The Hounds Slept Through The Afternoon

I can't tell you just how fast our afternoon went. The only thing different than yesterday, was that I stayed awake all afternoon ... but hounds didn't. Stella slept next to my chair, Sadie moved to the bedroom on her dog bed in the corner and Heidi went back to the floor next to the air condition register right after her lunch break.

I spent all afternoon looking at Toyota FJ's on cars.com When I didn't find anything I liked within a 250 mile range, I move moved it out to "all" ... nationwide. That would increase my chances of finding the one with all the TRD options I had before but less chance of buying one because I wouldn't travel that far to buy one. It listed 296 for sale but only 2 of them had TRD options.

At lunch, Sadie never got further than the 6 blocks before she turned around and walked toward the door. It wasn't even raining, no thunder, just a lack of interest.

I couldn't find Heidi in the front yard nor the backyard ... I walked all the way in front of the house to find her on the north side where the overcast skies made it even darker under the shade of the trees.

I spoke recently of 'ground surge' ... here is a fine example. 20 years ago this water meter was sitting at ground level with the top of the lid so exposed I would have to mow around it. So my whole front yard has slid toward the highway gradually.

I spent so much time on the computer today looking at cars I needed a break. My Garmin VivoSmart3 told me numerous times to "MOVE" but I kept ignoring that vibrating warning and the word covering my screen on my wrist. By 4:30pm I was ready for a walk myself and was pretty sure that Stella and Sadie would want to go with me.

While Sadie moved along the edge of the woods like always, Stella once again tried to sneak off toward the neighbor's wooded area. She will ignore my calls at first and then decide to join us.

These berries are looking good but they are not mine to pick. My neighbor who owns the field will take his wife with him on their ATV and pick them in a few weeks. I bet they make some great pies.

Sadie and I were so involved with our walk after making the first turn, we did not realize that AGAIN ... Stella tried to sneak over to that wooded area. Once she heard me yell her name she turned and walked toward us. I guess I should let her go so she will get it out of her system. She has disappeared into that woods only once when she saw the large blonde cat.

She trotted a little again this afternoon. The temperature is much cooler today, mid 70's but the humidity is up and it feels just as sticky outside if not a little more than yesterday ... it's tempting to open the windows but the AC feels awfully good when we step in the house after being outside.

Like I have said before ... I like every car or truck I've ever owned and wished I had them all. I like those FJ's but have also thought about a Toyota Tacoma Dbl Cab ... they tow 6,500 pounds. If I didn't care a lot about towing I'd take a serious look at this 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara I saw online today. It's on the same car lot where I bought my blue FJ. Yet, that jeep only tows 3,500 pounds.

I like what I have though and don't really want to trade the Countryman. I don't want to sell the Z4 either ... so really nothing will be done, I just like to look. It's the same way when I look at houses for sale.

I'll tune into the MLB All-Star game after the game starts ... that will be 10-15 minutes after it comes on tv I guess. I hate all the pregame glitz they have to have so I'll leave the tv off during that time.

I am not sure if Heidi is going to walk in the field again. I thought she'd be interested once they cut it but anymore when I ask her if she wants to walk with us, all she does is roll over to get her belly rubbed. She has no interest in going outside to walk.

Another quiet afternoon here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana today.

Hounds Slow Down For Their Afternoon

After this morning's performance by the hounds, I could not expect something better. It was only their energy level that was high this morning and I knew if they were anything like me, it would not be an all day affair.


Soon after I posted this morning's blog post, I took all of the hounds outside to do whatever they needed to do before being left in the house while I drove around locally with my camera in hand. While they wandered a little in the field I cleaned my camera from the small view finder attachment to the inside of the lens hood.

The truck pictured above was one of two trucks I saw making a very slow right hand turn from the highway to the country road within view of my desk. It's pretty amazing they could fit something that long into a narrow road without cutting down a utility pole or a mailbox, yet they did make that turn without damaging anything.

Since the two trucks were blocking the roadway I could not get much closer than where I took the picture. It looks like they are rebuilding a small bridge that I found was closed last summer during one of my local drives through the country.

The older farm house above is about 1.5 miles behind my house. The picture is a little crooked but was holding the camera up pointed out the window as I drove by. I still don't feel good taking pictures of other people houses, so there will not be anymore. I passed on some real gems during my short drive today.

A lot of the roads near my house are a lot like this, although this is one of the few flat roads. It is one that I ride my bike on during the summer.

I did take pictures of those closed businesses in town. I have downloaded them but this time I am going to do some online research before I post, hopefully finding some history to each of the business I am going to talk about.

After that I took a drive across the highway for some more pictures of the old steel bridge. Not much had changed in the two years since I was there last. I'll make a post later just about the bridge itself and the updated pictures I took this morning.

