The Brain Scramble Continues

With this much water left this morning from the overflowing creek across the highway I wonder where all of the water will go after it starts raining at 2pm, for the next week. I know where it will go since I've seen it a lot worse in June 2008. At that time three of the four highways coming into town were closed due to flooding. Up here on the hill we were sitting on the only open way to town.

I use to post this photo every day in my older blog as the first photo of the day. You could tell just by this photo which has me facing west, what the weather was going to be for that day. The rains will come from that direction but as Stella and I walked our Saturday morning stroll, rain seemed like a far fetched idea.

You can see the field is growing by leaps and bounds almost overnight. What a difference from just 30 days ago. I followed Stella's pace this morning which was the typical weekend "slower than slow" stroll through the field.

That gives me time to sort through all the thoughts I've had about moving the past week or so. It's really intensified the past few days and I thought last week was bad. Since I would like to keep some of the places I am looking at private, I'll only mention the two states that have the towns I am really interested in.

A few readers that I have gotten to know over the years, do know which towns I am speaking of and all of them have given me valuable information about the areas I am interested in. I know that all decisions can't be based on what I read on the internet or even pictures of property but I still get some idea of city comparisons by using BestPlaces and AreaVibes websites.

Since I have narrowed it down to two towns, one in New Mexico and one in Arizona, I compare them to my current town and Bloomington Indiana which is rated as a great place to retire and a town I went to college in just a short distance away. I'll not go into detail of those comparisons but it did have some surprises.

Take a look at AreaVibes to see what categories they collect data for and rate.

As always there is always doubt about moving with the hounds. When I had four of them it was no question that I would not be moving. Now with two that will be 10 years old this summer, moving is a little more doable. I have already been informed by an agent in Arizona they would be allowed for a certain neighborhood as well as renting a house.

Many have asked, how could I even move from an area like this and all the field that the hounds can walk and explore in. I know what you mean. The hounds have always been my first priority in these kind of decisions just like when I was trying to decide whether to RV full-time or not.

As you have seen, Heidi's walks in the field are few and far between. She really likes a hot sunny day where she can lay in the yard and enjoy the weather. I think she would love a place that has sunshine 285 days per year and less than 13 inches of rain compared to the 55 inches of annual rainfall we get now. That number seems to have gone upward the past few years.

Stella seems to enjoy her walks but at times I wonder if she only walks because I am taking her outside instead of the other way around. For example, Sadie was the one that decided when all of us would walk ... where Stella will sleep through the afternoon walk unless I wake her up to go.

I cannot put my finger on any one reason that this urge to move has hit me so hard. There are a few reasons, some private and some that are really logical. I do know that I cannot explain all of my thinking here in one blog post about the 'whys' of wanting to move. I will say that the past three days the chances of moving are stronger than anytime I have talked of it in the past four to five years. It's like I have already decided I am moving.

I still use realtor dot com to look at property. I bookmarked all my different locations (4 of them) instead of saving them as searches within their website because they are faster to access the way I have them labeled and saved. They are sorted in "newest listing first" so I can tell just with a glance of anything new that comes up.

I also get automated updates on the locations I have marked as well as the realty company's website in Arizona. I did speak with their agency assistant the other day because I had a question about my hounds and the property I was interested in. She was fantastic and sent me more links of information about their town.

Late yesterday afternoon I received an email from a realtor in her business with an introduction and asking what I am looking for. He was also born and raised in Indiana and attended the rival university in sports of the college I attended. So he will be very valuable with his point of view of living in Arizona compared to where I am now.

On top of that I met a vet on Twitter as I was searching Twitter for any kind of information about the town. The good thing is, he is also in to bicycling and use to live in San Diego so once again I gained valuable information about two subjects I like and am interested in. He understands what kind of information I am looking for and the questions I have.

Each bit of information adds to my preference in the Arizona town. I am down to four choices: (1) stay where I am (2) Bloomington Indiana (3) New Mexico (4) Arizona

So that is were it stands. I'd like to do this move sometime this summer and definitely before college football season starts on August 28-30th. At the same time I know it's a possibility that I might change my mind and stay here but there is something different this time. I feel it's really going to happen and in some ways I am excited enough that I could move next week if I had a place lined up.

So that is all I have as far as updating my thoughts on moving.

