Not Bad For A Monday

It is pretty well set in stone that if I don't start doing something outside right after the morning hound walk, it most likely will not get done. Unless it's mowing the lawn. Otherwise I fall into a routine of downloading my photos into my computer and editing them right after the walk. They might go into a blog post and all of them will be exported to and saved on Flickr. A blog post may or may not be written. IF I move into some other activity besides the computer right after the walk ... it's a productive day.

This gives you a pretty good range of the different flowers, weeds etc that are growing in the field right now. The field is so much different than it was when it was cut in June. At that time it was almost all tall grass.

Since my plants in front of the house are too far under the overhang to capture the rain water, right after my hound walk I stepped inside to set the camera down, pickup the 3qt pitcher for water and headed back outside to water the Azaleas and the flowers that I cannot remember their names. Since my hose only goes so far I use the pitcher for the last three plants by the tv and internet satellite dishes.

We started the walk early but that humidity never left overnight. The old thermometer in the carport was a mark under 90° this morning and the air was thick. Low 90's were predicted highs but high humidity makes it feel much hotter. The hounds didn't mind, it was much cooler in the shade as we took our walk. For some reason Stella joined us right from the start this morning.

Knowing it was going to be watering day I was pretty sure I might get some things done before it gets too hot by 1pm. I use to paint houses in this kind of weather centuries ago when I was 19 or 20. Now I have a choice on whether I want to do anything outside in this heat. Lawn mowing is about all I'll do now, when it's hot. It's too wet to mow in the mornings so I don't have a choice but to mow in the afternoons.

There were two things I wanted to get accomplished this morning. The tires on the FJ needed some air. Little did I know just how hard that task would be. Since I was past the 15 days for returning my TV I decided it was time to recycle that huge box the TV came in. Of course to do that I had to take out all of styrofoam packaging because that is not recyclable. Since it wasn't I was going to end up doing something I had not planned on but it worked out well.

I didn't hear any tree limbs breaking this morning as I walked past the woods. Evidently Sadie did. She was almost in an agitated state of mind while she looked into the woods, running back and forth to get a better view. Finally she decided she had better things to do than run through thick brush and thorns just to see what she had heard. She turned and went back to her exploring in the field.

Stella was in the mode of continuous non-stop walking. If I was in the way she would walk on my foot and would never even look up at me. She just kept walking. Maybe she had already decided it was going to get hot today and she wanted to get back to the house as fast as possible. I am never sure what her reasoning is.

With a nice wind from the southwest, I knew if I burned anything, the wind would keep the smoke away from the house and from me. Some readers may cringe and cuss at me under their breath as they read this ... but yes, I burned that styrofoam along with the case I received last December when a Christmas present arrived in dry ice.

With a fire going strong and that terrible black chemical laden smoke blowing toward the northeast, I ran in the house to get the trash can under my desk that includes nothing more than all the street addresses I cut off of my mail before recycling the mail. Since I am a fire lover at heart (not a fan of the forest fires out west though) I grabbed all of my old business records and slowly fed them to the fire. I could have recycled them but it would have been too time consumer of deleting addresses and bank account numbers from the paperwork. Six years of business records went up in smoke, not a trace of them anywhere.

By noon the three hounds outside while I burned paper, were begging to go back inside where the AC had cooled the house the past hour or so. I did not have a camera handy to take my proof but Stella not only had another large drool this morning, but she had been eating dirt. What do you get when you mix water and dirt .... MUD ... hanging from both sides of her jowls. Where's the drool rag?

It was close to lunch time for them and hot enough that I knew once I went inside feeling that nice cold air I wasn't going back outside for a while. Probably not until after 8pm, when it is nice enough to sit outside. Like I said the other day, for some reason there has not been a problem of bugs, gnats or mosquitoes this summer, so sitting outside is enjoyable that time of day.

I have been able to hold off lately and fight through the cravings for ice cream, cookies or candy. I'll eat healthy throughout the day and early evening but by 9pm it is pure insanity craving sweets. Eating sweet fruit does not solve the craving ... drinking water does not either ... only ice cream, cookies or candy will work. Each night is a battle.

Stella has started to get a little more kibble in her bowl starting yesterday. I am going to see if I can put some more weight on those ribs that are showing. She was a lot skinnier than that in February 2017 but gained a lot of her weight back this spring. She weighed 79 pounds in April.

It might look like two butterflies but it's only one this morning. This flower is about 10' from the yard and at the end of our walk if we take the alternate path. I let the bloodhounds decide which path we take and believe it or not, they don't choose the same path all the time.

I didn't get any photos of the hounds after their lunch. What you saw yesterday is the way it is every day. None of them stay outside long and seem more interested in getting back inside to sleep than anything else.

Last week while Sadie was checking for any kind of spilled kibble around the sealed lid container, she not only moved the 25# dumbbell that holds the container in place, but dug out the old Coleman sleeping bag (for the hounds) in the closet to check under it. Then she decided if she would spread it out with her front paws it would be nice to take naps on ... just like the camping trip. She spends every afternoon on that sleeping back for her naps.

