Can The Hounds Handle This Pace?

Just a couple of months short of 3 years, "we knew the job would be dangerous when we took it" ... retirement that is.

I knew I would be leaving days full of meetings, and deadlines to becoming a full-time 'doorman' for the hounds. Their day might change a little, while mine would be changing a lot. There was Winston at that time, no Stella. Only one bloodhound unlike now. Yet, Stella has adapted to the fast pace of retirement very well.

Long time blog readers know there isn't a lot of change from day to day here in 'the tropics'. This fast paced lifestyle even bores me at times and I find it hard to blog about it. Seeing all three hounds everyday is a motivating factor to keep blogging. Seasons determine how much gets done around here. One of four of them will determine if we are hibernating or doing new projects outside ... with some of those projects happening every spring. As long as the weather is good, we get two hound walks in per day.

Stella continues her new routine of walking with Sadie and I. She might lag back a little but now it's only for her to stop so she can scratch what is itching her. In between the walks all three of the hounds sleep most of the time, unless it's time for lunch. I read today the average amount of time a dog sleeps is 16 hours per day, that seems like a lot. They let me know when I have gone past meal time.

I'm not sure of the reason but it seems to me that both hounds have lost some of their energy lately. Is that because they feel it's still winter as they wait for the hot sunshine in the spring and summer to get them running more, playing more? We will see and it's something I have to keep an eye on I think. Otherwise they act normal for bloodhounds and bassets.

They didn't spend a lot of time in the far right corner this morning. Just a quick run through to check out some smells and they were back up with me. It was nice this morning, mid 40's, sun was out. There are many consecutive days in the 60's about 3 days away ... that should carry us through the month of February and very hard to believe after three months of winter.

It might be because they are female hounds but there has never been a fight between Sadie and Stella when they find the same thing in the field or eat the same kibble only a few feet apart. That's good because I am not sure I could break them up due to their size. Not only are they big but strong. Heidi holds her own when it comes to eating. Her bowl is a good 6' feet away from the larger hounds.

On the way back this morning I saw Stella behind us itching whatever is bothering her lately. Without calling her, she ran to catch up with Sadie and I. The leash has been in my pocket every walk but has not been used in a while. It would only take a deer chase to change this laidback pace.

I've had a slow leak in the rear tire of the Z4. I have been putting air into the tire on a more frequent basis, so I ran it over to the local tire shop today between hound walks to see what they could find. It was just a small bead leak and an easy fix.

Stella has been on a record pace lately as far as NOT causing damage while I am gone. It's been over two months now since her last separation anxiety attack. I hope she has realized that this is where she lives and that I will return after those times I leave the house. At 18 months living here, it is the longest she has lived anywhere in her 7 years.

To some it would be a pretty boring Tuesday but it's the norm around here. I have a lot of things I want to do this spring and summer around the house so it will be busier than last summer. With Stella's desire to 'drift away' while outside, I will have to put her on the 80' tether in the field while I work. She doesn't mind it.

This afternoon's walk was about as slow as you can imagine. Sadie walked close to me most of the the walk, not far enough away to take any pictures. Stella didn't run but walked most of the way a few paces behind us. I swear I can hear her dragging her feet when she walks that slow.

I've spent more time on the computer this week doing some reading and research, therefore my book reading has decreased a lot compared to the past two weeks. Maybe it's the subject matter that has slowed me down.

The reminder from the Cincinnati Reds page on Facebook tells me opening day is only 48 days away. Hard to believe they started spring training yesterday with pitchers and catchers, with the rest of the team starting in a few days ... with spring training games in a couple of weeks. It seems like MLB season gets longer each year.

The rest of our afternoon didn't change much. The hounds went back to sleep after their 2nd walk. I grabbed a salad and went back to reading on the internet while watching traffic on the highway outside the large window.

I was wondering if it will snow sometime in March? What did I tell you, it's a furious pace to try to keep up with.

One of the best winters ever here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

No Excuses

I can't really say what the reasons were for my lack of blogging lately. There are more than a few possible reasons but none of them are that important.

I just didn't feel like blogging, nor taking pictures at times. It seems to be an annual event where I shut down the blog, the social media, turn off the tv and escape reality by losing myself in books. One after another, and sometimes reading one from cover to cover in a 4-5 hour setting, while forgetting it's 2am.

