Hounds And A Dog Getting Better

By the day the hounds and the dog are getting used to their new home and new yard. Today was a good day for them. Early this morning before I did some yard work we spent time outside. Henry always on the 40' cord, Stella and Walter roam free. Walter later followed me around to the front yard while I blew out dead leaves from the flower beds before mowing/mulching them. He stuck around and didn't run away. Stella slept through most of the morning in her favorite spot in the weeds and Henry just hung out in the backyard looking for his new friend next door.

A Fast Paced Saturday

Saturday was showing some promise early in the morning. We needed to get some things done before the forecast of rain at 2pm. A Reds game had been moved up to 10:10am MT to beat their rain scheduled later tonight. Motivation disappeared as we all took a short late morning siesta before the game. Then things starting going downhill soon after. The game as postponed in Detroit, our rain never showed up and was being pushed out further in the afternoon on my hourly weather app. So there isn't a lot to do when it's too hot outside. As you will see, Walter found the optimum sleep position for the loudest snores.

It was still a very good day in the "Wild West".

Plans Changed On Saturday

Once again this morning as we got up it looked like rain was just minutes away. Would Stella get her daily walk in? What about my bike ride? I decided to let time move a little, fed the hounds breakfast and fixed some coffee to see what was going to happen. By the first cup of Volcanic Red Deep Roast Stella and I decided to take off for her daily walk under dark gray skies and some wind.

By the time we got back 17 minutes later things had not changed much. For once the daily forecast was showing possible thunderstorms early in the morning instead of late afternoon or this evening ... not really ... early morning, all afternoon and tonight is the prediction for rain. Yet it's was cool enough to open the windows, slide the blinds over and enjoy some fresh air all day.

Stella decided the best thing to do in all of this bad weather was to sleep as close as she could to my desk chair so I could not sit down or if I did squeeze into my seat I could not get out. I saw a little white dried bloodhound drool on the chair after I downloaded the photo so it's time for me to walk around the house looking for dried drool spots to clean off the walls IF there are any. There will be.

Heidi didn't want to sleep, didn't want to take a walk, didn't want to go outside ... she just wanted to roam inside today. I saw an open space of sunshine in the late morning and took off on my mountain bike for a short 12-13 mile spin around town, using the bike path most of the way. I knew there was a chance I might get rained on but all the heavy rain looked like it was south of us in the mountains. I'd head north toward town.

I was almost the the Sun & Spokes bike shop when the rain came out of nowhere and drenched me before I could ride the three blocks to get inside. I stayed inside there until the rain lightened up and then headed out in light rain for my 30 minute ride home. I was already soaked and knew I was going to get wet again ... plus with all the rain a lot of the streets were flooding along the sides and the intersections.

When I have this much water puddled around the ugliest chair in the world, I know it rained a lot while I was gone. It was time for lunch for the hounds and I. For some reason I had the urge to eat something healthy besides a cheeseburger and fries so I postponed my trip to the diner south of me on Hwy 92, then ate at home.

As the afternoon progressed, the hounds slept, moved from spot to spot to sleep even more and then finally got up for a little aerobic exercise inside.

Stella came out off a deep sleep when she heard me in the kitchen. She was licking her lips and there wasn't any kind of food involved, maybe in her mind but not in reality. I was just pouring me a glass of cold water.

Heidi itched her eyes and ears on each side ... did a few 360° spins that my camera could not catch, barked a few times ... then laid down. That is usually the extent of her exercising everyday. She does do sprints around the house but that is usually late morning after I get back from bike riding.

I bought that rug to add a little color to a room with walls and ceiling painted the same color in a nice light tan. I like the colors they chose. One color throughout the house, neutral enough that I could add whatever color I wanted, where I wanted.

Remember while she is doing all of that movement she is growling to herself and just finished barking in the photo below.

Even before the couch was delivered, this was one of Stella's favorite sleeping spots. It still is since she has figured out she is not allowed on the couch.

When I see Heidi walking this way toward her dog bed in the bedroom I know she is calling it a day ... she is still on Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Stella and I are on Arizona Standard Time.

Getting close to the Reds game and it looks like more rain here. Hopefully it is not raining in Cincinnati Ohio.

No sounds of thunder today, and the closest lightning strike was over 60 miles away based on WeatherBug. Stella decided to do an afternoon inspection of the backyard.

I could stand on my patio for hours and hours and take a million photos of the skies from the Mule Mountains all the way over to the Coronado NP. The skies are always changing. Yet there is one thing that I have never seen in the short time I have lived here ... passenger jets in the sky above me.