Stella had one thing on her mind this morning when walking ... getting into the shaded backyard as soon as possible. It's rare that she is the first one back to the yard, but today was one of those times.
 

I have to admit that shade this morning felt pretty good. It was at least 10°-15° cooler than the field. She still walked without stopping all the way to the carport/kitchen door to be let back inside.

With it being a 'low' pollen count today, she did not stop to scratch herself in the shade nor did she scratch herself inside ... she laid down and went to sleep, which is her second favorite activity right behind eating food.

I almost forgot ... how hard it was to air the tires up. It wasn't or isn't the process of airing them up. It was finding the air pumps to do it. In this small town three mini mart/gas stations have air pumps. One of those accepts debit cards, which is what I live on. I rarely have cash let alone quarters. Well the first pump I went to did not have a sign on it telling me that debit cards were not working. I won't tell you how many times I swiped my card, then slide the car into the slot before figuring out it wasn't working. I also won't tell you the words I was mumbling to myself during that time.

I go to store #2. At least it has a large page sign on the machine telling me it was "Out of Order". I was down to one last chance, otherwise I was on a 25 mile round trip drive just to put air into some tires that were low and needed air as soon as possible. Of course that machine only took quarters. Unlike last time, last year, their ATM machine was working this time so I could at least get some cash without driving around town looking for an ATM machine that worked.

Pretty soon, even this small town will be on nothing but electronic payment. I am not a fan of Apple Pay yet. Anyone else use electronic payment with your smart phone without any kind of issues??

I was successful getting the tires aired up. I passed on their candy, fresh oatmeal cookies and they didn't have Ben&Jerry's ice cream in their (minimart) freezer ... so I got out of the store with 6 quarters for the air pump, some dollar bills for my next trash run and a ten dollar bill for my next fast food run.

All in all, it was a nice day in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana today.

Bloodhounds Wait For Storms To Clear

If you would have been walking with us and saw this blue sky a little after 3pm, you would have never believed how black the sky was and how hard it was raining this morning. There might be more rain tonight before we get back to weeks of sunshine and mid 80's. Needless to say Sadie was thrilled to get at least one walk in today ... Stella followed along for the ride.

With the steady downpour knocking out my satellite tv and internet reception I carried my coffee cup to the kitchen table where I could look outside while it rained and get in some early games of Mahjong. The rain was coming straight down, something the satellite signal does not like, although wind and lightning will doesn't seem to bother it.

Even after lunch I saw a patch of blue sky but thought it must be my eyes deceiving me. Heidi confirmed she was not staying outside any longer than to relieve herself and back inside for her afternoon siesta.

She was moving too fast for the camera. I had her lined up but by the time the camera focused her head was hidden out of view.

With the strong winds blowing heavy rain it looks like my plants may have been able to get some 'real' water ... pure rain. I hope so.

Don't let the picture fool you. First Stella was not going to walk because she thought it was still raining so she sat in the carport staring at me. When I convinced her it was sunny and we could walk, she creeped slowly around the corner of the house and headed due north as if I was going to let her go on her own walk ... that would end up at the neighbors. When I told her no, she turned and headed our direction stepping directly onto the path.

All the wild flowers, plants and even the yard look better after lots of needed rain.

Once she was in the field all was okay with her as she moved toward Sadie who was not quite at the first turn.

Sadie was on her own schedule though and was waiting for no one. Fresh scents to smell and identify.

Stella wasn't here long before I touched her collar. She took off walking about the time I slid my finger under the collar.

While Sadie got her daily running in ....

Stella strolled at her normal slower than slow pace.

More rain coming from the southwest.

Sadie and I were ready to get back home. She wanted water I wanted food. Plus I've been watching the MLB Trading today ... deadline was at 4pm EST. Lots of movement of players today.

Again Stella wanted to checkout the direction of the neighbor's backyard. What is it she smells? Food cooking, the wild field cat, or does she hear people talking inside the house?

Without me saying a word, she turned and headed home.

It wasn't as hot outside as Sadie looks. In fact there was a nice strong cool breeze. I really am surprised that we fit this walk in our day. It didn't look like there was a chance of doing anything this morning except to stay inside.

All the hounds are sound to sleep at 4:09pm ... it's been another successful day to them.

All is good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Dog Days Of Summer

I have to remind myself that these really are "the dogs days of summer", it's normal for this time of year. I also have to remind myself that during last winter and all winters before ... I begged and prayed for days like this, wanting to trade 5° with a windchill below 0° for 90°+ "and I don't care how humid it is." So with that in mind, it wasn't surprising to feel a little 'heat' this morning around 8:30am as we took off for the first walk of the day. No, that isn't the same photo as yesterday but pretty close, of Sadie sprinting to the field.