Somewhat different driving the Mini Countryman All4 drive compared to the Toyota FJ I had before. This car sits about 4" lower in ground clearance but with the manual transmission I can see getting about anywhere I want to go off road. No ... I am NOT saying this is off-road.   LOL

I do like how those red mirrors stand out surrounded by all of the greens. My house is setting there to the left in the middle of the woods from the way it looks. The 7 acre field behind my house seems to have disappeared.

You would think after looking at this next picture my house is in the middle of the woods with nothing but trees around it. There isn't a clue there is a field anywhere near the house.

That small field across the highway seems like a waste of time to plow, to plant and to harvest ... but really it's much larger than meets the eye. I forget that the tree line in back is not the bank to the small creek that moves under the bridge ... but just a small wooded area between the front and back of this one field.

After they turn left after that wooded area straight ahead of the tractor, it moves into a much larger field to plant. This next picture is toward the left, next to the road I took to the bridge. You can barely see my house on the right side of the picture.

The field then spreads out to the north for quite a ways. As you can see, the field that I look at every day is a very small portion of the total size of that field. It makes sense now why they spend their time farming that area.

Before taking pictures of the bridge I stopped in the landscaping business to check on buying more rip rap. I have one more spot I want to add to the bank. It's a large hole in the side of the bank where the large sycamore tree once stood until June 2008. It was as large as the sycamore tree still standing.

The straight line winds pulled that 125' tree out of the ground like a weed. It fell through the fence and was tall enough to almost cover the width of the yard. You can barely see the large hole in the bank where the tree was. It is just left of those rocks you see in the center of the picture. It needs to be filled.

That is my driveway under the tree. The rest of the tree almost reached to the other side of the front yard. My bloodhound at the time, Bertha, was checking out the damage, barely seen to left of center. Sadie did not arrive until two months after this happened.

The Directv satellite dish did not survive the tree limbs. When they came to reinstall the new system I had him move the dish up to and bolted into the front of the house. That prevents wind damage and is hidden by the Yews planted a few years later.

By the time I returned from my local drive, the hounds were ready not only to eat but take a mid-afternoon walk. It was a slower pace this time and all three hounds spent the rest of the afternoon in a solid deep sleep.

Heidi was passed out on the couch, Stella stretched out on the floor behind my desk chair and Sadie moved back and forth from "her" large leather chair in the living room to her dog bed in the corner of the bedroom. All the windows were open with a nice breeze so it was great sleeping weather.

I was pretty sure that Heidi was going to make the afternoon walk. It was above her 70° threshold, sitting at 77°. She looked motivated within her first few steps outside.

You can see how much hair has grown back in on her front leg and paw and she does look a little heavier than last fall/winter.

She then bolted to the right and took off running around the front of the house for a lap. As she returned on the back side of the it was a reminder of #9 on my to do list this summer ... install new brick edging between the river rock and yard. The same bricks as in the front. I still have a lot to do before I get to #9.

I asked her one more time if she was going on the walk and she gave me a solid no. She stood looking away and never moved. I got her answer loud and clear.

Stella let me know early in the walk, that the fast pace she did this morning was not going to be an afternoon thing for her. She was back to being slow and after looking at that picture I could swear the grass grew another 6" after this morning's walk.

Four Five perfect, nothing out of place, dandelions. (thanks for letting me know about my error)

There are times I wished I was paying attention in geography or geology class ... one of those non-sports classes in school. I'd love to know what these are and who makes them. The liquid mud formations fascinate me.

Sadie warmed up a little in her search ... but then again, she never slows down and is always active in her walks. A totally different energy level than Stella's.

I was about to call Stella's name ... but she started heading my way on her own. Not fast ... but in the right direction.

Both of them decided they had enough fun for one day and slowly headed down the path back home.

Another one of many farm equipment traveling south down the highway today.

Just one more thing to check out before their siesta.

Sadie was walking behind me until she saw Heidi up by the house. As always she took off sprinting, and touching noses with Heidi just to let her know she was back.

While Heidi found a way to cure her itch ... Stella walked slowly around her without stopping to even say hello.

Now ... she looked ready for a walk as she started barking at me.

Even after a couple of glasses of freshly brewed cold ice tea, by 3:30 that thought of a siesta sounded like a good idea. It didn't help much with three sleeping hounds but I was able to resist.

Those 6 days of rain forecasted out of the next 9 days have been blown off the map. No rain today and now it's only 3 of the next 9 that has a possibility of rain. Plenty of good weather for me to get back on that 'to do' list.

Do I like my Mini Cooper Countryman? --- yes
Do I miss my blue Toyoto FJ? --- yes
Would I like to have my old white 1994 Chevy pickup truck back --- yes
Do I need the seldom driven Z4? --- yes

This is why I need 4 different cars but only have 2.

I have found that a printed out 'to do' list is much better at keeping me focused on the job at hand, rather than checking a list on my computer, on my iPhone or in my head.

Those tiny things you think you feel crawling on your legs or neck are back ... ticks.

