Walks Cancelled & Lots Of Old Photos

By the time I sat down to write this post it was 11:30am and the temperature outside was 'up to' 9°.  Consequently there were no early morning hound walks today. Heidi let me know that after her brief trip outside after she woke up, that she would not be leaving her bed of multiple sleeping bags under any circumstances. In the mean time, to come up with a blog post, I decided to post a LOT of OLD PHOTOS from current and past hounds I have had.

Stella had gotten to the point of needing to go outside bad enough that I heard her trying to open the round door handle with her nose. When I opened that kitchen door leading to the carport, the storm door was frozen over along with a handle that would not move due to it being frozen. At 10:30am, it was up to 6°.

Sadie was excited of course. She thought once she saw my camera that we were headed out for her daily walk ... but not today. I wasn't going to take the hounds out in single digit temps ... only bathroom runs today.

By the time I walked around the corner with the camera, Stella had already walked out into the field to dump her tanks and was waiting for me on the red tiles. She wanted to get back inside. With the wind from the NE, those cold temps were like cutting me with a knife ... even Sadie did not venture toward the field.

About the time I reached for the door to go back inside I glanced over at the carport thermometer. It's protected from the wind since it's back in the corner with two walls guarding it. Just a few degrees warmer without the wind blowing against it.

But Heidi wasn't moving. She had gone out to start her day around 7:45am when it was 3° and a wind chill of -7, ate breakfast in less than one minute and sprinted for her bed of multiple sleeping bags. I have found out that nylon does NOT irritate her skin like the Mexican wool blankets I have used for years.

So, with these being the only pictures I had taken this morning, I had to come up with something I thought you would be interested in looking at. I was going to just post a picture of each hound on the today's date one year a part ... but I didn't have a lot of good photos to choose from. I kept finding better photos I wanted to post, and some of them had never been on the blog.

Here are 22 of them, mostly of Sadie with a few of Stella, Heidi and Winston scattered in.

I didn't realize that I was still keeping Sadie on a tether and walked her everyday on the retractable leash until 2015.

Taken 3 years ago today.

Just a few hours after Stella's arrival from Kentucky. Sadie wasn't sure what was going on.

Winston loved the snow. It's been a lot of years since we had snow this deep.

Sadie enjoys any kind of weather. You may notice that dead brush area along with the sapling to Sadie's right ... is the area I cleared in April 2014 and planted grass to expanse my yard.

I can't wait to feel the weather as warm as some of these photos.

Four hounds at one time are my maximum number but almost too many for one person. I didn't plan it that way but after seeing pictures of Stella needing to be rehomed in August 2015, I couldn't resist.

It was a great move bringing Stella home ... it gave Sadie a friend that was as big and strong as she was. She had not played like this since she was a puppy in 2008. Definitely great for Sadie, she was turning into a couch potato before Stella arrived.

Taken last year on this same date. It was much warmer than today but you could never tell by Heidi's expression.

As sad month only two years ago, 2015. Winston had hurt is back, was paralyzed and Sadie didn't know what to do.

Taken a year ago today ... much much warmer last year.

One of the few walks taken by Heidi anymore. These are from just last April ... 2017.

I remember letting Sadie out one Sunday morning at least 5 years ago, as I poured her breakfast kibble. I am not sure what bit her or what she snorted but her whole body was covered in these bumps. Benedryl solved the problem and she was back to normal within 30 minutes.

Both pictures above were taken a year ago today.

Sadie loves chewing sticks in the spring and summer. She doesn't eat many of them but when she does she enjoys them by biting them off about a 1/2" at a time. Most of the time after biting them into smaller pieces she spits them out.

Still under control of the retractable leash as late as November 2014.

This was just a year ago ... after dark.

Winston and Sadie trying to stay warm on the couch sometime in 2014.

The first day of Heidi's arrival ... June 28 (?) 2011.

After going through and selecting those 22 photos, I decided 'why not' add a few of hounds I have had in the past before I started blogging, plus some pictures when Winston was younger. Here are the final 11 photos.

