The Hounds Changed Their Strategy Today

With the upper right corner of my computer monitor showing me it's already Friday, I have only 7.5 hours to get anything finished today before my life stops for another weekend college football marathon. Throw in the MLB playoff games, and the NFL games, the hound walks between games or at halftimes, eat a little ... there isn't much time for sleep or house cleaning until early next week. The hounds never are pressed for time ... ever.

While I am always changing my mind or never coming to a firm decision on things, the hounds always know what they want to do ... eat, sleep, take walks and repeat. So our morning started out normal with hopes of sunshine today so I can mow the lawn. Due to the recent rain and overcast skies with cooler temps ... it has changed from "mowing the leaves" a week ago to "mowing the yard and leaves" this afternoon ... the grass has grown a lot this week.

It might look like it was a pretty easy walk for me today after getting some unexpected running in yesterday afternoon as I chased the disappearing Stella. That was not the case this morning as the pictures do not tell the whole story 'behind the scenes'.

I think I would have rather been running after disappearing bloodhounds than doing all the 'verbal herding' I had to do this morning. I guess they do change some of their routine ... after a week of very little deer scat eating this morning it's all they did. No need to track new ATV tracks or new deer scent ... it was time to add a protein supplement to their diets and ignore all of my calls to "come on".

Herding usually is required when Stella goes in one direction while Sadie and I are going in a different direction. Yesterday proved it's best to try to keep both hounds in viewing range of my eyesight ... otherwise, I am jogging slowly after them as I feel every organ bouncing inside of me. Does a heart move because yesterday it certainly felt like it was coming out of my chest as I jogged then ran after Stella.

This was a key point in the walk this morning ... Stella wandering further away while Sadie had made the turn for home but still looking for more to eat. My friend told me a few weeks ago that scat has molasses in it thus why the hounds are addicted to eating it ... it's sweet, much like my addiction to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.

It wasn't my voice that got them together, yet as I made the final turn home ... their desire of not having the other hound getting all of the good stuff, they merged into one area to share what Sadie had found. Luckily that was near my path as I walked home.

This picture shows the real definition of the word "ignore" ... Webster's Dictionary has it all wrong, Stella has the definition correct ... that is ignore me saying "come on", and eat as fast as possible before I try to lead her away by her collar.

Of coarse with that gentle tug of her collar and a lecture on the pros and cons of listening to "your owner" ... she and Sadie tear off into a 'happy-go-lucky' jog toward a new spot they know of way in front of me toward the middle of the lower field. So much for that lecture on obeying commands. I doubt that the bloodhound bred does well in any kind of dog obedience classes. I am too cheap to find out plus I like that they can have the freedom to do what they want ... so why am I complaining?  LOL

Only in my dreams would these two 'partners in crime' be running straight for the backyard and wait for my return.

No ... since their noses are some of the best of 70+ dog breeds, they already know where their next snack is and it's far enough away from me that they can eat as fast as possible before I get there. At first I thought they might be heading all the way to the neighbor's drainage ditch, that is always a favorite of Stella's after some rain.

Sadie was faking Stella out ... she led her toward the neighbors only to turn fast and run to a spot left of me, leaving Stella way off the pace. So once again I have two hounds in totally opposite directions with the house in view.

See what I mean about this walk being hard?

Stella was back to eating so fast that even my Nikon D3200 couldn't pick up the speed of her mouth and forehead moving as she gobbled as fast as possible. There is much more to the picture than meets the eye. It does not pick ups the sound of her gobbling.

As I stood in the yard finished with my walk ... I didn't yell since they were close but kept saying those infamous phrases of "come on" and "over here" ... then a few words that would require me to changed the settings of the blog to 'adult content'.

They become more interested in heading to the house when I mentioned 'we' had to mow the yard today after "Lunch" ... I have a feeling the words 'mowing the yard' wasn't what they heard. They know what "lunch" means.

I thought of waiting to post this and then add some afternoon shots to the post and more commentary but honestly I find it hard to post like that, plus I end up with too many photos for just one blog post. So I'll edit the photos and recheck the spelling before posting ... not a lot of time as Sadie and Stella are standing just to the right of my desk chair with drool hanging from the sides of their mouth ... because it's minutes away from noon and they haven't had lunch yet.

Pressure's on to finish this.

For those that have asked me this past week since restarting the blog on why I chose to go back to Blogger instead of Wordpress ... Using the free version of Wordpress lets them post advertising on my blog posts when I don't want advertising nor are those going to make me any affiliate income.

The main reason is, I wanted to keep the 6+ years of posts, comments and photos of the blog. I could upload the backup file into Blogger with no issues. If I were to try importing that same file to the free Wordpress blog, the different platforms don't play well together and a Wordpress Tech would have to edit the code to over a 1,000 posts for Wordpress accept the posts and photos.