This next bit of stuff I am writing about is a little concerning. Long time readers will remember last July as the bloodhounds and I were walking along the back of the field on one of our walks we ran into a 'visitor' ... another dog, something we never see in the field on our walks. If you click here and then scroll down you can see the beagle we ran into. He/she never barked, stood and listened and then turned and ran away NORTH ... that direction is key to the story I am about to tell.

Well last night around 7pm I had just walked into the kitchen and when I glanced out my window I saw that beagle semi-trotting across my driveway heading SOUTH. At the time I didn't remember it was the same dog we saw in the field last July. He/she looked stressed out, nervous ... so I went to the living room trying to convince Stella and Heidi they needed to change their routine and come into the bedroom so I could shut them in there while I try to rescue the beagle.

Of course when you have two hounds that are use to their routines and know that as they select their positions on the couch as I watch another Reds baseball game, that there would be NO NEED to get up and head to the bedroom. They didn't understand what I was telling them and they were not going to move ...

And ... they didn't.  LOL

So I took a chance, I left them where they were. That would be okay with Heidi because she is the true house dog where we know from past blog posts that Stella likes to explore the house while I am gone looking for food. Anything from bananas, apples, mangoes or tomatoes that are left in bowls on the counter.

I sat the two bowls of fruit on top of the refrigerator and took off in my car trying to find the beagle somewhere in the neighborhood. Of course by the amount of time it took for me to start my search the beagle was long gone. I had no idea what direction it took but I did not see it along the highway for the two miles south of me.

It was late last night while I was watching the game when I remembered it was the same beagle I had seen in the field last July. I think it belongs to the neighbors five or six houses north of me.

Being this close to a high speed highway, it is never good to see a stray dog running in the neighborhood. The few I have been able to catch and find their owner, it was amazing just how far they had traveled away from their home by the time I found them.

As you can see Stella had another successful Saturday morning stroll. I know, just like you, I cannot picture her walking like this in the high deserts of Arizona or New Mexico either. Yet dogs are so much more adaptable than people are. I can see her though sleeping on the hot rocks or concrete under the sun in those two states, just like she was here yesterday afternoon when the sun was in the western sky.

While I sat outside late afternoon yesterday she slept the whole time which amounted to an hour and a half on the hot concrete floor. That hot sunshine probably makes her joints feel better. Sometimes the sun is the best joint and hip supplement there is.

I admit I don't like the constant rains anymore just like I don't like snowy single digit winters. Rain is nice for a day or two but never all the time. With the Reds game not starting until 1:30pm my time today, that is if it is not raining hard in St. Louis, I'll have plenty of time to look for new information about the town I have locked in on.

Both hounds are still sleeping as I post this but it is so close to their lunch, they will let me know what time it is as soon as I step away from the computer desk. Yes, the skies are looking like a LOT of rain is on the way right now. In my book 84° and dry is better than 60° and rain in the month of April.

Oh ... I never spent a second of time today thinking about my Bureau of Motor Vehicles visit yesterday. Gotta go, Heidi just woke up and she wants her lunch NOW ... barking non stop.

Lunch was served and you can see they had no interest outside other than getting back inside for their post lunch siesta.

Where did the spellcheck feature go when when writing a post on WordPress ???? I hate when they update their site.

It's a quiet Saturday here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

My Brain Cells Go On A Trip

I knew this morning when I saw the small creek had flooded into the fields, the chances of Stella wanting even a late morning walk would probably not happen. Heidi let me know that she was not staying outside any longer than needed because it was April 20th and 42° with light rain.

Usually when Stella is in this stance she is not going anywhere and is only waiting for me to confirm her decision by walking past her to let her inside the house. It took less than a minute for her to let me know we were going nowhere this morning.

So after pouring my second cup of coffee trying to wake up from my late Friday night of watching the Reds pull out another win in San Diego ... my brain cells floated away down memory lane. Was it the weather outside trying to make me forget it was officially spring or was it something else. I typed realtor dot com into the address bar at the top of the screen and started looking at houses for sale.

That happens when the weather is bad but it normally happens during the middle of winter when it's freezing snow and 7° outside, not Seattle weather in April. Now before you get too excited there is only one area that I would look at with the hounds in tow. All of the other places are for when I get older and might be boundless ... or I am tired of doing yard work or freezing my ass off in the winter.

