Some Old Hound And Dog Photos

It might say it's 51° this afternoon but it still feels cold while having a day of light rain off and on with an overcast damp feeling to the air. So when I checked the photo import folder for recent hound and dog photos, I did not find any new ones since my last post. I felt like blogging today so I went back into my photo library and found a few older ones.

This is Heidi in July 2011. It was one of her photos on her adoption ad at Basset Hound Rescue. I made arrangements to drive up to met the foster mom and her in a parking lot in back of shopping center in Merrillville Indiana. She was happy to sit on the extended bed in the passenger seat for our 4 hour drive home.

Walter Hates The Heat

Walter didn't like the 93° a little after 5pm when these photos were taken. Why should he? His nose is smashed into his face. Where other breeds have cooling tools in their nose the English Bulldog has very few. (only a couple) They are prone to heat exhaustion and should not be left out long. We were outside this afternoon seven minutes and seven seconds. A couple of these photos were hazy and I left them like that. By the time I lifted the camera up for that first photo, the heat, humidity soaked that cold air condition air off my lens and fogged it up.

Walter Keeping Us Active

Walter still fits under the coffee table but just barely. He seems to think that is the best place to cool off after playing with Stella or I. He does like the cool tile floor but I guess there is just something about sleeping on wooden slats that feels better. It wasn't soon after I took this picture that his snoring became stronger and louder. It shows again there wasn't much going on around here. Some baseball on tv and reading books ... plus a lot of time sitting outside enjoying the view behind my house.

I can feel my blogging moving a little later in the day compared to the past week where I was posting something around 8pm or so Eastern time. As the weather becomes nicer I am finding a opening a little after 7pm local time, where I feel like putting something together. Look for the posts to be about this same time of night on the days I post.

Walter is a big talker. More than any bloodhound or basset hound I've had in over 30 years. He likes to growl and bark at himself and many times when I look to see what he is barking at ... he is laying down about to go to sleep. He has learned to let Stella sleep after breakfast which means he heads to the bedroom and drags every one of his chew bones and blankets out into a pile and plays with that stack of things. He will run back and forth in the empty dog crates during this time. I can no longer keep the kitchen towel on the dishwasher handle otherwise he will drag that out to the middle of the backyard.

Heidi has seemed confused this week. She will make a million trips from her bed in the bedroom out to the living room, not staying long in either place before she turnes and goes back in the opposite direction she came from. If she didn't start her day barking and hopping in the air, I'd think something might be wrong with her. Appeitie is normal.

I shot this from inside the bedroom through the screen window this morning. This view never gets old.

While Heidi and Walter started their day I had a text from my friend in Indiana with some computer problems. It's weird because I had a strange thing happen to my iMac yesterday that made me wonder what had snuck it's way into my hard drive. For my compouter I ran Bitdefender to check for any malware and it found nothing. I run that program weekly just to make sure. Her desktop is a Windows PC and will probably need replaced based on what she told me it was doing. She could buy it online but had to make an appointment to pick it up locally at Best Buy.

Walter still is cracking me up when he has to smell something because he will tilt his face so he can press his nose flush with whatever he might be smelling. I have noticed his right front foot is starting to turn a little outward. No signs of any kind of skin allergies so I guess he does not mind his protein being chicken. He looks very healthy. He didn't mind having his ears cleaned with baby wipes the other day.

We are past the periods of rain for a while. I see nothing but sunshine icons on my iPhone weather for the next 10 days. When I say it's perfect weather, that's an accurate description. I like the hot afternoons and cool evenings where I can sleep with the window open.

Is that a litte rain I see down on the border? ... Bisbee to the left.

Last night after Walter and Stella had played for over any hour, wrestling with some chases from the living room to the computer room, Walter was trying to cool off. For a second I thought he was going to sleep on his back as he kept kicking Stella in the head as he tried to find the perfect spot. Once again it wasn't long after I took the picture the loud snoring began.

My friend and I finished talking about her computer problems and moved into diets. She was born a vegetarian and has been one all her life. The interesting thing is the book about Blood Type Diets says that is the correct way for her to eat based on her blood type. As I mentioned the book this morning she said she and her friend in San Diego was talking about the same book last night. A few years ago when I followed that diet I made a spreadsheet of course..

I listed in categories all the food it suggested I eat and colored the food highly recommended in blue. On the other side of the spreadsheet I listed in alphabetical order every food that I could remember buying at the store. It was a long list but I color coded the foods that give me indigestion. Then as I went through the book at that time, I greyed out those foods it told me not to eat. Guess what? It named over 90% of the foods I had already color coded that I had trouble with.

Did I need anymore proof than that?

