The Two Bloodhounds Become Closer By The Day

I wasn't sure I was going to come up with anything to blog about today. It's been a low energy day for all of us, with rain or drizzle most of the day and about 12 hours of sleep last night. With the temps in the 60's and the wet ground, Heidi basically called it a day and went out this morning for less than a minute and came inside, never to return.

Winston stayed under the overhang and later the carport for his time outside, yet the bloodhounds who are not concerned about weather, roamed the field each time we went out. It took a while before Stella decided she wanted to go out and search the field. She had almost talked herself into going inside with this photo.

Earlier this morning I thought I saw Stella lock into something with her tail cocked and her head facing toward the neighbors. For a second I thought I might have to set the camera down and prepare to run after her ... but she came sprinting toward the house as soon as I yelled her name.

She was so fast once again, that by the time the camera focused, she was already up on me. This photo is all I got of her morning sprint.

Sadie is starting to be more aware of where Stella is, sharing a different bone last night, then dropping it down in front of her as an invitation to play fetch. All Stella did was lay down and started chewing on the bone.

It hasn't been quite 13 calendar days since I picked her up and within a short period of time she has learned a new name when I call her and has figured out the new hounds. She knows where the water bowls are and knows which one is her food bowl. There have been zero fights among four laidback hounds.

So I'll leave you some photos of the day .. not much to say from "the tropics" since we have been having "Seattle Weather".

The nightly sleeping arrangement during football games ... Heidi over in the big chair, Sadie under the coffee table, Stella in Winston's old spot on the couch and Winston next to me. All the hounds seem comfortable and quiet.

I'm not sure how this happened with this photo taken with my iPhone but Sadie is on the right and looks about 1/2 the size of Stella.

Winston was still debating this afternoon whether to get his feet wet or not.

That certainly looks like the grass I pulled out by hand a few weeks ago, making a gallant comeback with the sunshine then a full day of rain. I'm not sure I am going to pull more weeds.

Stella Continues To Expand Her Boundaries

Although it's a beautiful day outside, I haven't accomplished much. You can do that when you are retired but at times it surprises me since I use to be called a "workaholic". In fact the photos I took are probably the only thing I will get done for the day, unless I rally before the NFL game tonight and get some dishes washed.

A dog walk is definitely on the schedule later today. The recent heat wave that baked the leaves off the trees, increased the process of corn and beans coming close to becoming ready for harvesting.

I wanted to try something different today by using the 75-200mm lens on all the photos. I normally only use it if the hounds are out in the field some distance away but today I wanted to shoot it when the hounds were close to the house. The results were different of course but it is a result that I liked.

Winston and Sadie started the day like all others ... sniffing their yard for anything new. Stella stood and watched, not sure if she wanted to get her feet wet from the heavy dew this morning.

Stella continues to expand her territory and personality by the hour. Yesterday she played with Sadie for the first time. This afternoon when they came back inside, they touched noses and starting playing and running inside the house. Luckily they stopped on their own soon after and were asleep after their sudden burst of energy.

She also checked out the front part of her territory, looking in the direction of the highway. Not for long as I called her name and she immediately turned around and headed in the reverse direction. All the other hounds were glancing that direction probably wondering what she was doing as they too are not allowed any further than that corner of the house.

Late yesterday after Sadie had brought out her "big" bone to chew, she stepped away to get some water and at that time Stella decided she would check it out herself. She liked it so much that she laid down, held the bone with her paws and was chewing on it when Sadie returned.

There wasn't any kind of fighting or growling. Sadie slowly passed her giving her the eye and laid in her normal spot under the coffee table. Today the same thing. Each time I tried to get a photo of them playing or chewing the large bone ... they both stopped. This photo was about the only one I could get. It was also taken with the 75-200mm lens. She lifted her head when she heard the beep of my auto focus ... I have turned that off for future photos.

I really like how Stella has merged into the pack of hounds without any issues. It's been an unexpected smooth transition. I was expecting at least one period of disagreement.

I don't know about you but I think that Heidi's skin is improving. For those readers looking at her for the first time, it probably looks pretty bad, but believe me when I say that her skin has improved a lot. I am continuing with the Epsom Salt soaks. I am also logging into a spreadsheet her condition, rating her skin 1-5 with 5 being the worse and the kind of food, any treats or shampoos.

Her rear shoulder was raw a few months ago and the vet told me that hair would never grow back in that area. You can see the white hair still making it's attempt to come back. All of the skin that is hairless is soft compared to hard and crusty before.

With the temperatures dropping almost 10-15 degrees I am wondering if the temps that were in the 90's played a factor in her outbreak last week with redness and some hot spots? Hopefully the lower temperatures will mean improving skin.

I can't believe it's already Thursday. Yet being retired I am rarely aware of what day of the week it is. That will change with the NFL and College Football starting their games on tv every Thursday night. I'll know the days from those scheduled games.

With the recent merger of AT&T and DirecTv, I am getting bombarded with offers by mail to come back to AT&T plus more discounts added since I was and am a DirecTv customer before the merger. They keep getting higher in their offers ... today was $500 in credits, and double the data per month and something I had not seen before with data plans ... unused data would be carried forward.

