The Bloodhounds Track Scent & I Ramble

Even on the days we start our day later than normal, I am still up at the normal time first thing in the morning to let the three hounds outside while I pour out their breakfast kibble. Today was one of those days I headed back to bed as they ate breakfast. I knew the reason that I could not sleep last night, forcing myself to try to sleep a little after 3:30am. So the photo shoot didn't start today until after 12 noon.

It was 'warm' but not to Heidi. She stood and analyzed things for a few minutes, then ran back inside for an afternoon nap. Instead of making the immediate right just outside the door, lately she has been using the Z4 as a guide leading her to the driveway. At this point she will decide if she is going to the backyard or the front yard, if at all.

Since we started so late, both Sadie and Stella were 'high energy'. While I tried to consume two cups of strong coffee to get the blood flowing and my pulse rate somewhere above a flat line, they wrestled inside. About the time I was on cup number two, Sadie tossed one of her Kong balls to me letting me know since she didn't have her walk at the normal time, I could make it up to her by playing a little indoor fetch.

Once I let Heidi walk back inside, I grabbed a light jacket and my camera for our first walk of the day. Sadie and Stella were more than excited that they were finally going to get to be outside in warmer weather and the field of scents awaited them.

This is Sadie sprinting to get started.

This is Stella trying to catch up.

The bloodhounds focused on tracking scent this morning instead of ingesting natural protein. I didn't have to do many verbal commands, nor did I have to spend time herding them in my direction. There was plenty of different smells in that field to keep them more than busy this morning.

I read a post this morning over at 5C's Que Pasa, that all of us might take note and run through our mental checklist when it comes to electronics and the different battery chargers we have for about everything we own. They had a very close call in their RV on their way to spend the winter in Mexico. It was definitely a reminder to me to check how I do things, especially when I am leaving the hounds at home alone while I am out shopping, visiting friends, etc.

Some of you may have noticed I have been back in the playing mode with my blog. I changed the background Sunday from a darker gray to the same crimson color that is on my blog. By today I decided I didn't like that and changed the background back to a lighter gray than was here before. I think I like that better.

Long time readers will know in the 'old days' of this blog I use to change my mind all the time about which RV to buy, whether to sell the house and every thing I owned to travel like those bloggers I read about on the left sidebar. I use to drive ZippyPinHead crazy with my 'whiplash' decisions. At least now, changing my mind about blog template designs is much cheaper to satisfy my addiction of bouncing from one decision to the next.

I see those sounds I hear inside my house but can never see from the windows, is the ATV making his rounds. You can see the fresh tire prints coming from the 'no fly zone'.

So speaking of decisions, I mentioned yesterday I was thinking of re-starting my old Wordpress blog. It was something I started actually a couple of years ago where I would write just an intro paragraph of content and then list photos below it. Yet over those couple of years I've deleted it, then went back to it. (whiplash).

Sometime last summer I moved this blog to the Wordpress platform, really just started my daily writing there while leaving 6 years worth of posts and photos here. I'll not go into the long story of what happened in the summer and fall ... but I will announce that yesterday I started that blog with one paragraph and some photos. For you that would prefer just photos without my rambling you can bookmark this site or follow by email. If you have a Wordpress account you can click the 'follow' button in the lower right of your screen.

I am still working on the template design. As always photos posted there will be the same ones most of the time that you see here. I know, it seems like double work and totally going against the reasons I discussed last summer of getting down to one blog.

Since I started blogging again after my short three weeks of disappearing in September 2017, I've started this blog, started a new Facebook account that I use mostly to follow and read different groups that I'm interested in, and started an Instagram account so I could follow some old bloggers that went from blogging to posting on Instagram.

I always liked following Glen at ToSimplify and The Blonde Coyote's fabulous photography that she has turned into a book. Once they moved their operation from blogging to Instagram I had no other way to follow their travels and adventures over there.

What was the reason I was wide awake until 3:30am ???  I couldn't resist having 'just one cup' of coffee after 7pm. I did it again when I told myself the last time this happened, never do that again. Also that delicious Dutch Apple Pie from Marie Callender's is causing a lot of indigestion. My system is not use to that much sugar I guess, so last night was pretty rough.

The thing is, I only cut the pie into six pieces, having only one piece on Saturday night when it was finished and then only two pieces on Sunday. I would hate to think I have to add that to my list of foods that I cannot eat anymore ... a list that seems to be getting longer as I get older.

Some time this winter I hope to glance up at those nests and see some eagles sitting in them. In 19 years that has only happened twice that I can remember.