There is no reason to shove a diet down your mouth if it gives you problems the majority of time. That does not mean I will be eating every meal at The Diner in town or at Sunny D's in Huachuca City, although I'd like to, but it does mean I can add lean beef, skinless chicken and fish back in my diet. Dairy is not a good idea for me and I can attest to that and agree with what the book says. I ate like this a few years ago and felt great with no digestion problems. I'll write about any updates I find in the next month as the way of eating goes into action. I guess I'll find out in 4 months when I have another bloodwork done and I can compare the numbers to last December.

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving early for a roadtrip of an hour and a half. It is out off the grid to a ranch that has the 10 basset hound puppies I am choosing from They will be 4 weeks old this weekend. Since its a reasonable distance I'd like to meet them in person, talk to the breeder and see what kind of reactions the two or three that I have picked out.

I might have mentioned in the past, when I did that with Sadie, I took Winston with me to see what he thought of a bloodhound puppy and what the one I had in mind thought of him. He was only 4 years old at the time. I didn't know it at the time but what I read as a good sign was not what it really meant. A professional bloodhound breeder told me a few years later why I was having problems with Sadie as a puppy.

I thought when she followed me and Winston everywhere we walked, that it was a good sign. The professional breeder told me that meant she was a tracker and would have been adopted out to search and rescue if it was her puppy. And she was a tracker as she explored that whole 7 acre field behind the house daily for the next 10 years. When I was at work, she would get bored and destroy things. She could bend those thick black wires on the largest dog crate like nothing ... I could not even bend them back with a set of pliers. When she was old enough to be left in the house, anytime I was gone over an hour I would return to a house that looked like it had been burglerized.

Another time I read things wrong looking at a young basset hound. He was always away from his littermates. I took that as 'independence' being a good thing. He would not be clinging to me all the time for attention. Little did I know that it meant for the next 13 years he would wander miles away before someone would call me and say that Harry was in their house sleeping. He would bark at the door until the strangers would let him in. LOL Luckily his dog tag was still attached with his name and my phone number.

The Out West Bassets breeder has told all ten of us that she will be able to tell us the puppy's  temperaments and personalities this week. Hard to believe there could be that much difference between littermates but there is. I'll post about my trip with some photos tomorrow.

My zip code is showing the number of active positive COVID cases has decreased a lot the past one to two weeks. We are back down to 47 active cases where it was 81 just a few weeks ago. The mask mandate must be working and at the same time there have been "testing blitzes" for an increase in tests done.

The hounds, the dog and I are fine in the "Wild West".

The Hounds Are Ready For 2020

What can I say? Life has been busy around here with normal stuff and some days I run out of time. I guess with us being here almost 7 months, life is back to a normal feel and a routine. I never make goals for the new year but I do see some things already changing within the first few days. All good stuff. It's also one of those times I am becoming a little bored with blogging and find some hikes and trips are good without taking photos. Someone told me once "the best pictures you will take will be the ones you don't." Although with a lack of adventure there is some news or updates really.

Heidi and I both had annual checkups including blood lab work. She is a healthy 10-11 year old basset with a waistline the vet really liked seeing. My lab work came back better than I ever expected with low cholesterol, normal blood pressure and a PSA count below 1. There was nothing on my blood lab work that was above the limits. I guess the labwork confirmed my diet of "moderation" and an occasional splurge is working okay. I set up an appointment for the same physical next year before I left.

My vet called me yesterday, or the administrator for the vet clinic. She was wanting to know what my complaints were about with Heidi's visit. I never mentioned their clinic name by name but they tracked me down by a comment I made on Facebook. Imagine that!! I'll just say that nothing turns me off more than a vet clinic trying to "up sell" me when I know my hound is healthy and all I want is the annual checkup and a rabies shot that is required by law. Nothing else.

With blue skies and higher afternoon temps I am still riding my bike inside on the trainer but plan an afternoon ride today with the temps in the 60's. There will still be a cool breeze but it will be nice to get back out on the road after a week or so.

 A zoomed in look over towards Tombstone. I finally decided yesterday I'd wait for a parking space and walk among the crowds to see Tombstone up close for the first time. For me, too many people and everything was overpriced. I took only a couple of photos and then deleted them when I got home. I'll try to back when few people are there.

Stella has a new nighttime sleeping routine. It's always been these two spots to sleep most of the night. This is one, the other is just to the left of the photo where she is next to the bed, against the wall next to the door. The new routine ???? She will sleep in the area where she can dig and move any shoes that might be in her way. The other morning I found she had slept on two pairs of shoes and a pair of hiking boots. Right on top of all of them. Yes, my Merrell shoes are under her and not seen in the photo.