Stella confirmed to me this morning that she definitely has a new routine as I predicted would happen last week. This morning was 'total ignoring' ... not even a response that she even heard me calling her as she walked next to the house heading north, then a sharp right turn up to the northern part of the yard. There was no way I was going to let her walk to the neighbors house.

I could tell though that as she made a opposite turn she was looking for a spot and luckily she did a complete 360° turn back into the field to relieve herself. I still had to walk her direction because as soon as she finished she walked right by the property pole heading north ... I had to jog across the field to make her change her mind. I never got all the way to her before she turned around ...

She walked along the edge of the yard and field as slow as possible. I may have gotten her to change direction but she was still going to show me who was in control as she walked in 'ultra' slow-motion all the way to the start of the path and then acted as if there was never a problem of her potentially escaping.

Sadie didn't care what Stella and I were doing ... she had her own plans and was into tracking scent.

How nice it is to let Sadie be on her own. When I let Heidi or Winston on their own during the walk, they might veer off a few feet from the path to check out something but would always keep walking without me saying a word. Stella just flat out refuses to move when she finds something. Not until I walk within a foot of her or touch her collar does she move in our direction.

Sadie showing that bloodhound speed she has as a ten year old.

It was harder than yesterday but I finally got Stella to move around the first turn. By this point in the walk I am almost exhausted ... not my legs or lungs ... my voice. Way too much verbal herding this morning.

I guess she was trying to prove a point as she walked right on the path by herself and slow as possible.

It was too hot yesterday afternoon to wash the Z4 and the same this morning. I like washing it in the shade with a cool breeze. I have about four more days to get that done before it rains. This time I WILL put the car cover back on it when I am not driving it.

The wind was not blowing but I found the leaves at the top of the ~100' Sycamore tree looking a little different. They were all facing SW, the same direction that our normal winds come from.

This was at the edge of the yard next to the field. I hate seeing this because it tells me the yard moles have returned ... I WILL buy and apply more grub worm killer to save my yard. I didn't do it last summer and it was a swamp as we tried mowing it.

Stella strolled in from the morning walk, very casual and not a care in the world. She would do her normal after walk 'cool down' ... some water, lick her legs and feet to get the morning dew off, then walk in and lean into my desk chair as she lowers herself to the floor to sleep, so I can hardly move if I need to get up. Later she will move her nap right up next to the kitchen island until it's time for her lunch. Rough life.

By 11am I knew I was going to have to do something today otherwise it was going to be a long slow day. I sensed a trip to the library might be in the plans. I also thought of taking the FJ out to check out some of the local area and see if I could pull over and takes some blog worthy photos. I seem to do most of my outdoor activity by 1pm ... unless I have cooler temps like I did on Saturday morning.

None of those possible plans happened.

After view today's Stage 4 of the Tour de France that I had taped from early this morning  but fast forwarding through commercials and some of the race, I was about to leave for the library when I thought a short siesta might be nice. Three hours later all of us woke up and barley moved. It was like we had been hit with some sort of sleep chemical. Thinking the hounds would all run for the door to go outside, they got up from the cool wood floor in the bedroom and moved to their other sleeping spots in the living room and went right back to sleep.

Can the humidity sneak into the house and infiltrate the air conditioned room for them to act that way? Or just lazy like their slave? (me)

My recycling center told me of the changes in their industry when I stopped by yesterday. I am no longer allowed to drop off clean glass or even dirty glass ... no glass is allowed to be recycled. He told me China is paying a lot less money this year for paper, cardboard and nothing for plastic. In fact they have stop buying plastic from the USA. I have a bag of audio cords, electric wiring and plugs from past electronics that I use to recycle for fee but this time I was going to have to pay to have them recycled. I have a feeling within the next year I will be back to paying for garbage pickup and fewer things will be recyclable.

This morning after our walk while I was on the computer, I thought I felt a tick crawling on my leg which is normal after our walks but it was a flea !!!!! Hard to get rid of once they are inside the house. Not happy at all about that. I have found very few ticks on the dogs this year, even without their annual dose of Nexgard.

As usual I ran out of my data yesterday, one day before my billing period ends. I'll get a new 20Gb supply tonight at midnight. I used so much more date this month as I was downloading or uploading my CDs into iTunes. It wasn't that that caused the data increase but having to search for that album cover in Images so I could download that photo to iTunes to match the album. Most of the music had their 'album art' just a click away.

So although I have had free data from yesterday morning until midnight tonight ... photos load much slower, some websites load much slow because the download speeds are a little better than the 'old dial-up' speed, clicking a little over 1Mbps instead of my normal 45-48Mbps. So there are advantages and disadvantages to going over my data limit. Of course if I woke up earlier or stayed up much much later, HughGen 5 gives me an additional free 50Gb of data per month ... but only between 2am-8am.

We will take our 'pre-game' walk at 6:30pm, first pitch of the Reds game at 7:10apm followed up by watching the Cubs in San Francisco starting at 10pm local time. Maybe staying up late last night to watch the Cubs game is why I was tired today?

Asleep or awake, retirement is always good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.