Speaking of indigestion ... I am back looking at my diet choices again. A couple of years ago I tried the Paleo Diet with great results. Within two weeks my idigestion was totally gone. Yet, with a family history of cardiac disease I didn't feel comfortable having meat 4-5 dinners per week plus the other fat. So I did a complete 180° (whiplash) and went to a Vegan Diet.

I then had problems with different kinds of beans, a major source of my protein. I also found certain raw fruits had too much acid, thus causing me heartburn. Besides that discomfort, I was also starting to feel lethargic at times. Basically trading that meat, fish and chicken protein to beans and more carbohydrates made me feel bad instead of better.

That different range of diets led me to pull off an old book from my shelf called "Eat Right For Your Type" by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo. As with anything else on the internet all reviews ranged from fantastic to terrible, healthy or a disaster waiting to happen.

So what do I do when I have time on my hands, questions in my head and needing to look at the options ... I make a spreadsheet. I love spreadsheets, as I have noted here before but there has also been a nice change on those in the past few months. When Microsoft announced they were not going to continue to support their 2011 Microsoft Office for Mac, I decided I would take another look at Apple's Numbers program that came free with my computer. There was no way I was going to pay another $120 or more for the newer Office program with what very little I do on basic spreadsheets.

Once I figured out how to link cells in Numbers from other spreadsheets that are tabbed within that master spreadsheet then it was a definite time to make the change. I can say the more I use it, the more I like it, even better than I liked Excel. It was a click of an icon to convert .xls to .numbers

Long story short ---- I transposed information from that book on what foods I should eat based on my blood type. I then 'grayed out' all the foods that I knew gave me indigestion. Once I started eating only those foods suggested in the book and were not grayed out I started feeling fantastic. But ... with a Type O positive, it says I am a 'meat eater' and to stay away from grains.  LOL

I'll use that spreadsheet again, and basically make my own diet that includes foods that do not cause indigestion, different meats in moderation and water for drinking.

Stella was all over the field today as we walked. Both hounds were on their own as I walked my normal pace, stopping on occasion to take a photo or to look at the surrounding scenery or sky.

When Sadie's tailed is curled up like this, with her head down, paw up ... she is locked in on the scent.

Along with warmer weather this week I expected my Z4 parts to arrive any hour now. Once that happens the repair will commence. Six new parts need to be installed underneath the car. Some of them have plastic fasteners, some with metal screws. Using the printouts of the detailed parts description, location along with hardware it should be fairly easy. I know in my case as always, "Murphy" will be looking around the corner just to make it not as easy as I think it will be.

Stella got a little jogging in this morning or really this afternoon, as it was after 12 noon.

They might be a large breed of dog, even Heidi with her short legs holding 45# ... but they are all an easy hound to live with and take care of. All they want is food, sleep and few walks during the day.

Sadie has to be running pretty fast for her ears to flop in the wind.

About the time that Stella thought the walk was over, Sadie had found something in their yard. By the way she acted it had to be just a feet away. After close inspection of the tree, Sadie took off sprinting down the edge of the yard toward the burn pile. I glanced in that direction and luckily saw nothing.

Sadie in the meantime did her tracking from the couch. Any rabbits outside now will be their next spring after the temps get back into the 70's. Until that time she will spend the majority of her time right here ... nice and warm.

I had a lot of photos today, more than normal. As I went though them to choose which ones were going to the blogged about, there were too many good ones to pass up. It takes a little longer to edit them here on Blogger after I post them but it's well worth it.

I hope you didn't mind my rambling today. I have to put all these thoughts somewhere or I'd go insane thinking about them.

It's warmer today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana with 60° a possibility by the weekend.

It's A Quiet Day For The Hounds

I guess this post this morning might be borderline rambling, nothing religious, nothing political ... I just feel like writing.

I know, it's Christmas Day and some may be asking "why are you blogging" on a morning like today, while others may be looking for something to read or pictures to look at over a cup of coffee sitting in front of their computer. They might not have much more planned than me.

There may be a few blog readers out there that are like me. Some call us loners, some call us crazy but millions of us just like privacy and live that way. Having pets is probably good in that situation. I know my hounds over the years have been great companions. They will listen to all kinds of conversations between me and them or just me, some rants ... yet they never voice an opinion.

They can get you through some of the worst and best times while teaching you many lessons if you are observant and open minded.

For some reason the hounds and I were up way too early this morning. We were up turning lights on, without any hesitation. It's the same routine for the 359th time this year. It never makes a difference whether it's daylight or dark, the hounds can go from a deep sleep to total excitement just over the thought of breakfast bowl of kibble.

To prevent any possible chance of them taking off in the dark while dumping their tanks after their breakfast, we always wait for daylight on the days we get up early. I will be explaining the consequences of not preventing that chance, later in this post.

