Hounds To Tired To Do Anything

The day arrived early and the sunrise was fantastic to see develop. With temps at 72° it still felt cool that early in the morning. As usual the day activities would be planned as I go, nothing solid. I think you can tell what kind of day it was when you see what the hounds did for most of the day. I didn't know that their Sunday road trip would make them lazy today.

By the time we were back from the morning walk ... the sky had brightened up quite a bit.

Stella waited until that first cup of coffee was finished.

After we cross the street for the walk we have a better view of the sun rising. Today I brought my camera because I was looking for some plant ideas for my yard. Nothing that grows too tall but would add some color.

It was a short 17 minute walk but Stella didn't take long to get  back to sleep.

Heidi had not moved and was in the same spot as she was when I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. She barely opened her eyes to acknowledge my question ... I took that as a 'no.'

Today's photos were taken with the Canon G9X ... I edited out the black spot that must be on the sensor ... how it got there, I have no idea since the lens does not come off.

Not many words today ... the day passed fast and it was already time for baseball before I knew it.

97° today in the Wild West ... so much cooler compared to Phoenix or Tucson.

Our First Tarantula Sighting

Normal routine this morning at "oh dark thirty" when I hear a bloodhound whining so slightly I can't believe it woke me up. The longer I lay there making a decision to get up or not, the whining gets a little louder each time because she has seen me move. If my wrist moves the Apple Watch will light up ... Stella then knows that her first food of the day is just minutes away. That is all she wants, food.

I was happy she woke me up this morning because I was able to see soon after letting the hounds outside this amazing sunrise. I went back in the house to grab the Canon G97 and hoped to capture what my eyes were seeing. To wake up and see things like this happening every morning is pretty amazing and a great way to start the day.

If I lean forward or look around the corner of my patio wall ... I see the sun rising in the east. I wish that tree was not there.

I decided this morning since there would not be a school bus pulling into the neighborhood by 6:15am, that I'd have a cup of coffee this morning before Stella and I would take off for our daily walk just after sunrise. Remember those times where Sadie use to whine if we were not walking by what time ??? 8:00am ??? I don't think there is anyway I can sleep that late living here.

As the fog started to clear from the brain cells as the caffeine of SE Arizona's Arbuckle's coffee hitting all circuits, I could see my plan of the day taking form. I've been searching for just the right coffee lately as I have tired of Starbuck's and Seattle's Best Coffee. So I have a few different blends/companies to choose from in the cabinet. I'll not throw any of it out in the trash but I have checked off a few from my next coffee shopping list. It is almost easier anymore to order stuff from Amazon than making a trip to the store.

By late this afternoon the temps had warmed up and climbed out of the 70's. The hounds and I had a pretty uneventful day but at least I was able to buy groceries this morning and had them unloaded and put away by 7:30am. The only bad thing was, I needed a couple of non-food things from Walmart that Fry's Market would not have ... so I thought I'd make one trip for that and for groceries.

Bad choice.

I have a cart full of groceries, 30 million cashier lanes available, and the only lights turned on to let me know which lanes were open ... were the "self checking" lanes. I could feel my pulse rate increase just a little but it almost went off the charts as I moved through my stack of groceries ... scanning and bagging them. I guess all young cashier "monitors" see white or gray hair and instantly think we are all computer illiterates. When I heard the question "Are we doing okay" ... I tried my best to keep my mouth shut ... but you know me.

With 30 million cashier lanes available and all closed what else was I suppose to do?

I blurted out "you know if I wanted to be a (*##$^@&*@ cashier I would get a (*##$^@&*@ job !!!!" I guess she figured out I WAS doing okay checking out my groceries because she walked away. So the next time I will go BACK to Fry's Market and buy groceries in the early morning hours and then have the fastest checkout cashiers in the world (from my experience) scan and bag my groceries. I'll not have to do anything but load the moving counter and slide my debit card in the reader to pay. Plus they give you a discount on gas for the car based on how much I spend.  :)

The efforts to change policy about the new couch are still going strong. Heidi and Stella will not give up their vigilant efforts to get me to change my mind and let them on the couch or small loveseat. I did not measure the old leather couch before I moved so I am not sure but by the looks of the new couch as I sit in the middle ... it does not look as long as the old leather couch I use to share with the hounds since 2003. There is enough room for them ... barely.

