The Hounds Enjoy Their Sunny Sunday

I was curious what my hip would feel like this morning after riding two days in a row after taking eight days off the bike with soreness in the lower back and hip. I was thinking I'd ride for the third day in a row but it's never a bad thing to ride for two days and day off in between. It was cold as I opened the door to let the hounds out for the first time this morning. By the time I had their breakfast kibble poured, they were standing at the door wanting back inside. I could tell it was going to be a good day today.

I did my usual morning coffee while looking over the websites I visit daily. The hounds sleep next to my desk while I do this and if we can wait for just a couple of hours before our morning walk, it warms up quite a bit. This morning we were out the door at 8:39am, a little later than normal and too late if it were a weekday but perfect time on a Sunday.

It was almost warm enough to go riding when we got back. As you see the hounds took up their normal sunny positions as I tried to decide if I wanted to ride that early or wait an hour for the temps to get just a little warm. A few degrees more would make all the difference in the world.

By the time that hour wait was finished the winds had picked up, strong enough that I was feeling them sitting in my patio chair. The warm sun felt great on my face and I knew I wasn't going to pass this up. Cool air, hot sun ... but too windy to ride. When I say windy I mean any flag is blowing straight out with ripples and if a plant is thin it's bent over from the wind.

While the hounds slept I took some photos and enjoyed the sunshine. I have a couple of different once I don't think I've ever had on the blog.

Looks content, sound to sleep but if I were to leave and keep her in the backyard, she is now digging to get out. More than ever.

Heidi might look like she is awake but she is in a deep sleep. I noticed when I downloaded this picture the lump the has been there for years on her year seems like it has grown or opened. Six different vets over the years have looked, felt and said it didn't need to be removed. I'll look at it closer. We might be going the vet on Monday for that. From this angle it doesn't look good.

People have always commented how big Stella or Sadie's paws were ... well here's a close up to get a better look at them.

With a hot sun and cool breeze ... this is Heidi's favorite daytime spot.

Stella thought she was going to sleep up in the corner of the fence where the shade is. After standing there for a few minutes looking lost, she decided she would wander back over to the 'dirt spot' that she continues to dig out whether I fill it in with rock or leave it bare.

That hot sun moved behind a cloud for only a couple of minutes.

Stella thinking on what to do ....

She never did lay down.

Heidi heard me talking to myself and thought she heard the word Bisbee. I left the patio door open so she could come and go as she pleased while I was gone. Stella spent time in her crate with the blinds closed in the bedroom. When she knows I am leaving or going bike riding she walks into the crate on her own before I can get there.

It was a nice drive over to Bisbee. It was a pretty quiet town for being a couple of weeks before Christmas. I found a parking spot right across the street from the bicycle shop. On the way back for the first time I took the "southern" route back home. It parallels the border a few miles north before curving later on near the Huachuca mountains. With too many cars I like to exercise them every once in a while.

By mid-afternoon I was feeling a siesta was right around the corner. I think I might head over to the Mall Theater tonight to watch Ford vs Ferrari.

Actually a pretty lazy day here in the "Wild West" today.

An Ice Pack Is Like Magic

I spent most of Monday with the familiar feeling of a 'rock' being inside my hip about the area I would guess the real femur is trying to grow on or around the new hip. I am not sure how much is metal or how low it goes on the femur. Advil wasn't working and I did not want any more muscle relaxers since my lower back had improved. In late afternoon it hit me ... try an ice pack on the side of my hip like I have before .... it was like magic in about thirty minutes time.

I also applied that ice pack while I lay in bed a few hours later and woke up with a hip with zero pain or soreness. I was almost shocked as the hounds and I walked down the hallway around 3:30am. Heidi has a new habit now that I really like, she stops right by the bed and does a full body shake to wake me up. So far that has worked 3 out of 3 times. We came back and slept till 6am and my hip was feeling really good. A little stiff at the start but really good.

This is Stella hearing me say, "no breakfast until 7am" ... I gave in and fed them at 6:30am.

As you can see it was a sky show early this morning. I couldn't stop taking photos of the sky. Can you tell which camera I am taking these photos with? iPhone, Nikon D3200 or the Canon G7 X ??

After breakfast Stella was still on the lookout for food. Just two nights ago she remembers the smell of two thick steaks being grilled next door. She is thinking there might be some scraps tossed over the fence for her.

With the daytime temperature being much cooler, Heidi is spending more time outside exploring the yard. That does not mean the sun is cool, just the air temp. The sun felt hot enough to me that I thought it was in the 90's.

Stella jumped up out of her nap on the patio ... an unfamiliar sound. It sounded like a tractor was passing by pretty close to the fence. I missed it as it passed but I could tell looking over the fence they were mowing as much brush as they could. Too bad they didn't get right up next to my fence.

Once I am in better shape I will take my pruning shears with me and walk to the end of the block then curl around onto the path behind me where I can cut all of these down to ground level. All the dogs that bothered us walking this way the first week we moved here are no longer living in the neighborhood.

I had a feeling the brightest color of the vacant land in back was not going to last much longer.

Once Stella figured out the noise was just a tractor just like back in Indiana she resumed her afternoon siesta. That coffee spill will be cleaned up once the doctor gives me his approval to bend more then 90° ... otherwise it will remain. I guess Stella doesn't like coffee that much.

I was right, the second lap took out the yellow daisies.

Once it gets too hot, which doesn't take that long ... Stella is ready to go back inside.

With Fry's Market delivering my grocery shopping online I had to bribe the hounds with dog treats to get them outside on the patio while they moved the groceries to their car to my kitchen counter. I ordered 53 items and they didn't make any mistakes.  Well worth the fee of $9.95 plus a tip ... especially when you can't walk.  LOL The hounds were left outside for less than five minutes.

Well the answer to the camera question ... including the photo right above of Heidi ... all but one of these photos were taken with the Canon G9 X. Some of them had the dark spec from inside the camera and others were perfect with nothing to edit. I guess based on the cost of the camera and owning it for only 10 months I might as well use it and edit the black spot off of the photo as needed.

I did a 10 minute walk today around the backyard. It was slower than I normally go but I did not feel any kind of pain in my hip or groin. I do know that sitting in a chair for longer than 30 minutes put that 'rock' feeling right back inside my hip. Even if I just stand up to watch the game or take a break from the computer, that also works.

I feel much better than yesterday in the hip ... thus my attitude has changed for the better. I'm back to feeling positive about this healing process. Seven days until my next follow-up appointment with the surgeon.

Cabin fever is overbearing right now here in the Wild West.

Stella's Sunday

With a second walk by noon, Stella was on pace to have a pretty busy Sunday afternoon. While I mowed parts of the yard, cleaned up some landscaping, and took a drive in the Z4 ... she slept. That's normal. Heidi's day is on the Wordpress blog.