If I were to pay for my own web hosting and use the Wordpress.org platform then there would be no issues importing the 1,000+ posts, along with comments and photos into that platform. But building that site would take more work than I am interested in doing and I can't see paying over $100 per year for website hosting where the blog is making me zero income. Nor do I want to have a blog for making income.

So ... I went back to blogger last Sunday, or first went to Google to establish a new email address for the blog log in and contact email ... then started the rebuilding process.

I added my own email address to follow this blog because I want to see what shows up in followers emails when I do any kind of corrections or changes to the post after I post it for the first time. I have a suspicion that every time I go back to correct spelling errors and click the update key, all of the email followers are getting a new email ... that's not good.

The sun is out so there's a good chance to mow this afternoon. I am going to try something new for the first time in 20 falls seasons at this house ... I am going to mow blowing the leaves and grass in just one direction toward the highway instead of mowing in a back and forth pattern or even in a square while blowing the leaves and grass to the center of the yard. It will take longer but should clean the leaves up better than just mulching them. In the back I will go one direction blowing mowed leaves and grass toward the field.

Can you tell I am trying to find a way to get out of raking leaves this year?

By the time I finish mowing and putting all the stuff backing my small shed, I'll be ready for another hound walk, some dinner and the MLB playoff game before watching the Washington State Cougars start their game at 10:45pm my time.

Well I have to go. The hounds are still staring at me and the drool is getting longer ... like glue.

Everything is fine in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

A Snail's Pace Today

If this morning is any indication for the rest of Friday, we are in for a long long day. That's not a bad thing and may not even been any worse than a normal day in retirement but today just feels different. Is it the weather, baseball, dog food, or a brain that can't make a decision?
It's one of those deals where you feel hungry but have no idea what you would like to eat. I mean not even close to finding anything of interest. Or you feel like going somewhere but can't make up your mind where to go. Although the day was just a couple of hours old before the first hound walk of the day, I could tell things were working so much slower than normal ... except my fast computer and internet connection.

Everything and everyone may seem slow around here so far ... except Sadie. She has never had a slow day in her life since she was born June 2008. This morning was no different. She has moved up the time to start the walks lately to a little past 9am and today was no different.

As soon as I told her "go get the rabbits", she took of running up the path with her nose to the ground.  Maybe it's just the words "go get" is what sets her off because bloodhounds are not bred to hunt or catch rabbits. They are bred for search and rescue, along with flushing deer out of the woods or finding the deer that has been shot. We are neither hunters nor SAR, so her tracking instincts are for her own pleasure.

The focus of both hounds this morning seemed to be about a foot inside the brush that is getting thicker by the day. With that growth is the increase of razor sharp thorns, that mean nothing to a bloodhound that has locked into something interesting.

I gave Stella some 'semi' freedom. She basically went her own pace, trotted one time to catch Stella and I never said "over here" but a couple of times throughout the whole walk. I did have to backtrack to walk over to her twice, to get her moving. I don't leave her behind anymore because I cannot afford to have her make a mistake following that drainage ditch to the highway.

It is interesting how her coat has changed since last year. For the first 12 months her color was a lot like Sadie, a light tan. Her tail was course with the bloodhound 'black and tan' from one of her parents. Over the winter I noticed her coat was becoming a little more course like her tail and also the color was changing by becoming more dark like the 'black and tan' on her tail.

I spied this bird out in the middle of the field and zoomed in on it with a 200mm setting. I was almost sure that Sadie would see it and take off after it because that is her favorite aerobic activity ... chasing all and any kind of birds of any size. For that reason bird baths and bird feeders are nowhere in the yard. The bird was sitting as quiet as a statue so we would not notice.

Yet, with a bloodhound nose that can hear things 4x more than the human ear and a nose that is already setting at 200x more powerful ... Sadie smelled the bird that was sitting so quietly, like a statue. Sadie didn't move a muscle, just analyzed ... then turned and continued her walk.

Stella was lagging way behind us and just like Sadie was about a foot into the heavy thick brush. I was totally ignored and there was no way she was leaving unless I walked back to where she was and give her a nudge to come on.

It didn't matter that I was standing right next to her calmly saying "come on Stella" over and over. It didn't matter that I had time to hold my camera, focus it precisely to where I wanted it ... I had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted ... because she was not moving ... nor acting like she is hearing a word I am saying.

I can't remember any of my past basset hounds being as stubborn as a bloodhound. The AKC writeup says they are but their stubbornness is nothing compared to a bloodhound. After the nudge, Stella took off trotting to catch up with Sadie. I wasn't going to head toward the far right corner today, so all I had to say was "over here" and both hounds veered left and headed toward the back of the field.