Heidi sinks deep into her bed that I bought in October (?).

Stella's way of begging for food or when she is waiting for me to finish a container of yogurt or ice cream. She will get the container to lick out every last drop that is left. You must admit, she is consistent and disciplined in her process. Yes that is a little bit of Arizona dirt on her nose ... that's her latest new thing ... eating the dirt under the rocks in the yard. Never a dull moment with her.

Once she is fed her breakfast and a short trip outside she is ready to start her day of relaxation. I think she looks much younger than 10 years old.

 

A few days ago I attempted to write a post. I load all of my photos first and then type between them. When I clicked the button to upload the photos from my computer to the blogger format, this is what I saw. It's the first time I've ever seen that screen in the 14 years I've been blogging. I blogged for my online business prior to starting this blog in 2011.

All it took was to turn my computer off and on, then log into the blog again for it to go away.

I still love seeing the new sunrises each day but they are also becoming routine. Like how many photos can you post on the blog of the same thing or things?

This is the ONLY reason I am woken up by a whining bloodhound every morning and a basset hound shaking it's head hard enough where I can hear her tags making noise. They like to eat no matter what time of day or night. That is their main goal first thing in the morning.

You can see they love the sunshine and have spent every afternoon outside sunbathing and taking siestas.

I admit I am surprised that Heidi has adjusted from a grass yard to one of stone. Her allergies are gone, her eyes are clear and she takes the daily walk with Stella and I every afternoon. We will move that walk back to early mornings once spring arrives. The move to Arizona has been good not only for her but all of us.

Besides what is posted here I don't have much more to say. Things are good, life is very enjoyable and I still love this area as much as I did the first days I moved here. The new hip continues to heal and I have finally been able to read the list of things they installed and read the step by step process without feeling sick to my stomach.

Things are back to a normal routine here in the 'Wild West'.

A Little Different Post Tonight

This post tonight is for a couple of online friends that I hope to meet in person some day along with their dog. Some of you will figure out who I am talking about but I'll keep their names off this post for their own privacy. I have followed their blog since October 2011 and for too many times that I could count ... their photos on their blog of this area pulled me through some dark times, some days where it was below zero degrees for a high temperature and led me to this area.

When I was looking at houses last winter/spring in this town she was very helpful answering my questions because in their travels they had driven literally two blocks away from where I live today. When I was searching through 150+ houses to buy, she suggested using the keywords "mountain view" to narrow my search for what I wanted.

So these photos are for them tonight because they love and miss this area this winter. They are also for all of you, that continue to come back to this blog even when I don't have a lot to say or nothing exciting to report on. Thanks for stopping by.

After my last post on December 6th good weather was on the way and this was just 24 hours after the photo at the top of the post. I am not bragging about where I live but I am very thankful to see what I can from my patio and backyard everyday. I am also thankful for the good health that I have to enjoy it. It's just amazing to me that I don't have to drive anywhere to see what I see in these photos tonight.

I'm very lucky.

Like I have said many times since moving here, the wide open skies of the 'wild west' really put on a show. For a camera habit like I have it's hard not to take hundreds of photos at a time. Now, I know that no matter where you and I live, every day is different, sunrises and sunsets ... but after looking through years of photos I took back in the 'tropics' of Southern Indiana, skies like these were few and far between. Yet every area we all live in is beautiful in it's own way.

Some might be asking with all of this great weather, where are the blog posts about the local trips I was talking about. After all, bike riding only takes 1-2 hours per day, another hour to clean up and I should have plenty of time to do some local exploring. You are right ... the time is there. But I was warned by the doctor just this week "there will be days like this" no matter how many miles I ride my bike and no matter how good I feel ... "there will be good days and there will be bad day when it comes to your healing hip" ... "you did break your femur in addition to a hip replacement and that has to heal"

I forget that all the time until I have days like I have had four days this week.

With scenery like this in the month of December, the pain seems to go away and I can get lost in my thoughts while I sit outside. Sometimes I am not even close to a camera when I spend this quiet time with a couple of napping hounds nearby.

When you step outside and see a day like this, temperatures getting warm and maybe a little wind it sure hurts not to be able to ride one of my bikes. I realize that is just the way it is right now and things will continue to improve each day as the healing takes place. I am in much better shape than what I read from others who have had the same surgery. I'm very fortunate in my good luck and my healing.

Consequently with the pain I have been feeling, driving a car or a truck just a few miles to take some photos would not do my hip any good. Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago I posted here that my hip was no longer going to be written about, that I had forgot about the problem? Well I guess it decided to remind me and tell me when to take a break. I'm taking that break now.