When Stella begs for anything ranging from wanting my food, more of her food, cookies, candy, pizza crust, dog treats, ice cream, steak, chicken, .... ah ... you get the picture ... she almost closes her eyes and looks downward with a feeling of rejection. Still ... the policy is not going to change on this. I am looking at some options since friends I text hound photos to are making a lot of suggestions ... they think I am cruel. All ladies from our college years and all have dogs ... small dogs ... like 4 lb dogs. HUGE difference between a 4 lb dog living on a couch and a 85 lb dog living on the couch with a 45 lb roommate.

While I have been watching Reds baseball games usually between 4:10pm - 7:??pm almost every day ... I like to step out on the patio between innings and check out that crazy sky again. Sometimes I take more photos and depending on what is going in the game (Reds losing), I will pull up that ugly chair and sit outside and enjoy the sundown and the mountain views.

After their failed attempt last night to get me to change my mind, I walked back inside from one of those patio trips between innings and they had decided 71° with blowing wind coming through the open windows in the house was too cold for them. It was the first time I've seen them sleep side by side out here. You will notice the iPhone camera took a much more accurate picture of the rug compared to the bright colors the Canon G9X took the other day.

Yes our first tarantula.

With a big mystery. I saw it off to the right of the patio if I am looking out toward the fence. It's the area that Heidi usually pees in so I was happy I had checked the yard like I always do before letting the hounds out. I saw two strange things though when I keep staring at it from the patio. It wasn't moving and what was that strange black thing next to it ????

I slowly tiptoe'd toward it ... it didn't respond. I dropped a few of those small rocks on top of it and it broke apart as if were nothing but dust !!! Then I started looking at that small black stuff. It was something I had never seen in my house, my trash, or the yard. I have no idea where it came from. It looked like a black rubber chain of some sort.

Any ideas what would kill a tarantula ??  Where did that small black plastic/rubber chain come from?

Since I am basically obsessed with the sky that I can look at from the patio or the kitchen windows and the bedroom window, I thought I'd show you some of the different changes I witness from day to day. Some of these were taken before I returned to blogging. I am not sure if Blogger loaded them into any specific order. I really find it interesting to see all the different changes. I am positive these same type of changes occurred back in 'the tropics' but for some reason they were just not as dominant.

There is nothing like a wide open western sky.

With the weather forecast showing the rain has passed through, I have almost a week of sunny weather ahead this week. There will be a very good chance I'll be doing some local road trips this week after I return from my morning bike rides. I have a few trails I would like to hike also. It will be my first attempt at hiking in this area. I'll be sure take plenty of water with me if nothing else.

As I put this post together the hounds are in their normal blog writing positions ... Heidi sleeping in the corner of the room and Stella is sleeping pressed up behind my chair so I cannot slide it away from the desk. I can't move 85 lbs of dead weight, even one that snores a little.

It was a beautiful day here in the Wild West.

Heidi Never Switched Time Zones

Every day seems to start with me waking up in the dark, barely light outside the southern window and the sound of basset hound ears flapping as Heidi shakes her head to start our day. Our day? Yes, because I am awake and this will also wake up Stella sleeping in the opposite corner of the bedroom. Once they gain clear consciousness they have one thing on their minds .... breakfast.


While they eat breakfast anywhere from 4:30am (7:30am Indiana time) to 5:30am if we sleep late, I make coffee and open the windows to get that cool early morning breeze moving through the house. The word 'humidity' is no longer part of our vocabulary.