While looking at houses, condos and even apartments for rent in one specific location, I did this the rest of the morning missing lunch and into the early afternoon. That is how curious I was. A little after 2pm the hounds acted like they wanted outside and I too needed to relieve some of my 'cabin fever' so we were off.

I didn't know that Stella was planning on take an early afternoon walk but that was nice.

She wasn't waiting for me as she silently snuck away while I was checking on where Heidi was at and what she wanted to do. It was 47° but felt colder and a light sprinkle of rain. For the second afternoon in a row, Stella took a walk in a light rain. That is history right there.

Long time blog followers have been on this 'trip' before and heard the same commentary as I move from state to state, large towns to small and from north to south. Today I covered NM, AZ, CO, NV, WA and CA. I reminded myself the reason I was moving was to see the sunshine as many days possible in a years time, with temperatures as high as possible for as many days as it could.

Another words, I need weather in southern Arizona or southern California to do that.

After living in Carlsbad California for close to 10 years I know what the weather is like and that May is the month of fog while December tries to get all the annual rainfall in one month. That's fine, it's not single digits. I have to watch myself though when I look at familiar neighborhoods because where I use to live I cannot afford. Plus I am not a fan of California's political leadership. I went from the coastal towns, looked at La Mesa and as far east as Borrego Springs.

Depending on locations in that state determined whether I looked at houses, condos or possible apartments to rent. Of course this would be years down the road without any hounds. I will admit though, good memories living in that area do cloud my thinking when I try to justify I could live there again.

I also looked again in my old stomping grounds on Whidbey Island, WA. I then reminded myself the reason I was looking to move was for good or great year-round weather. Whidbey Island is beautiful with the Cascade mountains only an hour away by car, Seattle a few hours away with today's traffic and Ft Ebey SP just minutes away. I also enjoyed the 10 years I lived there.

I did glance at Colorado, the two towns I lived in the early 90's and a couple that sparked my interest a few years ago. Yet, if I want snow and cold winters, I can stay where I am.

When I think of small towns in southern Arizona there is always one thought and not what you might think. No it's not immigrants traveling through the area but what will the water availability be like 10 or 15 years from now? I'm serious. Out there in rural small town Arizona water is more valuable than gold and seems to be disappearing in some mysterious ways.

Still the thought of being warm during the winter made me feel better ... then I remembered seeing the snow somewhere in southern Arizona where RVsue lives. Maybe what I want is winter or year-round weather is no longer possible. No ... Florida is not an option.

If you had not noticed in the photos, Stella started our walk taking the return path and then cutting over to the regular outward path in this next photo.

It might sound strange considering where I live now and from the pictures you see on the blog but I can see myself living in one of those small townhouses in Borrego Springs, CA. I always have a good feeling when I look in that area and at that property. A few of the townhouses have been for sale over 550 days.

La Mesa CA interests me because I could use public transportation and get to San Diego Padre games only 12 miles away. I'd have great winter weather and a lot of activity would be within walking distance. Maybe an over 55 complex might be the way to go in that area.

I could go as far east as Escondido or Vista or San Marco in northern San Diego County. Of course when I rode my bicycle through all of that area in the late 1970's it was all orange groves and now it is wall to wall houses. I remember when I flew down to visit friends in that area in 1994 I didn't like all the changes and the huge population/traffic explosion ... so I moved to Indiana, where I am now.

Of course all of this brain cell tripping could be just a case of things "always look greener on the other side of the fence" or it could also mean in a few years I will be ready to pack up and get out of cold winters.

So what location would I be looking at when the hounds would be coming with me ?? New Mexico. I've looked at a couple of towns since 2010 off and on. I saw the other day NM is now one of the three states that are popular with retirees. Ara over at The Oasis Of My Soul has given me a lot of good information about the town he lives in.

Like anywhere in any state, all towns large or small have their own plus and minuses. Compromise is a needed feature anytime you move. I can say though that everywhere I have lived in my life I have really enjoyed my time there. I have never lived in NM but have traveled through it numerous times by car, VW Bus and bicycle.

It does get cold in that town and they do get snow in Alamogordo but rarely more than an inch or two and it is usually gone within 24 hours. If you want snow, the mountains are 20 minutes away. I have always enjoyed the time I have visited towns in the high desert.

