Finally Some Time Outside

By 6:30pm the hot temps had broken with storms south of us by a 100 miles. It was finally nice enough to sit on the patio and enjoy the end of the day. The hounds loved but the dog would not move. Walter did not join us outside for all the action that took place. All photos tonight of Henry and Watson enjoying 79°.

Yes It's Normal

This time last Saturday I was sitting outside on the patio in 75° weather, the hounds were enjoying the backyard and the warm sunshine. Yesterday on Saturday it started snowing, ending up with a little over 3" and temps this morning at 16°. If you live in Indiana or are from Indiana you know this is not a surprise for weather in March. I have experienced blizzards in the third week of March where highways were closed and only "essential" traffic was allowed.

Hank Returns

It was an exciting day Saturday as Walter's new friend Hank dropped by for a visit. This one moved into darkness and by that time both hounds and both bulldogs were half asleep on the patio deck in the dark. They had played all afternoon and early evening. I will get to his visit later as I try to catch up from Friday where the hounds and the dog enjoyed weather in the 70's. On Friday they spent 5 hours outside while I made a short 200 mile roundtrip excursion.

It Was A Great Weekend

Between rain on Saturday and hearing gunshots in the field across the highway on Sunday, out of sight (common in rural area), Stella canceled both of her morning walks. We were able to walk later Sunday once she realized she was safe and the weather was tremendous.

With temps in the 40's at night and back up to the 70's by late afternoon, a wet field is to be expected. My hiking boots were soaked soon after we started.

When I glanced outside this morning waiting for Stella to give me the word to walk, it looked like the field had grown over a foot taller since Friday. I could see the path was going to be another morning of heavy dew, basically both of us would be soaked by the end of the walk.

Stella didn't hesitate and knew right from the start that would would take the 'rain option' where she will start the walk on the return path, then move over to the regular path about the time we get to the first corner.

It seems like a Monday for some reason. It will be another day full of outdoor activity. I have a few saplings that I cut last month that need to be cut to ground level. I also will be going around the edge of the roof checking all the screws that attach the gutter to the soffit. It seems like after every winter I find one or two that need to be retightened.

She was doing a lot of smelling this morning, no eating and was on a pretty fast pace for her.

The old return path was beginning to disappear with the growth of the field. We took this way a few times last week in the afternoon so I wanted to go this way this morning to keep it visible. Stella had other ideas

She was following the normal return path that ends up in the north part of the yard. I have to follow her otherwise the chances are high that she will sneak over to the neighbors backyard.

She stopped to glance back at me to see if I had gone the other way and what the possibilities were of sneaking away.

About the time I thought the walk was ending, she decide she had one more spot to smell before heading inside and turned around to do it. At first I thought she had seen a spot of mud she wanted to bite into.

It is official ... the morning walk has been recorded.

A good example of just how wet the field was this morning.

Where's Heidi???

She has been boycotting all attempts of getting her picture taken since Friday. With all the sunshine yesterday she spent most of the afternoon alone sleeping in the grass in the back. If not there she has been camping out on the couch or in her big leather chair, depending  how cold it is with the windows open.

With warmer weather the flies are showing up inside the house. A few other bugs have been seen outside in the carport area and I had two mice that decided to torment me and the hounds for a few days until they were eliminated. I luckily didn't find one in my shoe but did find a couple of pellets meant for them. Someway those pellets were moved from inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink to my computer room where the shoes were sitting next to my desk.

They love Stella's hair they find in the trash after I brush and comb her.

That is about all that has been going on. Since I am not sure I'll be doing much with the camera this afternoon I am going to post this now, right before lunch.

Brain Cells Working At Full Speed

Late start but it was nice to wake up to a house full of sunshine and skies that look like we are headed back to normal April weather. I'll have a lot of grass to mow on Monday after the yard dries, just like we had planned last week. Stella had one of her better walks while Heidi slept the morning away going past her normal wakeup time. Does that mean my brains cells have settled?

Stella had to think a little on which direction she would take this morning. The yard was wet, she could see the field was wet but the sunshine told her today was different from the previous two days. Would we take off on the normal path or head north and walk against the grain?

With the Reds game over a little earlier Saturday night I had time to look at the website that Barney sent me in a comment yesterday. I also matched information from that site to one that I finally remembered. A final step is a forum with people who live in any town or city answering questions of those that may have or are thinking of moving to that town. I think that website is called "city-data". Whatever those websites are, I spent additional time looking at different towns very late last night.

It is strange to me that I spent all winter without a thought of wanting to move and now it has headed toward the edge of obsession. I need some yard work to drag me outside and away from my restless mind. I have plenty to do on the new 2019 list of "to-do's" so there is help on the way for my mental shortcomings ... I guess.

I was still in fleece lined jeans at 52° this morning with a jacket but it was a psychological win as I tied my hiking boots instead of the snow/rain boots I had been wearing the past few mornings because the field was just too wet.