Stay tuned for a post, with pictures, about the steel bridge that is at least 70 years old and the local business that are now closed after decades of serving a lot of local people and are missed today.

It was another nice day here in 'the tropics of southern Indiana.

Day Cancelled Due To Rain

It actually started last night with different periods of hard rain. At times it sounded as if I had a metal roof on the house. Directv signal was knocked out for short time as well as the Exede satellite internet.

That didn't matter. I was deep into my newest book, a novel by John Grisham called The Summons. I'm liking the large print. It's an older book and hard to put down so it was another night I had to force myself to stop reading to get some sleep ... it was 3am.

I was out cold and never heard another drop of rain the rest of the night, in fact I didn't hear anything. No weird dreams, no waking up in a sunlit room ... just solid sleep. You can always tell how much rain and how windy it was during the night by looking at the floor of the carport then next morning, to see it was pretty active.

It was good to see the car cover was still on the Z4. Halfway down each side of the cover are two grommets where I connect each with a bungee cord that goes under the car. That keeps the cover from blowing off when the wind speeds are extreme. Ask me how I know that.  LOL

Sadie and Stella went out this morning for just a short time. Stella did not have any hesitation in returning to the house after she took her bathroom break. Sadie in the meantime was trying to figure out the mole traffic which has destroyed not only my backyard this year, but the front yard this winter. I'm killing the grub worms in March, chemicals and all.

Stella normally has her tail lowered, rarely up and curled like Sadie so when she had her tail up and pointing out I couldn't believe how long it was. When you see the bottom half of her tail is black from a parent being a 'black n tan' bloodhound, it is pretty easy to see why the original owner named her "Dipstick". Plus there is a story from the couple I got her from that she did get into some oil in the garage while they were at work.

Once back inside the house, it was time to continue the book with Heidi and Stella exemplify what kind of day it's been. I've been keeping my house between 60°-65° but today is one of those days it might be 62° outside and inside the same but it feels much colder. Heidi needed the Marmot sleeping back to keep her warm.

Later we took a short break outside but it was lightly raining, the sky to the west didn't look any better. It might be 62° but the weather experts say it will be a high of 28° by Thursday. Where's global warming when you need it?

Lately when thinking about my spring to do list, I've change my mind about planting grass along the old 75 year old wire fence and hill at the corner of the house. Due to keeping the hill from moving I'd like to keep all of the roots of the trees in the ground, along with the concrete blocks the Amish house builders threw into the hill 40 years ago.

I have enough problem with 'ground swell' as it is besides pulling up all the roots and planting new grass. I don't think just planting grass on this hill would hold it. All the underground water in that field leads right to my backyard.  I might throw a few handfuls of wild flower seeds over this area to mix in with what grows back to give it some color.

After posting the pictures of the Mini Cooper yesterday without the stripes here and on the Mini Cooper forum, I have had a surprising number of emails and forum replies. Everyone has some pretty good ideas on how to move forward.

One interesting idea was to put two solid wide stripes only on the hood in dark gray and on each outside edge a very thin red strip. The majority of Countryman owners on the forum suggested keeping the red mirror caps and the brake inlets, then doing a couple of mods to accent the red.

I originally thought of making it black as possible. Now remember all the ideas I speak of, have pictures online or on the Mini Forum showing me what it would look like before I make changes. I also thought of putting on door handle caps that are black. They sell those along with the chrome trip around the headlights and brake lights. Many paint those chrome trim pieces.

One forum member even suggested painting the thin piece of chrome around the car called the 'belt line' red.

Interesting about the color black. I thought it would be quite easy just to order a set of mirror caps in black and then sell my red ones. I was wrong. Even the official Mini accessory site does not list black caps as an option. So I guess from the pictures I saw online, those were special ordered at the time they bought the car or were painted later.

The thing is I am still a fan of chrome and to me there is just enough chrome there to make the car look good. Until I was looking through 5 different sites last night that sold Mini accessories, I didn't realize those red brakes you see behind the black wheels cost almost $1,500.

I also found the exact stripes I took off, in a kit for $117. Some have suggested putting them back on, only on the hood and rear hatch door. Some think only on the hood would look okay while others say forget the stripes and make it as black as possible.

Speaking of cars, I noticed the Toyota dealership that took my blue FJ in trade back in October still has it on their lot for sale. They just had their 3rd price reduction and it is now priced the same as what they gave me for a trade in. I'm surprised it has not been sold yet, since they installed new OEM catalytic converters plus fixed anything they found to replace.

The hounds probably miss riding in it. But I like the Cooper Countryman and it still gives me all the room I need plus better gas mileage. It's quite comfortable.

Well I am headed back to my book. I think I can finish that tonight. Thanks to all that have suggested books to read the past few days. I have included every one on my list of books to read and have found a few of them available in my library. If they are not available I can have them sent here within the state library system.

I see just a little blue sky trying to peek outside the clouds but it's way too wet to take a hound walk today here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.