Harry was my first basset hound in 1987. We lived out by Ft. Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island. That is between Coupeville and Oak Harbor Washington. He followed me to Breckenridge Colorado, back to Whidbey Island and then to Indiana in 1994. He spent his last two years at the house I live in now. He was always a roamer, could never find him ... liked to take naps at the Landscaping business just down the road (they'd call me) and even walked in the back door and slept once at the Oak Harbor Washington DMV (License Branch) ... they also called me to let me know where he was.

Maggie was my first two tone basset hound, lemon and white. She loved the field that we walk though currently but cancer took her at 7 years old.

Arthur was before Winston. They had the same mother and the exact same personality. He and Bertha (bloodhound) were great pals plus the Mini Dachshund we would pet sit for me niece.

In the summer of 2004 I decided to pick up Winston at 8 weeks old. As you see he wasn't much bigger than a 16oz Pepsi.

Bertha started playing with him the first day he was at home ... they were inseparable for the next 4 years.

Yes ... same field, same houses, different camera ... notice how much of the field is grass without any kind of weeds or wild flowers that have overtaken the field in recent years?

Not in the correct order but this is Bertha at 13 weeks old. By one of the few date stamps I have on my photos, it confirms it was August 1999. That is her and Winston in the photo below.

Some would say I bought Sadie as a 12 week old bloodhound puppy too soon after Bertha died, but Winston really was affected by Bertha's death in July 2008. He was affected enough that I had to take him to the vet because he had stopped eating and howled all the time. The vet suggested he might need a new puppy since he was then solo and had grown up with Bertha.

My PC crashed back then so I lost all of my photos of Sadie when she was a puppy. I had a lot of photos of her playing with Winston in the fall of 2008 and she proved to be exactly what Winston needed to get back to his old self.

This is the only photo I have of Sadie when she was a puppy, date unknown.

It will be another day inside, with Sadie going crazy with 'cabin fever' but no way will we take any walks today because it's just to cold. We'll keep warm inside, might watch more moves or football games or continue reading a few books I have started. Heidi will only get out of her bed to eat lunch ... which btw I need to do for them since I have Sadie and Stella standing right next to my right elbow wanting to eat.

Sorry if all of these photos were slow to load or used up to much data for those on limited data plans. I hope neither occurred.

Sunny but the coldest day this winter to close out 2017 in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

It's A Quiet Day For The Hounds

I guess this post this morning might be borderline rambling, nothing religious, nothing political ... I just feel like writing.

I know, it's Christmas Day and some may be asking "why are you blogging" on a morning like today, while others may be looking for something to read or pictures to look at over a cup of coffee sitting in front of their computer. They might not have much more planned than me.

There may be a few blog readers out there that are like me. Some call us loners, some call us crazy but millions of us just like privacy and live that way. Having pets is probably good in that situation. I know my hounds over the years have been great companions. They will listen to all kinds of conversations between me and them or just me, some rants ... yet they never voice an opinion.

They can get you through some of the worst and best times while teaching you many lessons if you are observant and open minded.

For some reason the hounds and I were up way too early this morning. We were up turning lights on, without any hesitation. It's the same routine for the 359th time this year. It never makes a difference whether it's daylight or dark, the hounds can go from a deep sleep to total excitement just over the thought of breakfast bowl of kibble.

To prevent any possible chance of them taking off in the dark while dumping their tanks after their breakfast, we always wait for daylight on the days we get up early. I will be explaining the consequences of not preventing that chance, later in this post.

So as we move outside with a camera under my arm and a cup of coffee in hand, Stella seems to be into her daily scratch every day and Sadie has found new ground to explore since I cut back some brush in late fall.

This is the normal daily routine for them.

Today though we changed the routine just a little. Since we had to wait for daylight before letting them outside to dump their tanks, what better time than to take the first walk of the day ... 40°, a dark foggy morning. With recent rain plus the higher temperatures melting the frozen rock hard ground ... the waterproof hiking books I broke out of my closet last fall were the perfect shoes to wear as the water rose above ground level with each step I took.

Also a little different than usual, the hounds were more into smelling instead of eating, if you know what I mean. They will always have their noses to the ground but it's better in my eyes when they are sniffing areas trying to identify something rather than finding unknown things to eat.

There must have been an increase in night time animal traffic because they were both stopping in places they usually don't. It looked as if there were just too many scents to collect all in one walk.