It was slow moving this morning. This walk felt like it was taking forever, just like me trying to make decisions. It looked and felt like rain with nothing on the forecast for days. A nice aroma from some sort of flowers and a constant noise from a tractor at the farm behind us, but still to wet to work this cornfield to the right of us.

Sadie was the first to find some fresh natural protein and was willing to share it. But if that stuff is anything like peanut butter, then Stella will push herself into a position to hog all of it and not share with anyone. Had Stella lost track of where I was? There was nothing to see in the direction she was looking.

For the 2nd time I walked over to both Sadie and Stella and explained to them the benefits of moving on and continuing the walk. They both moved with me along side and then trotted out in front of me.

As it happens every year with spring rains alternating with sunshine, the field is growing fast and it will not be long before I am back to the point of seeing nothing more than a tip of a tail and maybe the tops of their backs when we walk.

Stella would sure like to check out that drainage ditch or the middle of the field between my house and the neighbors. She will always try to escape but will turn my direction if I yell "over here".

She is not going to speed up just because I want to get home. She will continue her own pace, then follow her own routine once inside. Her next big thing of the day will be having lunch. I am considering buying some dog food for her that has the highest protein and fat percentages I can find, with hopes that helps her to gain her weight back.

They eventually make it back to the house to finish the first of three walks today.

After trying all of the different dog foods, grain free and back to rice for Heidi, nothing happened for her until this past February when I switched to the current food I feed all three hounds. She had regained her 13 pounds lost in June 2015. I don't know what caused her recovery.

Will it take that long for Stella? That's the million dollar question.

Sadie will search right up to the concrete carport floor, she never slows down once she is outside.

I read where Jon Katz's dog tested positive for 4 different tick related infections in upper state New York. You can read about that here. I went to look at Stella's vet receipt from a few weeks ago and confirmed she tested negative for those 4 same infections. I wonder if he every used Nexgard for his two herding dogs? I've had great results for the 2nd year in a row with that product.

I have a lot of plans today, some that know me would say they are nothing but dreams. LOL Some may happen, some may not. With the day slowed down, that will give me more hours to give myself a haircut (been doing it for years) with clippers, give Stella a bath, vacuum the house and maybe a little grocery shopping.

All achievable ... then again it will depend just how well I can make a decision. With the Reds playing on tv in San Francisco, there will not be any sleeping until almost 1am for the next few days. Is that late night last night watching them win, the cause for slowness today. My weird dreams during sleep continue.

Another week has passed here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ... the rain is gone, sunshine is on the way. The pace is hard but someone has to do it.

Stella Sleeps Through Loud Storm

Welcome new readers to the blog of redundancy. Not much has been discussed lately beside weather, computers and of course the main feature ... the hounds. It has seemed to turned into that more than just 'lately' and is a blog that bores even me sometimes.

It was a few weeks ago when I noticed sparrows making their annual pilgrimage inside the carport to where they use to build or would try to build their nest ... on top of the old wall mounted thermometer. Once they figured out that I had removed that due to their nesting and bird crap on my cars ... they came up with a new place this year. I will let this one stay and will try to wash around it during my semi-annual high pressure wash of the house.

When I picked up Stella in August 2015, I knew about her severe separation anxiety before I made the decision to get her. It wasn't until I arrived after my 4 hour drive, that I was told she was also terrified of thunderstorms. That wasn't a problem because my first basset hound Harry was an expert in thunderstorm panic and I couldn't imagine hound worse than him ... once the thunder and lightning started.

Even after a great light show from the sky and a full night of rain it was somewhat surprising to see less water in the fields than I saw late yesterday. A few weeks ago, one reader was wanting to see pictures every couple of days of the "field of yellow" that I had blogged about. I guess this picture answers the question on what will happen to them.

At first Stella would moan a little, pace a little when that loud roll of thunder sounded not quite 2 years ago but would eventually go lay down once she figured out she was in no danger. Click here to see why she would react this way. Last night was different though. With all the windows open and not aware any storms were on the way ... the sound of an explosion of thunder vibrated the whole house and so much lightning I thought it was inside the house ... Stella woke up and walked over to me. Once I told her it was okay, she returned back to the couch to sleep.

I flipped the light on in the bedroom around 4:50am after getting up for a short time and she was stretched out across Sadie's dog bed on the floor sleeping soundly while the storms raged on outside the open windows. Like last year and a few months in the year before that ... I believe that Stella has lost her fear of storms.