After some deep thinking, Stella decided there was nothing else to do but go inside. She will follow me to whatever room I sit in and lay down and sleep near me. I still need to do a post on her separation anxiety that increased a little during our move. That is a post in itself with all the stories I will tell and 'some' photos, not all.

It really was a nice day in the Wild West. I hear it's Pirate Weekend down in Bisbee.

Burn Pile Is Gone

With great weather, little wind and rain in the forecast tonight, I knew this morning was the perfect time to burn the high stack of tree limbs collected over the past year. I did not burn them last fall like I usually do, so the stack was a little higher than normal but possibly dryer. I also add my one small waste basket of paper files or those padded mailing envelopes that you cannot recycle. First, I had to buy a 50' hose to add to the one I already have.

It looks like the deer traffic last night was pretty close to the house, which is normal. This print was about 5' in the field, as I started my walk.

I like having a water hose nearby when I burn for safety. This pile is surrounded by dead leaves along the bank, the woods behind it and to the side of it is part of the field. My last hose mysteriously had a hole in it, so that was the reason for the delay. I kept forgetting to buy the hose last fall.

Stella and I took off this morning with the air full of the sounds of birds. No jacket was needed, no gloves nor sock hat .... spring has arrived.

I am not sure why but for most of the walk, Stella walked right behind me, out of camera range.

Once I mentioned that I was going grocery shopping right after our walk, she picked up the pace and very little verbal herding was needed. Maybe she has figured out what the word groceries means and thinks there will be some food for her. She is always interested in food.

I was heading down the old path home but she wasn't going to take that way today. She followed the one we normal take and didn't even look over to see if I was coming or not. She was 'marching' for the yard.

When she glanced over to the left and didn't see me, she stopped and glanced along the horizon, then it dawned on her that I might be following her.

I had the hose and the rake out near the burn pile but I was really unprepared for this years burning. I had forgotten to bring the camera with me to take a before and after photo. By the time I walked in and back outside with the camera, the large pile of tree limbs was almost gone.

If I don't keep Stella on the tether while we are outside, she will wander off and end up next door. Yet the past two days that she has been on the tether while I have worked in the yard, she lays down and sleeps near the house. If I unhook her, she wanders off.  LOL

Heidi spent most of her time wandering around the yard, even up in the northern part checking out the trees. We were not outside longer than an hour though. In fact that tall pile of limbs was gone in less than 30 minutes.

I glanced over once at Stella and didn't see Heidi. I didn't see Heidi anywhere in the backyard nor the field. She was evidently inspecting the job I did yesterday, picking up every size of stem or limb out of the  front yard. You can tell up in the shaded area the grass is growing fast and will need to be mowed by next week.

As the pile gets smaller, I rake everything to the center.

I think you can tell by the pictures of the hounds just how nice the weather was this morning. I am glad that spring and warmer temps are here. The possibility of rain does not bother me.

Almost completely burned down and ready for another year of tree limb collection.

The first time I looked at the time after putting everything away like the hose, the rake, my ladder and after I cleaned up ... I was shocked that it was only 11:30am. It felt like mid-afternoon. Like I do every year at this time, I see that if I don't move into action right after Stella and I get back from our morning walk ... there is a chance things will not get done.

When I leave or start a job outside as soon as we return, I get a lot of 'to do' stuff done and most of the time I am finished with what I need to do for the day by noon. So I'll be posting my first blog post of the day, and mostly likely the only blog post of the day in the afternoon or early evening from now on.

I can tell that I am a little out of shape. With only twisting and bending over many times to pick up sticks in the yard yesterday, I woke up this morning with some sore lower back muscles and sore hamstrings. That's a good sign. By the time I mow the whole yard for the first time I should be in better shape.

After inspecting my roof this morning it looks like it made it through another midwestern winter with no issues. It's old and on its last years, so it's always good to see no wear and tear or any kind of buckling due to the ice or extreme changes in temperature. I am going to get every last dollar out of that roof before I replace it.

I am still trying to decide what to do along the back side of the house. I am pretty sure all of that river rock is coming out of there. I might replace it with the same cyprus mulch I have in front, then add potted plants along area. Before I do anything like that, I have to dig along the edge of the yard and rock, pull out my old drainage system and install a new one.

Too much flooding during heavy rains this winter tells me it's plugged up with mud. So I'll install a brand new drain. That's a lot of manual labor, a lot of shoveling. I can't say I am looking forward to that job.

Still, it's been another great day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.