I also decided for today's pictures I would try to zoom in on them as much as possible, making each or both of them fill the view finder. Just a change in pictures I guess. I like seeing Sadie is showing a little rib on the sides. I like to try to keep the bloodhounds as lean as possible. It's better on their joints as they get older and less work for their hearts.

Stella had 'free reign' today and that is saying something after the story I will tell later in this post from our yesterday afternoon walk.

When I bought Sadie as a puppy, I was buying more of a 'red' than a 'tan' bloodhound. The hound she was replacing, Bertha, was more red but sometimes you never know until the pups get older which color they will be.

Sadie's dad, Clyde, was a big obnoxious loud bloodhound ... tan. I get that description from the times I went out to visit the litter of pups before deciding to take Sadie. Her mom was a laidback 'black & tan'. Later the breeder told me she was getting feedback from owners that the female puppies had the personality of Clyde, while the males were laidback like their mom.

I had to agree ... Sadie at the time in 2008 was the most obnoxious, destructive puppy I had ever owned. I'd have to leave her in the largest kennel they made for indoors while I was at work and she even bent those heavy black rods with her jaws ... trying to get out. I am not sure how she did it, except for jumping inside the kennel to move it by the time I got back home from work. Since it was just a few inches taller than her I am not sure how she could jump but someway she would scoot that kennel almost 12" at times.

Yet, she has turned into a great indoor dog and it has been at least 5 years since she destroyed anything of mine inside. I can't remember the exact year that I let her 'out of jail' while I was gone, but she, Winston and Heidi would spend time in the shut bedroom while I was at work ... with no problems.

Stella on the other hand is a great indoor hound, except when she has occasional bouts with separation anxiety. She will go months without doing anything and then about the time you think she has adjusted to living here she will do something while I am gone. I could be gone just 10 minutes or 4 hours, I never know what I will come home to ... at least she is barricaded in one room and does not have access to all of the house. That doesn't even work when I am outside mowing the yard for 45 minutes.

Wow, this conversation went way off track. I think this hound talk just started because I was noticing today how predominate the bottom half of her tail is 'black & tan' ... thus the reason her original owner named her 'Dipstick'.

You can see that distinct color change on her tail.

This picture did not turn out as well is the live shot looked. The camera caught what I thought I was taking about a second later. They were both intense while moving with their new found scents.

Today I decided I'd follow them up to the corner and hang out with them. They didn't want to leave but that NE wind was feeling colder and total opposite direction from the normal wind direction. I had to tell them "lets go".

And all of these pictures are them sniffing an area while eating nothing ... quite a change.

Those two paths that look like they might be from a RTV are nothing more than the paths of worn grass by deer traffic.

Stella followed Sadie the whole walk today. It was almost like she wanted to make sure that Sadie wasn't getting something she wasn't.

It's hard to tell from this next picture with the cold wind hitting me in the face how it's ever going to increase 20° to reach the predicted high of 61°.

Yesterday afternoon without the camera, our afternoon walk turned into something never done before. I've been doing this same path, give or take a few inches either way, since 1997 and never did we do what we did yesterday.

Like the day before both hounds had their noses to the ground right on the path we take in almost a full run. Once they got to the back edge of the field they lifted their head and took off on a full sprint, into their 'no fly zone' and I had not even made it to the back of the field yet.

I found out pretty quick why for some reason I didn't bring the camera but instead a 6' standard dog leash. I didn't start calling them by name, nor did I start running after them. I did not see any deer that would make them take off sprinting like that ... but I was pretty sure I'd find them once I crested the small hill, along the tree line on the north side of the field.

They would always be along that wooded area to the north, in the past ... but not yesterday. In fact along the full length of the field that runs perpendicular from the back of the field directly to the neighbors backyard ...

Neither hound was anywhere ... out of sight ... no barking ... no baying ... gone!! It was like the "no fly zone" had turned into the Bermuda Triangle.

I thought I knew where they were, at least I was hoping they had only gone that far because if they were not in the field past the wooded fence line we were screwed. Before I even got to that tree line I saw Stella through the trees in the lot next to the field ... but that lot was fenced in.