To add to the intrigue of different towns in the USA to look at, a blog follower left me a new comment this morning on yesterday's post suggesting I consider some southern states in my search. Specifically Mississippi. She is familiar with the 'tropics' of Southern Indiana and she is also familiar with freezing cold midwestern winters so I think she has  a pretty good idea what my brain is processing and the reasons for this new mental exploration.

It was a little ironic that I have considered Mississippi in the past year or so when my mind wanders or when I am watching the house rehab show called "Hometown" located in Laurel MS. The south has always been intriguing to me, from my first family vacation in the mid 1960's and the few weeks I spent with friends down in Starkville and Biloxi in the summer of 1969. We left to go home a week before their hurricane but right after the moon landing.

Yet, the mountains have always been a magnet for me. Yes, I know they have mountains in TN, WV, VA and NC but none of those states interest me enough to move there. It reminds me of something I said on my other blog somewhere back in 2011 or 2012 where I would travel for a year or so and then lock in a location where I wanted to settle down.

What's wrong with where I live? Why not stay here and then just travel the few winter months to escape the freezing cold? All valid questions and questions I have asked myself before and more than a few times. Sometimes you just need a change if you know what I mean. Plus there are one or two personal reasons that I will never go into publicly.

With a day of sunshine and the Reds not starting their game today until 4pm, I'll be able to spend some time outside doing nothing but enjoying the sunshine. If you could see the hounds right now at 11:45am you might think the idea of going outside is only a dream because both of them are dead to world ... in a deep sleep and have been for over an hour. They are usually barking and howling for their lunch by now.

Of course Stella has me pinned in to my computer desk by laying partly on my leg arms of my chair, I can't move so I have no choice but to finish this post. Heidi has positioned her sleeping bag directly in the middle of the sunshine coming through the bedroom east window and has crawled under it for the optimum warm sleeping spot.

So our time outside will not take place until after they eat lunch, and after I post this. With great weather I might post a second short post later tonight with just pictures of their afternoon.

At the same time I will still continue to gather information on small towns in Mississippi. She was nice enough to tell me what area of the state to look at. That is always helpful. A few years ago I had asked my old friend living in Phoenix for some help with small towns in out-of-the-way locations in Arizona. He used to work for the state and drove everywhere for work. I still have that list of 10 small towns.

So, who really knows what might happen. That's the fun part, the research, the planning, thinking and changing my mind about what to do or where to go. It's like every other plan or trip I have thought about.

With more NP'a now charging fees for entry because there is an overflow of visitors, campgrounds being reserved and booked up through the summer it seems everyone else has the same idea to travel full-time. It's interesting it's the same bloggers that are posting these warnings now about how much things have changed the past few years when traveling by RV, trailers or van are the same bloggers that made these places so popular with their fantastic pictures and blog posts about where they were traveling and staying.

Is it possible to even live full-time on the road and boondock without seeing people near your camp site? From some blog posts I am not sure it is. Yet, that is the opposite spectrum from what I have been thinking of the past few days. That is why my mind is interesting and keeps me sane ... about the time I can decide something, it will ask me "but what about ....., did you change your mind on that?"   LOL

That's why it's good to be a bloodhound or basset hound. Both have very consistent thoughts. Routines might change every once in a while but nothing drastic. They still have an appetite for any kind of food, love siestas as well as watching ballgames from the couch ... although they usually sleep through the whole ballgame. They would probably lead me to my answer if I'd pay attention.

At least I got off that topic of food and all the indecision about that. And I've been out of the multiple car trading period. Those use to be fun times but financially costly at the rate I was trading or buying additional cars.

I still laugh at the local dealers mailers they send me, offering me a SIX YEAR LOAN !!!! WTF ... 72 months to finance a car when I have paid them cash in the past? I guess they were not paying attention after all and I am just a number to them. No worries, I know about their marketing plan and desire to put me in a brand new car or truck.

Well I have run out of words at this point plus I am a little restless. Stella has moved from the back of my chair so it does roll away from my computer desk now. Things are looking up and no doubt that as soon as Stella wakes up Heidi they will let me know it's time for their lunch.

One more question though.

Can I live in town with neighbors if I am a hermit type loner?

Being superstitious sometimes in sports, I will be wearing the same Cincinnati Reds t-shirt today for the fourth day in a row as they go for their fourth win in a row in San Diego. It's not as bad as it sounds because I did take showers in those four days.  :)

Stella could have sworn I mentioned something about food, breakfast, groceries or something along those lines. She stopped walking immediately and stared at me because of what she had heard. She isn't stupid.

Another morning walk officially in the books ... you can see it's going to be a good day today, nice and sunny with temperatures in the 70's right around the corner.

Now let me open four tabs at the top of my screen and start checking out towns in Mississippi, north of highway 82 (as suggested), look at houses for sale on zillow and realtor websites, then compare towns.

Never a dull moment here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.