As you can see the pollen count was higher today, with Stella scratching more than she did the past three days, where she didn't at all. Wunderground says it's "Moderate" but I have not had to take any allergy tabs for myself. I can say the little study I am doing with the pollen count, Stella's scratching along with my tablet intake is proving to be true. Stella's itching is from pollen, mostly grass and ragweed.
I seem to have been busy this week but when I look around I didn't get that much done. The yard was mowed yesterday afternoon for the first time in weeks. Nothing on the task list was done but I did think about a few things. I've watched a lot of baseball games, some movies and caught up on my lack of sleep. Basically nothing we have done is blog worthy.
So for a change today I thought I'd start the blog photos from right after lunch. At first it looked like there wasn't going to be anything to blog about today either, but after taking the camera with us on the afternoon walk, things picked up. Nothing exciting, but I found some butterflies willing to let me take their picture.
As you can see from the 2nd and 3rd photos, not much happens right after lunch. Heidi will head for the front yard, Stella rarely gets off the carport floor unless she feels like napping in the sunshine (today was hazy) and Sadie will inspect the driveway to make sure I have not missed any weeds with the weedeater, which are still plentiful.
Stella was not interested in walking that soon after lunch nor was she interested in checking out the backyard. She likes to sleep after she eats.
Heidi will and has spent time in the backyard this week, usually alone, just sitting and enjoying the sunshine while I am inside. Even with the field cut in June, she has shown zero interest in taking a walk. It is being a year older? Does she feel bad or just happy to hang out in the yard and inside instead of walking?
Saturday will be nail cutting day for all the hounds. I always do that outside and for some reason today I am lining up a lot of things I want to get done tomorrow, not today.
She didn't go next door but Sadie was very aware of the Yard Sale going on next door. The new neighbors have been there around a month. It seems like the neighborhood will remain quiet and like all the rest of us, they are pretty private people.
By the time Stella finished her carport inspection she was sure there had been a cat or raccoon around checking out our trash can.
Heidi got a little stretching exercise today but that didn't mean she was going anywhere. In fact she led me and the two bloodhounds back inside. She sprinted to the living room, dove on the floor and started growling at herself ... a daily routine for her, right before she sleeps the afternoon away.
It has been a bad allergy day for Stella. I've washed her face a couple of times this morning and by the time this photo downloaded to my computer I could see she needed her eyes cleaned again with that cool wet washcloth.
We never take our camera with us on walks #2 and #3 but today I thought I would, thinking I might see some butterflies and/or a few more photos for blogging. I felt like writing today but I admit the urge to blog lately has not been there. Stella always does this for her afternoon walks lately, one of her new routines she has come up with. It will change in a week or two.
She takes her time getting onto the path but eventually shows up. I think she just likes to see how I will react if she walks the opposite direction.
I was a little surprised that the butterfly stayed there as Sadie walked right past her.
You'll notice the is not much difference between the morning walk and the afternoon walks. There is better light for taking photos, some of those white flowers are closed and there is definitely an increase in butterfly traffic. Stella might even walk a few mph slower than she does in the morning.
I am still using the macOS beta version in 'dark mode' and am pretty sure the 'dark mode' is going to be a permanent feature with me. They had an update to the OS a few nights ago as they get closer to their official release this fall to the public for Apple users.
There are still some of the same idiosyncrasies. Safari and Google Chrome will have me log into the the blog each time I go to the home page. Once I sign in, it takes me automatically to the blogger dashboard where I can start a new post. Yet when I click to reply to a comment it logs me out. Only on Firefox Quantum can I reply to a blog post comment.
Firefox Quantum still uses more data than Safari or Google Chrome. Safari does not track you but testing by the geek websites say that Google Chrome is still tracking you even with their privacy setting that you can change to prevent it. Safari is burning around 2Mb per minute when surfing the internet while Google Chrome is using around 1.6Mb per minute, with Firefox at a high of 2.3Mb per minute.
The weather is starting to heat up again into the high 80's low 90's. The humidity has not been that bad but I am finding out I sleep better with all the windows closed and the AC set at 76° before it turns on. Instead of the windows open and the outside temps in the 60's.
Stella's collar will be included in the next load of laundry I do. Being retired and living in cargo shorts with a t-shirt, I do a lot less laundry than when I worked. It's not that I wear the same shirts every day it's just I can go longer between laundry than I did before. Some of you may remember the problem I had that one time with my washer drain tube overflowing with water all over the floor ... I almost bought a new washer before I figured out it was the drain and not the washer. Since then I have not had the problem show up again.
I'm happy with the tv purchase from a few weeks ago. With the larger screen those four small screens show up very nice, clear and sharp. I've used that feature a few times watching four different baseball games at once.
Not all of these flowers were closed in the afternoon but the majority of them were.
Yesterday when Stella did this, I let her go and followed her. I stepped off the path on our way back home because I was curious where she was going or what she would do. She walked almost to the far right corner of the field, circled an area with her nose to the ground and then wanted to eat whatever she found. That is when I called 'the game' off and led her back to our path to get home. I could not believe we walked all that way just for her to do that.
Today she tried the same thing but turned and came back to the path when I yell her name with an added "no". She is a pretty smart bloodhound when she wants to be. She is possibly the funniest hound I have had in 31 years of having them.
It was getting hotter this afternoon but she was slowly making her way to the house.
There is a small butterfly somewhere on that flower. Can you see it?
While I was busy looking for and taking pictures of butterflies ... Stella decided to take a break.
Sadie in the meantime was ignoring both of us and was way behind us.
I might replant these orange flowers in my yard.
It's the first time I have caught five butterflies on one flower.
This butterfly seemed to be following us to the yard. As we reached the yard and was in the shade it found a shady spot in the field just on the edge of the yard.
This has to be Stella's All-Time Best Drool ... luckily it was gone by the time we walked onto the carport and back inside. Otherwise I would have had to get the 'drool rag' to clean off her mouth before she went back inside the house.
For anyone wondering if I am really using my turntable playing old vinyl LP's ... yes I am. In fact since I bought the new turntable I am playing those old record albums more than I play CDs or digital music on my computer.
I did start a new Facebook account a few days ago but have not been spending that much time there. I wanted to use the Facebook Market Place. I have had too many people tell me that is where they sell more than anywhere else online. It's free, and local pickup so there is no shipping charges and I don't have to collect sales tax. I have a lot of stuff I want to get rid of with my annual spring cleaning that will take place in late summer. It's still cash no matter what time of year it is.
That's about it ... retirement life is good ... nothing going on that is really blog worthy ... I still have a pulse, low blood pressure and a low resting heart rate.
29 days until college football here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.