Our absence could have been the weather. For the past few weeks the skies have looked nothing different than the picture below. The temperatures may have moved back and forth from 20's to 40's but those are never a factor in walking the hounds.

The rains were never heavy but it rained enough to keep us inside most of the days. Between the warmer temps melting the frozen ground and the rains our walks were on very wet ground. Water would come up over the edges of my boots with each step and water trails would follow each paw of Sadie and Stella as they moved through the field.

We still walked most of the days but lately the camera had to stay inside because Stella had to be leashed again. Combine her recent escape with a wild run the other day and her stubbornness levels recently reaching 200% ... there wasn't a choice but to connect the retractable leash to her collar.

I am still not sure what animal is enjoying this fallen tree but if my eyes are not deceiving me I think I see that chewed limb's diameter getting smaller.

For weeks I had zero urge to blog publicly. I stopped putting a picture or two of the hounds even on my Facebook. That place has turned into nothing but a political cesspool that even the best privacy settings don't work. I glanced over at my Wordpress blog and decided to delete the whole thing.

This morning though, something changed halfway through my 2nd cup of coffee. I had the urge to add all of those blogs I deleted from the list a week or so ago. By the time the hounds and I got ready for our walk I had a feeling I might post here today.

I left the retractable leash on the door handle, grabbed the 6' standard leash and my camera. The standard leash could be folded into my jacket pocket in case I needed it.

I felt like taking pictures again, even though they seem to never change to me. I even felt like blogging again.

My green jacket sleeves showed it was trying to snow but it didn't have many more snow crystals on the sleeve than those leaves did in the picture above. I thought it was 30° but it felt colder. At first I thought I may have not chose the right jacket and gloves. I found out after our walk "it feels like" 20°.

Stella was happy to run and there isn't a minute in the day or night where Sadie isn't happy about going outside. She has turned into a great house dog but she could probably spend the majority of her days outside if I would let her.

Over the past week all of the deer scents and scat have moved from the heavy brush along the edge of the field out to the middle of the field. I can't remember the last time that both hounds headed for the far right corner of the field. There were times in the past I couldn't pry them from that area and now they never head that direction.

They both stay in the middle of the field while I continued to walk along the back edge and then making the final turn home. It's been that way for the last 7-10 days. Sadie will always run up to me to make sure I okay and then she will retreat back to Stella to let her know it's time to go.

The scents were strong this morning. Sadie was moving in so many different directions, luckily the camera caught most of them.

That pose of Stella is about all she has been doing the past week or so. She will raise her head to look at me and then back to eating. Constantly ignoring my calls of 'come on'. That is when I have to walk over to her and connect the leash to get her to move.

A few summers ago, they left a roll of hay in the field for quite a while. That spot changed from bare dirt to the greenest patch of grass in 7 acres.

This picture right here is the perfect example of Stella's recent walks. Walking nor running has been high on her list of priorities.

Not until I attach a leash to her collar and then take it off of her in a few steps, does she start to head home.

The other day was different though. In the middle of that trot, she stopped and looked toward the woods to her right. I knew I was going to be sprinting after her in a matter of seconds. I glanced that direction and didn't see any deer but by that time she was gone and baying all the way.

I thought it was a blonde cat that jumped out of the woods but it looked much larger than a cat. what ever it was, Stella was right on it's heels and all of that thick brush and woods didn't matter. She charged through that like it wasn't even there. I had to go to the other side of the woods to connect Stella to the leash to bring her home.

The next day on the return trip home, she trotted over to the woods again but there was nothing to chase. She ignored me calling her. She just needed to double check the unknown animal was not around. So for the next few days, the camera stayed home and Stella was back to doing walks on the leash during the whole walk.

Heidi is looking better and even feels heavier when I pick her up. Her trips outside are few and short. Nothing longer than to dump her tanks in this cold weather. She has become quite attached to my Marmot sleeping bag this winter. She will put on a shivering act until she is covered up with the bag, even with the house warm inside.

Therefore she is not doing much more than this until those outside temperatures get back to 70°.

I'll close by saying I don't know how frequent I will post in the future. I might go back to posting every day or I might have a few days or a week in between my blog posts, it just depends on what I feel like doing.