So as we move outside with a camera under my arm and a cup of coffee in hand, Stella seems to be into her daily scratch every day and Sadie has found new ground to explore since I cut back some brush in late fall.

This is the normal daily routine for them.

Today though we changed the routine just a little. Since we had to wait for daylight before letting them outside to dump their tanks, what better time than to take the first walk of the day ... 40°, a dark foggy morning. With recent rain plus the higher temperatures melting the frozen rock hard ground ... the waterproof hiking books I broke out of my closet last fall were the perfect shoes to wear as the water rose above ground level with each step I took.

Also a little different than usual, the hounds were more into smelling instead of eating, if you know what I mean. They will always have their noses to the ground but it's better in my eyes when they are sniffing areas trying to identify something rather than finding unknown things to eat.

There must have been an increase in night time animal traffic because they were both stopping in places they usually don't. It looked as if there were just too many scents to collect all in one walk.

I also decided for today's pictures I would try to zoom in on them as much as possible, making each or both of them fill the view finder. Just a change in pictures I guess. I like seeing Sadie is showing a little rib on the sides. I like to try to keep the bloodhounds as lean as possible. It's better on their joints as they get older and less work for their hearts.

Stella had 'free reign' today and that is saying something after the story I will tell later in this post from our yesterday afternoon walk.

When I bought Sadie as a puppy, I was buying more of a 'red' than a 'tan' bloodhound. The hound she was replacing, Bertha, was more red but sometimes you never know until the pups get older which color they will be.

Sadie's dad, Clyde, was a big obnoxious loud bloodhound ... tan. I get that description from the times I went out to visit the litter of pups before deciding to take Sadie. Her mom was a laidback 'black & tan'. Later the breeder told me she was getting feedback from owners that the female puppies had the personality of Clyde, while the males were laidback like their mom.

I had to agree ... Sadie at the time in 2008 was the most obnoxious, destructive puppy I had ever owned. I'd have to leave her in the largest kennel they made for indoors while I was at work and she even bent those heavy black rods with her jaws ... trying to get out. I am not sure how she did it, except for jumping inside the kennel to move it by the time I got back home from work. Since it was just a few inches taller than her I am not sure how she could jump but someway she would scoot that kennel almost 12" at times.

Yet, she has turned into a great indoor dog and it has been at least 5 years since she destroyed anything of mine inside. I can't remember the exact year that I let her 'out of jail' while I was gone, but she, Winston and Heidi would spend time in the shut bedroom while I was at work ... with no problems.

Stella on the other hand is a great indoor hound, except when she has occasional bouts with separation anxiety. She will go months without doing anything and then about the time you think she has adjusted to living here she will do something while I am gone. I could be gone just 10 minutes or 4 hours, I never know what I will come home to ... at least she is barricaded in one room and does not have access to all of the house. That doesn't even work when I am outside mowing the yard for 45 minutes.

Wow, this conversation went way off track. I think this hound talk just started because I was noticing today how predominate the bottom half of her tail is 'black & tan' ... thus the reason her original owner named her 'Dipstick'.

You can see that distinct color change on her tail.

This picture did not turn out as well is the live shot looked. The camera caught what I thought I was taking about a second later. They were both intense while moving with their new found scents.

Today I decided I'd follow them up to the corner and hang out with them. They didn't want to leave but that NE wind was feeling colder and total opposite direction from the normal wind direction. I had to tell them "lets go".

And all of these pictures are them sniffing an area while eating nothing ... quite a change.

Those two paths that look like they might be from a RTV are nothing more than the paths of worn grass by deer traffic.

Stella followed Sadie the whole walk today. It was almost like she wanted to make sure that Sadie wasn't getting something she wasn't.

It's hard to tell from this next picture with the cold wind hitting me in the face how it's ever going to increase 20° to reach the predicted high of 61°.

Yesterday afternoon without the camera, our afternoon walk turned into something never done before. I've been doing this same path, give or take a few inches either way, since 1997 and never did we do what we did yesterday.

Like the day before both hounds had their noses to the ground right on the path we take in almost a full run. Once they got to the back edge of the field they lifted their head and took off on a full sprint, into their 'no fly zone' and I had not even made it to the back of the field yet.

I found out pretty quick why for some reason I didn't bring the camera but instead a 6' standard dog leash. I didn't start calling them by name, nor did I start running after them. I did not see any deer that would make them take off sprinting like that ... but I was pretty sure I'd find them once I crested the small hill, along the tree line on the north side of the field.

They would always be along that wooded area to the north, in the past ... but not yesterday. In fact along the full length of the field that runs perpendicular from the back of the field directly to the neighbors backyard ...