It's hard to sit around though in an area like this. These mountains can draw you out toward them like a powerful magnet and all the hiking trails that are available are large in numbers where I might not have time to hike them all. There are just that many of them. Those don't count the other areas 30 miles or more away.

Friday morning's sunset ... Stella was snoring in the corner of the computer room so I figured an early morning walk was not a huge priority with her. We ended up walking later in the day just after lunch. BTW, those are the Mule Mountains to the left and Mexico dead ahead. I can't remember the name of that mountain that sits on the other side of the border. My memory isn't the best when it comes to names.

The mornings have been pretty cool, low 40's. That is cold now but nothing compared to what the hounds and I walked in the past twenty one years in 'the tropics'. Honestly, I don't miss the snow one bit but I do enjoy the beauty of it when I see it on someone else's blog or in an email I might receive.

I am putting my iPhone camera to max zoom here ... I wonder what it would look like taken with a camera that has better sharpness at distance ... the Canon Powershot SX70 will do that from what I read and see. There is someone posting photos using that camera on a Facebook Group "Chochise County and Its Wonders" of birds at a long distance away. They are so sharp you'd think she is standing within 3' of it.

My view when I stand from my chair on the patio.

This has turned into Stella's favorite winter spot for afternoon or late morning naps. Heidi also likes this area and slept most of the afternoon away there yesterday while I was enjoying my own siesta inside.

With the cooler temps and the back patio door open at all times so they can come and go as they please ... I find her outside as much if not more than she spent on the green grass back in Indiana. She likes the warm stones when she lays down. Plus I swear the small stones have cleared up her allergies as has the high desert environment.

Anytime you see the frame of the house in these pictures I am taking them while sitting in a chair on the patio.

Stella cannot see the puppy but she has formed a friendship with the black lab puppy next door.

After a restless night of sleep Friday night I was up early Saturday morning with the help of Stella nudging my hand hanging over the edge of the bed around 4:10 am. Of course she wanted to eat breakfast kibble at that time but breakfast wasn't served until 6 am ... I took this with the iPhone camera, kitchen light turned off and only the street light reflecting off my fence just as the sun was rising. That's looking towards Bisbee AZ.

By the time Stella and I returned from our 7:30 am walk ... the day was starting to shape up. I knew at that time I was going to have to take another day off. I reached for the bottle of Advil. At least I had a few football games to watch and one basketball game. Otherwise I'd fit in a siesta due to my early arrival this morning and enjoy the day. Of course the day that I am not riding a bicycle there is zero wind and the temps were going to climb to 71° by late afternoon.

It was late afternoon I really got interested in the sunset going on while I sat outside. I could tell this was going to be a better one so I went back inside and grabbed my phone. I find the iPhone 11 Pro with that new three lens camera takes better photos of the mountains than my Nikon D3500 in the late afternoon lighting.

Enjoy the photos that I follow the setting sun for little over an hour this afternoon.

Stella never barks to get anything she wants. Whether it's food or to go back inside, she will just stand like a statue with her head lowered and eyes barely visible. She did not have to stand there long before I opened the door for her.

I kept going back and forth between the Mule mountains you see here and the Huachuca mountains you see the sunshine falling behind in the western sky.

Each time I was about to leave ... the sky would give me something else to add to my photo library.

The hounds finally came outside toward the end of this photo shoot but only because they heard the puppy next door. Notice Stella's weird shaped ear.

After this final shot I walked back inside to enjoy a large glass of ice water along with a few more Advil tablets. It's hard for me to believe it's December 7th and having weather like this. It is also a day I will never forget, Pearl Harbor. I always remember on this day the overwhelming emotion I felt each time I walked around that area and visited the Arizona Memorial. I could almost feel what had happened each time I was in the area.

It was also a surprise the last time I was there 25 years ago with my nephew ... we saw two Japanese destroyers pier side flying their Japanese flag on the fantail. They didn't understand English and we didn't understand Japanese but they knew we wanted to take a tour of their ship. After a few minutes of hand gestures they led us on a very detailed tour of their ship.

I was told just this past week by the surgeon there will be days like I am having and to expect them at least for the next five months, based on what past patients have told him. 8 months after hip replacement seems to be the magic amount of time to feel normal again. Some say it will take longer than that. In the meantime I will ride with the waves it brings and enjoy this beautiful SE Arizona area.

Thank you to a couple of online friends for helping decide that this is where I really wanted to live. I had always driven through the area on I-10 but was always in a hurry to get to my destination whether I was driving east or west. It is just as nice as they said it was on their blog and in their emails.

A beautiful day today in the 'Wild West'.