The Hounds Fit In a Walk

When I wrote that earlier post this afternoon I thought the day was over and most outside activity was done. I'd be spending the rest of the day looking at different blog templates and playing around with them, while the Reds baseball game was on in the background.

Sadie had other ideas and as usual she got her way. The ground had dried out more than I thought it would be although my feet were wet most of the walk. I could tell from the start that Stella's nose was wired for sound today.

Of course that meant she was on her own schedule. When I didn't see her when I took the 2nd photo I figured she had gone into the woods and over the steep bank for the first time ever. That would not be a good idea for her.

About the time I was planning on seeing her much later, smelly from the mud and it going up her legs to her stomach ... that is how wet the bottom of that gully is ... I was saved by the bell, she came into view running fast.

She did a fly-bye with Sadie and they both took off. I guess that is what a morning of cabin fever does to them. High energy, where their noses and ears are working overtime.

I would say this area off to the right corner is where the deer spend a lot of time but I don't see a lot of mashed down hay where they would lay. There is something from scent that drive these two bloodhounds crazy when they get there.

Sadie is double checking to see if I see them. Or she may be trying to find out if I am yelling for them. Not today ... I keep walking without calling them.

Stella going from one place to another and is almost obsessed today with her nose to the ground.

She didn't want to leave but finally made the turn to come home. Once her feet hit the yard she didn't come straight to the house like she usually does ... she had some other smells to check out.

Sniffing all the way to the door.

NexGard continues to work well, especially today. I could not find one tick on either of them but pulled 6 off of me from my neck and legs within 10 minutes of sitting down at my desk. I wonder of those beef flavored chews taste good ... maybe I should be the one taking them.  j/k

The sun finally came out in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Hounds Supervise Some House Maintenance

When Sadie and Stella saw me pull the FJ out into the drive, they came sprinting from the field thinking we were going somewhere. We did but not until later. They have become addicted to riding in the FJ, the distance does not matter. 

Heidi went to the door a little early today wanting outside. She will do that when she has to relieve herself but today she just wanted to wander around the yard. Her rear hocks looked fairly good today, stomach was a little red and her neck was a mess. She got a bath later in the afternoon.

I needed to do two things for a little house maintenance before the next storms blow in, forecast says on Tuesday. While on the roof I wanted to inspect because of the hail storm we had last month. This roof is on it's last legs so to speak and has been through a lot of storms, wind, snow and ice. I also needed to clean out any leaves and sticks that was blocking the flow of water in the gutters.

Stella took her normal supervisory position. Since she was in charge, Sadie decided the field was all hers.

My roof isn't really high nor steep. You do have to pay attention though. I love the views from being on the roof. The hounds look a long was off from that rooftop angle.

I saw some hail damage to the shingles. Nothing major but more than I had last year at this time. The wind had tore a couple of pieces off in the last storm. I have a package of shingles left over from the repair in 2008 after the tree top feel on the corner of the house. I got to the point of replacing a sheet (3 shingles) but couldn't find my roofing nails.

So the hounds got their FJ ride for the day. Total mileage was two miles round trip. I grabbed just a small handful and knew they were priced by the pound. The scale showed an 1/8 of a pound. Here is when the fun started. It's one of those @$&%$^ moments.

The cashier didn't know how to enter 1/8 of a pound into the register. She was talking to herself that she knew how to enter a 1/4 pound (.25). So I suggested her to try .125 or .12 ... that got her mumbling even more. So I offered to go back and get more nails to make it a 1/4 pound so it would be easy for her. She didn't want me to do that.

She yelled at the manager asking for help. I was pretty sure that .12 would work. The manager and I were on the same page and it's what my receipt shows also. It does make you wonder though what's being taught in schools anymore ... or maybe math just came easy for me.

Once the house maintenance was finished and all the tools were put up ... the hounds needed a walk. They slept this morning so there was only one walk this afternoon.

When they took off I was preparing myself that they would be chasing something and would be out of sight by the time I made the turn around that first corner.