Like I have said many times though, where I am now is perfect for the hounds. I cannot beat this 7 acre field anywhere that I look at property out west. I also enjoy a lot of the benefits living in this area. I'll not list everything but this small town had a higher livability rating than any of the towns I have looked at out west. Now if I can just remember what that website was called that gave every town or city a 'livability' rating, I could check out some more information.

Another telling sign is, when I get in moods like this and consider different moves, it usually takes me only one walk through the field to pull those run-away brain cells back into formation where I can think logically and find out this place is hard to beat. I like hot and humid weather, it's just being delayed this year.I will continue to look at property just like I did this morning.  :)

Yesterday was my first day in a very long time that I ate food without logging it into my phone app and then later manually inputting some data from that app into my spreadsheets. I had no problem getting through the change. I bought nothing different when I shopped for groceries yesterday.

It is the late night baseball games that is killing me this past week. Last night the game went 11 innings which put us past 1am. I also think looking at the city skyline during that game in San Diego and remembering just how many Padre games I use to attend, in a different stadium, may have brought on those thoughts about moving back to the San Diego area.

The thought of living in southern California again, maybe in a condo with no yard work, does spark my interest more than it should.

It will be interesting to see what Stella does in a few days at the end of her walk when the weather is sunny, no rain and back to the high 70's. Will she still walk as close to the house as she can or in the middle of the yard where it will be nice and warm.

Luckily the Reds game starts an hour or two earlier tonight but I still might need a short siesta this afternoon if I am going to make it through another 9 innings of baseball. Otherwise I'll make a new cup of coffee, log back into realtor dot com and let my brains cells take me on further travels.

Seattle winter weather today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Saturday Morning Showers

A loud roar of thunder and lightning bright enough to light up the bedroom woke me a little after 6am. From what I could tell neither hound moved or sat up in the corner of the bedroom where they share a spot to sleep. I knew that I was not getting up that early again today and was back to sleep in seconds. Would our morning walk be rained out ??

The field was not as wet as I anticipated but it took forever to get Stella from the corner of the house, then into the yard and then into the field. She must have been remembering the hour before when I let her out to start the day and it was dark and pouring rain. She is not a fan of any kind of rain. Once she started the walk in the field she was okay as we continued on with an occasional rain sprinkle hitting my hand.

I couldn't capture this fast enough but she was tangled up in the thorn bushes. Bloodhounds are not problem solvers and their only response to a puzzle like that is just apply more force to tear away. That type of movement has resulted in a trip to the vet only one time in 21 years. Sadie sliced the inside of her ear open when she was a puppy by a razor-sharp thorn.

We are supposed to get almost 2" of rain today but it will be hit or miss as the thunderstorms roll though the Ohio Valley. I hope that does not cancel the Reds game at 2:10pm today. Currently there is a huge storm that won't miss us, southwest of us in Missouri.

Only two basketball games tonight as the single elimination tournament slowly reduces the 68 team field to four teams after this weekend. There have really been some good ballgames this year if you are a basketball fan, some questionable calls by the referees and some exciting last second finishes.

You might be able to tell I am grasping at straws this morning for something to write about. I've tired of the political scene and understand we have moved into the next Plan B in Democratic Party strategy. It's a long way to November 2020 and I've had enough of the political bullshit I could puke. So the tv stays off the news channels, in fact none of them are even programmed in my tv remote control.

I'll glance at the headlines online but that will be about it.

Stella continued her policy of not getting her feet any wetter than necessary and walked just off the edge of the path. I didn't feel the same saturation I felt this last week on the walk. That was strange because I saw more spots of standing water from the storms last night, which Stella and I walked around.

I had another good day of following my eating plan. I could not wait until Monday morning to see if I had lost a pound or two these past 7-10 days so I hopped on the scale this morning before I did anything. It was nice to see I had dropped two pounds and that is right on schedule for weight loss ... actually the experts tell me to expect to lose 1-1/2 pounds per week. I can live with that.

I'm going to leave you with the photos of the rest of the walk and step away from my computer. I'm not sure what I will be doing today. Due to weather I might be reading a lot today. I think a little 'cabin fever' has set in plus ... the words are hard to find this morning.

Heidi has the best plan of all for surviving a crappy weather day. I still say she is the smartest of all three of us.

It's still good though, in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.