While the coffee brews I am sitting outside enjoying the sounds of different birds, looking at the sky and feeling like I have just stepped out of my tent on a camping trip. Stella likes to check out to see what has been in her yard while she sleeps. I ALWAYS scan the yard for spiders or snakes before letting the hounds outside, even if I have to use a flashlight.

In a "sick" way I enjoy the plain stone yard. I have thought about having it landscaped with someone else doing the labor but when I think of plants I think of mice from the field, or scorpions or tarantulas and of course rattlesnakes enjoy any kind of rodent for their diets. Looking at photos from other people in this area on Facebook we may be the only people without landscaping in the yard and we may be the only people that have not seen at least one scorpion, tarantula or rattlesnake during the monsoons.

Of course the hounds make wake me up early so they can eat breakfast but that doesn't mean they stay up. Usually within 20 minutes after that last piece of kibble is eaten, they are both sound asleep in my computer room. Yet, I have become so use to getting up early like this since I have moved that I like getting up this early and I don't mind getting to bed early. The days of me staying up past midnight until 2am or 3am in the morning are long gone. A distant memory.

I am only in that room a short time before I walk back out to the patio to have another cup of coffee. Stella always shows up about 5 minutes after I move to check the daylight and see if it is time for her morning walk.  She will whine to go if I am lagging behind 'her' time.

She likes to make sure she stretches before she walks. She is trotting and running now, something she did not do a lot of before the move. We have ran into too many mountain bikers, bicyclists, walkers with or without kids and a car or two at that time of day so she always has to wear the 25' retractable leash for her walk.

There was the time we turned the corner across the street where we walk and were eye to eye with two coyotes. They stared, turned and ran away after seeing her. Where as those two yapping small "ankle biters" we met one morning almost home from the walk at 5:30am, broke free from their owner and their leashes and chased Stella all the way to the front door. If I had not closed the door when I did I have no doubt one of those dogs would have come inside the house.

So the retractable leash is a must when we walk. Heidi has a 15' one that she uses.

Once Stella lets me know she is stretched out and ready to go ... we head out for a walk between .56 to .75 of a mile, depending on where she leads me and what the apple watch tells me. By the time we get home the skies have brightened up a little.

This morning as I was leaning and looking over the fence Stella walked out staring at me as if to ask "what now?" ... she was back to sleep in the computer room within minutes after that pose. Normal routine. It was a few minutes before 6am when she looked at me.

Every morning is bright and sunny, going from the 60's to the 90's by early afternoon. By late afternoon the monsoons get into formation which might lead to some rain on us but most of it has been around us. Great light shows though and the thunder is the loudest I have ever heard.

Besides having gas stations, grocery stores, a dentist and bike shops all within 2 miles of my house ... one fine eating establishment delivers pizza if I chose not to visit their building less than a mile away. It's good that I ride a bike most mornings otherwise I would be adding some serious weight.

By the way that is a thin crust, just like the New Yorker's make with the best cheese, pepperoni, italian sausage and mushrooms. No, I don't eat all of that ... I save about half of it for the baseball games I'll watch later or my after bike riding breakfast the next morning. Speaking of which, I always knew my body worked better with Pacific Time than Eastern Time ... the ballgames are always over about the time I would be starting to watch them back in the Midwest. Getting to bed by 9pm is not a problem since the games are all finished.

The rest of the days are spent taking short exploration road-trips, staying home and reading books or an occasional siesta when needed.  I have a lot of free time now, more than I did before.

I didn't realize how much time I spent on yard work, minor house maintenance or a 'to do' list until I got away from that. Another big difference is the lack of noise from a highway. It is so quiet here, it's almost too quiet at times. Again, I did not realize just how much traffic noise I had grown use to living on the highway.

I am in a good central location where I can see old friends from my time in Southern California by noon if I am on the road by 7am. Or I can even check out some of the other places I considered moving in Arizona, New Mexico or Nevada a short day drive away ... some not even that. I have cities I can get to when I want but that is low in the list of things to do. I have plenty of things to do here and see near me I might never have to leave.

The hounds and I are good here in the 'wild west'.