It took a while to get outside this morning because I couldn't tell if or how hard it was raining. All signs on the highway and in the carport showed there had been a lot of rain overnight continuing this morning. Stepping outside I could hear the wet pavement with passing traffic but I didn't see them using their windshield wipers. That was the sign it was time to take our morning walk.
After I come up with a plan to keep the hounds off of the carport this spring or summer, long enough for concrete repair to dry I will be filling in cracks and this worn low spot. Sadie doesn't mind rain. She will walk right through the standing water but Heidi and Stella always step around any kind of water or wet pavement.
It may be close to 50° warmer than just a few days ago but that doesn't mean that Heidi had any change of plans. Her routine is to go out first thing in the morning with the bloodhounds, back in for breakfast, a stop by her water dish and then heads for her sleeping bag.
So with the warmer weather things have changed drastically. I was still wearing multiple layers of jackets but today the top was a light rain jacket instead of a large down parka. My ski cap was left in the house and my ball cap was back on my head. No gloves. The ground was no longer rock hard but showed water coming up through the ground along the edge of my hiking boots as I took a step.
Stella has had a new routine the past few days since we were able to get back outside and one that I am not happy with. Yet, it's stubborn Stella and she will do what she wants.
Sadie took off running into the area behind the burn pile, through the dead ragweed stems. That is her favorite place the past 10 days.
Stella though was in her own world and you will see by the photos listed in the order they were taken ... she did not join us for the walk until Sadie and I were almost finished. She still took her own way home and at her own pace.
Sadie was back in her element with tracking, running, diving deep into the brush for a closer analysis of what her nose lead her too.
The hawk was huge. He took off from ground level just past the first corner in the brush, as Sadie came close to the turn. I did not know I had caught it on film until I downloaded the photos from the camera.
The AT&T tower was back in view today ... the fog was gone but it was still overcast and a breeze from the southwest.
A full out sprint to catch up to me ... I was too far ahead of her.
I was very curious where Stella would be as we headed back home. With her new routine I am never sure. I am always happy to see her on the horizon though. I don't think there is a chance of her heading to the front yard while I am out of view but she might head down into the woods. With today's weather she would be stomach deep in mud if she went to the bottom of the gully. How do I know that? Sadie did that as a puppy.
By the time I was close to Stella she was in the field no further than directly behind the house. Of course she ignored everything I was saying to her, like "we are going home". She did turn and head toward the house.
Sadie was catching up to us and both hounds rarely let their noses above ground level.
As Stella started to walk away from us I thought I'd stand in the yard and just watch where she was headed with the possibility that I would have to go get her ... but all she wanted was to come back through the northern part of the yard ... at her pace.
We have had a daily afternoon visitor this past month, even when the temps were single digits or below zero. Luckily the visitor is never around when Sadie steps outside. The squirrel walks on top of the fence all the way to the end, turns around and head back to this point where she jumps off and scampers into the wood.
We will enjoy this warmer weather the next two days but snow is on the way Friday and Sunday. It will be a typical Indiana winter weather from now on. There will be drastic ranges of high temperatures. It is suppose to be warmer than normal and more rain than snow. That rain is suppose to be more than normal all the way through spring.
With the single digit temps last week I caught myself doing my annual house looking online. I have a list of small towns in the state of Arizona. I also have a friend that lives in Phoenix giving me a few more based on his state wide travels when he worked for the state.
I came to the same conclusion as I do every year. It's hard to choose just one town that I like or house that I like. Even selling my house here would not pay for a house in those small towns unless it was a major fixer upper. Moving into a house that is move in ready would change my budget from no mortgage payment to having one. The hounds would adapt to any change but I am not sure they would enjoy trading 7 acres of green grass for 7 acres or more of sand.
Through my years of research almost every area in the USA has 2-3 months of 'bad' weather ... but I find it harder to handing the cold as I get older. I doesn't make me miserable by any means but 50° sure feels better than 8°.
A little smartphone tidbit ... only charge your phone or tablet just long enough to reach 100% battery. If we leave that charge going on all night while we sleep, it actually shortens the battery life. This is what I have read. If there are any electronic experts reading this, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
It's warm, windy and wet here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.