Last night the weather radar showed a massive storm with all the color codes you don't want to see, all north of us. We were just on the southern edge for the start of it but due west that storm was big enough to hit us with the second wave. I turned all the electronics off and headed to bed around midnight with a lightning bolt outside my bedroom window that made me wonder if sleeping in my house with the windows open was even safe.

I knew the field would be really wet this morning. I was sure some of the low points of the path I walk would be under water but with my latest change to my North Face light weight snow boots, standing water is no longer a problem. As long as rain was not dropping from the sky, walk number one of the day was on. Sadie and Stella did not mind getting their legs, paws and belly wet from the taller grass.

Facebook reminded me again today with their one year anniversary reminders on photos, just how great Stella looked a year ago. She has not changed since I took her to the vet a few weeks ago. She has never lost her appetite, or her water consumption and at times her personality ... just her weight and the love or running at top speed. I have to keep reminding myself that infections with dogs never heal as fast as a human. It takes a long time for them to get rid of any kind of infection they might have. Heidi is proof of that.

As usual the rain brought the scents out even stronger than a normal day. Both hounds seemed to be on the edge of taking off on me by the way they acted. Eating "stuff" was not their major focus today ... but exploration was. They were intense in their search.

Too wet today to head to the far corner. They both were heading that way until I told them "over here". The followed me as I made the turn to walk along the back edge of the field ... at least I thought they did.

With Sadie walking just to the right of me with her nose to the ground, I turned to check on Stella. When I thought she was following me, she had turned to go into the far right corner on her own. Where Sadie won "the most obnoxious hound I've ever owned" award years ago ... Stella is a clear winner of "the most stubborn hound I've ever owned" award and no current nor past hounds are even close to winning that award. She is so head strong.

Yet, she turned and headed my way when she heard me yell "Stella, come on". I swear sometimes she is here only to drive me insane. I will admit though, retirement living would be quite boring if she was not around. There is not one day where she is doing something hilarious that makes me laugh and mumble to myself. She really is a great bloodhound and keeps things moving around here.

Sadie took off into a fast trot toward the 'no-fly zone', it was fast enough I thought she was gone. Stella didn't follow her and followed the path slowly right around the turn and headed for home.

It is not hot and humid yet, but it's one of those quiet cooler overcast days. Our routine will not change much of course but I might be giving Heidi a bath later on. She let me know she wanted one as she rolled on her back last night before I could pet her. She came with long toenails, she still has long toenails and I will cut them again as short as I can. It doesn't take much before I can see I cannot cut them any shorter.

I have a lot planned on my 'to do' list once it is hot and sunny. I high pressure wash the house and the carport floor every six months. Living close to these fields makes this the dustiest place I have ever lived, covering 4 different states. I also have my own Rug Doctor carpet cleaner and I do that every six months but only when the temps are in the high 70's and its bright and sunny outside. It dries faster in that hot weather.

Either tonight or tomorrow morning I am going to take Stella back to the vet to check her weight and hope for a few pounds difference than a couple of weeks ago. I am also going to request them to give her an in-depth blood test. If she was puking or lost her appetite, had diarrhea or was lethargic I'd request an x-ray but so far in those areas nothing has ever changed.

As we get closer to home, every walk Stella will always stop and glance over at the neighbor's wooded area to see if that big yellow field cat is around. I assume that is who she is looking for by smell or listening. She is never in a hurry to get back to the house.

I don't want to beat a dead horse and I'm sure many of you are tired of hearing about my computer, but I just wanted to say the new setup is working fantastic. I am happy with the choice I made of using the laptop as my main HD, connected to my large monitor.

To start getting those 160 Mahjong games back under three minute completion times, I ejected my two external drives and pulled the four connections from the sides of the laptop (convenient) and moved to the kitchen table to use the smaller 13" screen and the built in touchpad. I played my first 40 games and finished them below the 4 minute mark and a couple under 3 minutes.

I am also very very happy with my change to HughesNet Gen 5 satellite internet last month. It is faster than what I had, although I read yesterday that Exede is launching their new satellite into space in June. I expect to see a deal of all deals with a "come back" email in my inbox soon after that launch.

I watched my HughesNet data counter last night and exactly at 1 minute past midnight my new 20Gb of monthly data started. Their data counter has also been equal to my computer Activity Monitor count, before with Exede there were differences at times because "we haven't rebooted the system yet". Then this morning I was sent my new invoice for the billing period. After taxes it was $14 less per month for the next 12 months with more data and 4x faster upload speed.

I am still waiting to hear for some feedback from you telling me if you like multiple posts per day or just prefer one per day with over 20 photos to scroll through. When I do post more than once per day, do you see the earlier posts?

There is nothing I can complain about, life is good here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana ... except my annual sinus/allergies are back ... and it's raining again.