The only way they could have gotten into that area was either jump the fence or had entered it at the far end of the field and than ran half of the distance from the back field to the a different neighbors house at least 1/4 of a mile away from our house.

So now both Sadie and Stella see me and start to run toward me ... but confusion erupts as they cannot figure out what to do about the square wired fence that was standing 3' tall. Remember, this breed is not problem solvers ... they got in with no problem but had no idea how to get out. The looks on their faces showed they were stymied on what to do.

I walked along the fence line a little further east and finally found a place where the fence had been mashed down to about 3"-4" above the ground. Even then, neither hound would step across that fence ... but figured it out as I led them by Sadie's excess skin on her neck and Stella's collar.

They trotted along side me toward home acting very proud of their newest excursion. I hope that does not become a habit for them during the times they take off that far away. It may not, since neither has ran toward the neighbors house that they visited just two days ago when they were chasing the strange dog. They have not even looked that direction in recent walks.

I made good progress yesterday in my 'spring cleaning' four months early. I still have the bedroom and bathroom to go but I knocked out the biggest rooms first. I have rearranged some things and now feel like I have more room in my "tiny home" of 958 sq feet of living space. That in itself was quite an adjustment from over 1,600 sq feet just a few years prior to moving here.

I have lived in wooded areas in Washington, the mountains outside of Breckenridge CO and even on the beach in southern California but I have never lived in a place that collects as much dust as this house.

I also attached the indoor bike trainer to my Romic road bike so I can ride indoor this winter. It's not that fun but I don't mind it and it will be good to get back into some exercise with plans of riding my bike more this upcoming spring and summer. It took Sadie only one time to figure out that a spinning bike wheel inside is not something to check out with your nose ... puppy curiosity taught her that lesson.

I was told to expect a delivery sometime Saturday from 3 friends I've known since my college days. All of us live in different states in the USA, from Georgia to California and in between.

As I told my friend that made the order that was shipped, "I guess it's good I changed my diet about a month ago from Vegan back to a lean Paleo" because my surprise Christmas gift was 18 pieces of different meats and chicken from Omaha Steaks in Nebraska.

That also included some deserts, some stuffed baked potatoes and each box has packed my freezer. So I am set for a while and more than likely will be placing an order with them in the future.

Why the diet change after 3 months? It's strange in a way but grains give me indigestion, certain beans give me indigestion. Without beans, lentils the sources of protein on a Vegan diet are few and far between. When comparing this strict diet to what I was doing the 1-1/2 years prior, I didn't feel as good.

I am not looking for that energetic feeling 24/7 but I got tired of that 'blah' feeling. Going from low carbs to having them as a large percentage of your meals made me sleepy most of the time in addition to the indigestion.

Maybe the book written about different diets based on your blood type is more accurate than some people think. All I know is the list of foods it told me would give me problems, did just that when eating them.

So how does one spend Christmas if not celebrating with family or friends? About the same way every day in retirement is spent. Doing what you want when you want. Since I am taking a day off from house cleaning, I am thinking it might be a good day to start the monumental task of scanning old pictures into digital copies ... then I can start telling stories and posting pictures of some of my hounds I've had in the past.

It is twofold but a reason for blogging ... refreshing your memory. While looking back at those pictures I posted from Whidbey Island in my last post, I couldn't remember if that was Arthur or Barney. How sad is that? I guess that shows just how many different hounds I've had since 1987, ranging from 2-4 hounds at one time.

Yet I have probably has more cars/trucks in the past 16 years than I have had hounds in the past 29 years. LOL

I don't have that many pictures, but I do have a LOT of 35mm slides to go through that I'd like to transfer to a digital copy. I dod have enough pictures to scan that it will take some time though.

Also on a day like this I like to read books. I always read a couple of different book concurrently. So, really things are good here on Christmas Day here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

I've looked back on my 3 blogs (2 private) and checked what was taking place this same time in prior years. About the only differences I found were the changes in weather, not what I did or thought. Once again the blog serves it's purpose as a record journal and is great for reference.

For those readers that are in between family meals or visits today ... enjoy your time with them and enjoy the food. Have fun!!

Stella is wanting her lunch an 1:15 minutes early right now ... yet she is a great time keeper because that is about how much earlier she had her breakfast compared to her normal time.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year from 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.