Neither hound was anywhere ... out of sight ... no barking ... no baying ... gone!! It was like the "no fly zone" had turned into the Bermuda Triangle.

I thought I knew where they were, at least I was hoping they had only gone that far because if they were not in the field past the wooded fence line we were screwed. Before I even got to that tree line I saw Stella through the trees in the lot next to the field ... but that lot was fenced in.

The only way they could have gotten into that area was either jump the fence or had entered it at the far end of the field and than ran half of the distance from the back field to the a different neighbors house at least 1/4 of a mile away from our house.

So now both Sadie and Stella see me and start to run toward me ... but confusion erupts as they cannot figure out what to do about the square wired fence that was standing 3' tall. Remember, this breed is not problem solvers ... they got in with no problem but had no idea how to get out. The looks on their faces showed they were stymied on what to do.

I walked along the fence line a little further east and finally found a place where the fence had been mashed down to about 3"-4" above the ground. Even then, neither hound would step across that fence ... but figured it out as I led them by Sadie's excess skin on her neck and Stella's collar.

They trotted along side me toward home acting very proud of their newest excursion. I hope that does not become a habit for them during the times they take off that far away. It may not, since neither has ran toward the neighbors house that they visited just two days ago when they were chasing the strange dog. They have not even looked that direction in recent walks.

I made good progress yesterday in my 'spring cleaning' four months early. I still have the bedroom and bathroom to go but I knocked out the biggest rooms first. I have rearranged some things and now feel like I have more room in my "tiny home" of 958 sq feet of living space. That in itself was quite an adjustment from over 1,600 sq feet just a few years prior to moving here.

I have lived in wooded areas in Washington, the mountains outside of Breckenridge CO and even on the beach in southern California but I have never lived in a place that collects as much dust as this house.

I also attached the indoor bike trainer to my Romic road bike so I can ride indoor this winter. It's not that fun but I don't mind it and it will be good to get back into some exercise with plans of riding my bike more this upcoming spring and summer. It took Sadie only one time to figure out that a spinning bike wheel inside is not something to check out with your nose ... puppy curiosity taught her that lesson.

I was told to expect a delivery sometime Saturday from 3 friends I've known since my college days. All of us live in different states in the USA, from Georgia to California and in between.

As I told my friend that made the order that was shipped, "I guess it's good I changed my diet about a month ago from Vegan back to a lean Paleo" because my surprise Christmas gift was 18 pieces of different meats and chicken from Omaha Steaks in Nebraska.

That also included some deserts, some stuffed baked potatoes and each box has packed my freezer. So I am set for a while and more than likely will be placing an order with them in the future.

Why the diet change after 3 months? It's strange in a way but grains give me indigestion, certain beans give me indigestion. Without beans, lentils the sources of protein on a Vegan diet are few and far between. When comparing this strict diet to what I was doing the 1-1/2 years prior, I didn't feel as good.

I am not looking for that energetic feeling 24/7 but I got tired of that 'blah' feeling. Going from low carbs to having them as a large percentage of your meals made me sleepy most of the time in addition to the indigestion.

Maybe the book written about different diets based on your blood type is more accurate than some people think. All I know is the list of foods it told me would give me problems, did just that when eating them.

So how does one spend Christmas if not celebrating with family or friends? About the same way every day in retirement is spent. Doing what you want when you want. Since I am taking a day off from house cleaning, I am thinking it might be a good day to start the monumental task of scanning old pictures into digital copies ... then I can start telling stories and posting pictures of some of my hounds I've had in the past.

It is twofold but a reason for blogging ... refreshing your memory. While looking back at those pictures I posted from Whidbey Island in my last post, I couldn't remember if that was Arthur or Barney. How sad is that? I guess that shows just how many different hounds I've had since 1987, ranging from 2-4 hounds at one time.

Yet I have probably has more cars/trucks in the past 16 years than I have had hounds in the past 29 years. LOL

I don't have that many pictures, but I do have a LOT of 35mm slides to go through that I'd like to transfer to a digital copy. I dod have enough pictures to scan that it will take some time though.

Also on a day like this I like to read books. I always read a couple of different book concurrently. So, really things are good here on Christmas Day here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

I've looked back on my 3 blogs (2 private) and checked what was taking place this same time in prior years. About the only differences I found were the changes in weather, not what I did or thought. Once again the blog serves it's purpose as a record journal and is great for reference.

For those readers that are in between family meals or visits today ... enjoy your time with them and enjoy the food. Have fun!!

Stella is wanting her lunch an 1:15 minutes early right now ... yet she is a great time keeper because that is about how much earlier she had her breakfast compared to her normal time.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year from 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.