if I was watching her while thinking about running off into the 'no fly zone'. She stayed in that one spot as I caught up with her and made the final turn home.

I think you can see during the previous pictures just how much the field has grown in the past 24 hours. With a day full of sunshine today, the growth will explode. I might not be able to wait 7 days until I mow my yard again.

I had not quite walked to the last turn yet when Sadie takes off sprinting down the path with Stella right on her heels. They were going at full speed and I wished I had captured that speed with the camera. All of these pictures were taken with the lens zoom'd 135mm and above, just trying to keep up with them.

What was it they had smelled to take off like that and not veer off the path?

As long as they stayed within my view and Stella did not take off right for the woods, I was going to walk my normal speed. Sadie did not move from that spot in the next picture. Stella and I just caught up with her.

Again, I cannot get over the energy that Stella showed this morning on the walk. It also looks like she is finally gaining some weight back, less ribs are showing. With her normal 'hound look' and personality it is hard to tell if/when she is feeling bad, if she is at all.

I didn't say a word toward them the entire walk. They moved on their own and when they wanted to. Right after this next picture, they moved right behind me and followed me on the path home. What had gotten into them this morning?

The highway traffic seems to be energized more than normal today. While I wrote this post I have seen more farm equipment traveling on the highway and trucks pulling trailers than I have seen cars.

My curiosity has got the best of me about the two trucks that turned onto the country road within view of my house, towing a trailer with either very long steel beams or wood trusses. I am going to hop into the Mini Countryman later and head down that direction to see what I can find with my camera.

With the colors brighter than normal and the increased activity of the hounds this morning, I had taken 47 pictures during this session. That is about 10-12 more than I normally during the morning walk.

With a lot of those downloaded for this blog post, it looks like it might be a two post day today. It feels like a lot is going on today. I also have the urge to take some other pictures around town I have been wanting to take for some future non-hound blog posts.

It might also be time to take another trip out to the Tulip Train Trestle and walk over to see the old steel bridge across the highway behind the fields, since it has been two years since the last trips.

I feel like doing a lot of picture taking today and nothing that is on my 'to do' list here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.