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.

A Good Feel To Today

It was a few ticks below 60°, all the windows in the house were open, birds were singing and both hounds were sound to sleep after waking me up a little past 7am to eat breakfast. With a forecast of 80° today before we are bombarded with thunderstorms tomorrow, I didn't hesitate putting on cargo shorts. Once I heard Stella shaking in the bedroom I knew our walk was just a few minutes away.

It felt warm outside with the old carport thermometer needle just past 50°. While Stella got her plan together I had already decided I would follow her today in whatever direction she took. She was going to be on her own with the whole field available. Totally unexpected, she started the walk in the normal way ... taking the path ... after a couple of days of needing verbal herding to get her to walk in that direction.

With that tall green grass, who could resist a little added breakfast food on top of her kibble a couple of hours before?

The past few days I had my hiking boots getting fully saturated from the heavy field dew. So this morning I slipped my North Face snow/rain boots over my low-cut summer socks. Just like Stella taking the normal path ... my boots didn't take on any water as the field had dried out along the path plus there wasn't any dew on the grass.

You can see the brush line getting green. While I was out mowing the other day I heard two of my neighbors doing the same thing and my next door neighbor mowed his yard as soon as he got home from work. I am anxious to see if this spring will be as wet as last year, where I only had a few days between rains to mow the fast growing yard. So far so good on the number of rain days.

Of course, just because it was a nice morning that does not mean that Heidi wakes up earlier and gets her day started. She will eventually walk out of the bedroom and start her stretching and move into the living room big leather chair sometime around 10am ... That will also be her norm during the hot summer months.

With a Cincinnati Reds game on tv at noon today, it will our normal time right after the game for the afternoon walk. Heidi will at least spend some time outside, whether she roams the yard or joins Stella and I for a little exercise. She enjoys time alone outside in the sun, just sitting there.

Even with all the freedom I was giving Stella for her walk, she didn't deviate too far from the normal path.

Like the other afternoon, for some reason she stopped out of nowhere and sat there. I have no idea what she heard, or saw ... maybe she was just in deep thought. With the pollen count increasing, even little bit, it's time for the daily wiping of Stella's eyes with a warm washcloth. I normally do that a couple of times per day for her and Heidi.

Right after I snapped that close up of her, she stood and leaned down on her front paws like she wanted to play then took off trotting away from me. Her and Sadie use to love wrestling along with running full speed a few years ago. Her running is a rare thing anymore.

I complained again to Chewy about how bad FedEx delivery was last month. I get Stella's glucosimine supplements from them. When I started last fall I'd get my shipment within two days. That gradually moved to five to seven days. So this morning I took a look at the tracking information and see that my shipment was picked up yesterday and will be delivered today. It will be interesting to see if the FedEx van pulls up the driveway to drop that small package off on my step.

Not a lot of eating today but a lot of data collection.

Close to getting back home and starting the day. The highlight of the day will be sitting inside watching the Reds baseball game. They are on a two game winning streak and could make it three today. That is quite a turnaround after starting the season 1-8.

She trotted a few times today but I was never able to catch her soon enough with the camera.

Not a lot going on as she entered the yard.

As usual, she walked right up next to the house as she finished her walk. You'll notice I have a clean car now. It was hard getting the dried bloodhound drool off the sides of it and the rear bumper. That stuff is harder to get off than tar or bugs.

Well I am headed to recycling.

A beautiful morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.