They both sprinted for Stella's corner and no doubt there were fresh deer scent by the way they acted. It was also a day where Stella was going to ignore any calls that had her name and would come running only when SHE was ready to.

I like the color of these next to photos hidden in 7 acres of green.

Even though it was warm outside but not really hot, Sadie still was in a hurry to get back inside the house. It was shaded and cool inside, just the perfect temperature for her afternoon siesta. All of them have been sleeping all afternoon.

I joke to friends that I only do one thing a day but today I did two ... repaired the shingles and cleared the leaves and sticks out of the gutter so they will work as designed. I clean them out every fall after all the leaves have fallen off the trees. It never fails they come from somewhere over the winter months.

I hope to wash the Mini Cooper tomorrow. I want to get it nice and shinny before it rains.

It was a good day in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today. No ticks on either dog ... NexGard works very well.

Light Rain Is The Main Activity Today

It's hard to believe it's May already, starting tomorrow. Time flies in retirement ... really flies. Since shorts and t-shirts are the normal wear in the spring and summer, it's easy to tell when the temps are not near 60°. Add in a light rain that you can hear hitting the tree leaves and you can almost tell today is going to be moving slower than slow.

Stella walks in slo-motion to begin with and as you see later, she didn't change that this morning. With it 54° and any kind of moisture, Heidi will move off the couch today only to eat lunch. Going outside for any reason will be optional and not a sure thing to bet on. This photo of Heidi is this morning before I apply the Wounded Warrior Ointment.

With all the windows open and the sound of rain, Sadie nor Stella were real excited about going outside but they did. It was their typical stop and check the air before stepping off the concrete. They may have a high threshold for pain but no way are they going to get their paws wet if they don't have to.

Stella curled around the corner of the house as close as possible to keep dry ... but she had breakfast and has to dump her tanks ... she never does that in the yard and will have to go in the field, based on her standards.

They decided the wet yard wasn't that bad, plus the light rain had let up so they ventured on for a Saturday morning security check of their yard. You never know what may have shown up while they slept last night. Stella decided the best place to scratch was behind the two trees ... I almost didn't see her there.

So now Stella has to make a decision. It will be one she thinks about and then may or may not go into the field, depending how wet it is. I was happy to see her step a few feet inside the field and do what she needed to do.

Still thinking if she is or isn't going to go in that tall wet grass. I wasn't paying attention this morning looking at the photo, I already see two of them that should have been cropped.

Sadie doesn't understand what all the excitement is about today. You can tell from the photos so far, the morning is jumping with action and high energy.

Just like when camping, when you have to go, you have to go.

Now this is the first move where Stella is going to 'quietly' wander off and attempt to go on her own walk. She will act like she is just doing normal exploring but will gradually drift further away with dreams of veering left for the walk or maybe straight ahead into the woods.

Her tail is dead center in the photo.

See ... slowly slipping away.

She hears me say one word "Stella" and decides she will head home. No trotting or running though ... it's too wet. So walking as if she can't make another step she starts her slow trek to the house.

Sadie still wondering where's the excitement for today ... is this all there is?

Slow

And slower

She's back but not real thrilled the morning walk is called off until further notice. The weather radar shows the chances of hitting the trail today is slim to none.

My cabinets and refrigerator tell me it's time to head to town replenish the food supply. There is never a good time to do that on Saturday and I'm not sure why I waited that long this week to do it. Like I said at the start, days fly by when retired and it's Thursday just like that.

I have seen no ill effects of the computer warning pop-up I had yesterday.

Good news on the tick situation ... I have not found but one dead tick on Sadie a few days ago, nothing on Stella since giving them NexGard to chew. I have pulled off 5 ticks on me during that time. Maybe it was because I stopped counting them made them go away? :)

It's one of those days where I feel like changing blog templates, colors and fonts. It's a good thing that Blogger doesn't have the same number of possibilities as WordPress. At times I feel like going back the the tan color the blog use to be ... but that is just me looking for something to do on a rainy Saturday morning.

I almost forgot ... I have more posts so far this year in four months than I did in all of 2015.

Very green here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.