Retirement living is always good in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

Lost Track Of Days

Every since I retired in April 2014 I find it normal that I lose track of days. With our fast paced lifestyle her in 'the tropics' it's really not a big deal when that happens.

Whether it is Wednesday or a Saturday the hounds have the same routine, even on declared holidays.

So as we were out this morning, me with a cup of coffee in hand while Sadie and Stella walked around the field, I realized I had no idea what day of the week it was. Luckily the print out I have for the college football bowl games on tv reminds me not only who is scheduled to play that day or night ... but shows me the day of the week. How convenient is that?

Even with my cup of coffee in my hand and no camera, Sadie still gave me that stare she has when she wants to walk.

When I told her "not yet" ... she went back to what she was doing.

It wasn't long though ... just one more cup of coffee ... then we headed out to enjoy a beautiful sunny morning, no wind and a crisp feeling to the air.

The hounds were more than happy to get started ... meanwhile back inside the house, Heidi was in full winter mode and had not come up for air while sleeping under a sleeping back, every since she had finished her breakfast kibble. That routine in the winter cold temps is nothing new for her ... she has done this every winter since I brought her home in 2011.

The hounds were on their own as I walked. I could tell early in this walk that Stella had different things to check out and most likely would not be walking with Sadie and I. She was good though, getting back to us without being called.

When I zoomed in for this picture I knew Stella had no intentions of following our pace.

That never bothers Sadie as she sprinted past me on the path and headed for the back of the field. Even at 34°, it felt warmer than the pictures show.

Has Stella even moved since we left that spot? Even lifted her head from the ground?

Then out of nowhere, she decided she had better catch up with us.

Just as she glanced to her right up to the far corner of the field, while Sadie and I were heading home ... she made a quick left turn only to be interrupted by something her nose found.

Not to be fooled into who was really in control of this walk ... she took off trotting to a corner that is about as far away as she could get. Sadie and I continued our path home ... I was really curious what Stella would end up doing. I wondered if it was going to be one of those days where Stella lags so far behind that she is out of sight as I would make my last turn home.

But just like before she started trotting our way. With her nose to the ground she followed our steps along the edge of the field and evidently smelled Sadie and changed direction to come right at us.

Maybe she was getting cold and wanted to get home, I'm not sure. She let Sadie know she was headed home.

By the time I am almost at the edge of the backyard, Sadie gave me that stare again ... only this time she wanted to stay outside.

Stella was in no hurry to come inside either so I let them roam while I picked up more twigs around the yard on the north side of the house. When I made it back up the hill after a quick trip to the mailbox, both of them were waiting for me at the door, thinking I had left them and had gone inside.

Stella had to come to remind me it was time to feed them lunch. A quick nudge by her nose gives me the first warning shot, after that she will move to the howling stage which gets Heidi out of her deep sleep into a barking mode. I find out within 30 minutes if I am really behind in the feeding schedule.

I tried getting a picture of Heidi today to let everyone know that she really does have a pulse and actually gets outside her (mine) sleeping bag. She was so quick I barely caught her as she was moving under the yews and out to the front yard.

Stella debated whether to head out to the field or back inside. She is also not a fan of cold weather and since this morning, winds had picked up and was blowing freezing air from 15-20mph. She turned and went back to the house with Heidi and I.

Sadie never cares how cold, how much rain or snow ... she just loves being outside. I let her hangout in the field for almost an hour, then I hooked Stella up to the retractable leash and went for a 'supervise' afternoon walk. The winds were stronger and the air was colder coming from the west. Sadie was happy with a 2nd walk and was quiet the rest of the afternoon.

While they spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping, I spent time setting up all of my new spreadsheets for 2017. Seems like it was a pretty fast year and some of the spreadsheets were showing some interesting results over the past year.

It is another night of no interest in watching the 3 college football bowl games being televised so it might be back to book reading or watching a movie.

I almost forgot ... Heidi had a 20 minute soak in warm water and Epsom Salts. She likes that enough that she almost lays down in the water but that would put her head barely above water. Her skin looks good but compared to past Decembers, it's about the normal condition for this month. I've thought for the longest time this year her skin problems are airborne allergies.

As long as the sunshine is out, we are happy here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.