I took a close look at that since AT&T now has 4G service in my area, which they didn't have when I changed to Verizon in June 2014. When I played around with their different plans, my monthly fee would still be $120 more per year for what I have now. Also I would have to pay Verizon a fee for breaking my contract 10 months early. I estimate that would be around $150 added to the cost. I still might have to go back and take a closer look at that.

It makes you wonder just how much companies over charge you and get away with it, when they can offer you a $500 credit. Just last month when I told DirecTV I was thinking of taking the cheaper option and flipping to DishNetwork, they gave me a $20 per month discount for 12 months plus I had to extend my contract only 2 months longer than it was for to begin with.

I wouldn't have switched because I had already check out the sports channels with different packages and the cost for me would have been close to the same. Still another company giving a $240 credit just for talking to them.

I need to call more I guess.

Here is something a little different to end this post. Here is a photo of the weather prediction for this winter by the National Weather Service. El Nino is the factor this winter for weather. I have stated previously, I am not sure I want to tent camp this winter in the SW with them getting more rain than normal, just to stay warmer. I know it doesn't rain much normally in that area but from all I read they will be getting a lot of rain. Rain is rain if you know what I mean.

I am not sure why my profile photo is not showing up when I make comments on other blogs and reply to comments on my blog. I have removed and added the same photo on my profile but no change. Any ideas??

It's another great day here in "the tropics" ... I need to get ready for the daily dog walk, we are hoping that Heidi joins us this afternoon.

It Must Have Been The Rain - Stella Finally Plays

I'm not sure if it is the change of weather, where the temps have dropped from the high 90's inside the carport to the high 70's today ... with a day full of light rain. Anyway Stella had a couple of firsts happen today and things I've been waiting for.

All morning she would go outside but once she found out it was raining, she wasn't interested in that and would walk back to the door to be let inside. Of course the all-weather hounds, Winston and Sadie, didn't care and Heidi didn't get out of the house until after noon. She as most of you know is the "queen of the couch" and definitely a good weather hound.

"No Way Am I Going Outside In The Rain"

In 11 Years Has Never Lifted His Leg - House Trained By A Female Bloodhound Bertha

After they gobbled their lunch faster than I had seen in a while ... they must like Duck being the #1 ingredient ... they were waiting on Stella to finish as I played guard for her and kept the other hounds from getting to her food bowl. Heidi has her own food which this bag has Lamb Meal as the #1 ingredient ... she also gobbles her food down as fast as Winston and Sadie.

Stella always goes outside after eating, deep into the field do dump her tanks as does Sadie. Winston will go as along as the hay/weeds are not to high, then he will migrate back to the yard for an easy clean up until the field is cut again.

Today though, Sadie stood and watched as Stella went to the very back of the field. I wanted to see if she would come back on her own or would I have to call her. As she started sniffing the wood line I yelled her name and for the first time since I've had her ... she broke into a full sprint toward the house. I had not seen her run before and today is Day 8 since she arrived.

She was so fast that I was only able to take one photo between the time she started sprinting and arrived in the yard, where Sadie met her and for the first time since I had Stella ... she and Sadie started playing!!  Which is one reason I decided to pick her up ... to give Sadie someone to play with that was her own size.

Stella in a Full Sprint

Stella On The Left - Sadie On The Right

They played more than the one photo show but after downloading all that I had, the only time the camera took the photos were when they were sniffing noses. Winston sensed something going on and he wanted to play too, but found out both bloodhounds were a little too tall for him.

In his younger years he would have jumped up to their level but not at the age of 11, where he has occasional back issues and not quite as strong in the hips.

I must say the drop in temperature has been great today. The windows are back open, the sound of rain hitting the sycamore leaves and the constant rain drops. After all of that high energy just 10 minutes ago, all four hounds are sound asleep for the afternoon. We will probably go outside later this afternoon but the daily walk has been canceled for the day.

We walk in snow, heat, but never rain ...

Today was one of those days I started thinking about downsizing my electronics. It all started when Gazelle sent me an email telling me the 9th was the last day they would give me the best price for my iPhone 5S. After checking their site, they would give me a minimum of $201. I upgraded and bought it through Verizon last summer for $199 and a two year contract.

I also checked to see what they would give me for my iPad Mini. It was something I was not going to buy when I did last year. In fact I wasn't going to buy any iPad at all when I turned my first iPad in for a good price. It wasn't until I saw the iPad Mini's retina display, the advantage of having the size of the Mini compared to the regular size, when I decided to buy it.

I use it a lot when I'm watching ballgames, either looking at rosters of the teams or in-game stats and checking scores of other games.. I also use it as my main electronic book reader, although I have very few electronic books. It's also good as a GPS when traveling. I still like reading books in paperback or hardback format. Now traveling ... electronic books would be the way to go.

Since Gazelle was going to give me a great price for the iPad Mini I was curious enough to check on my new MacBook Air 13" laptop that I just bought before traveling in June. It was to be my main computer while traveling, where I could upload my photos from the Nikon camera and it would be easier to blog with compared to using the smaller iPad.

Gazelle priced it at such a good price that I considered it. They will turn around put it on eBay and Amazon for sale at a huge profit for them. I found it tempting to get rid of all three items. I had not even turned on this Mac Air for over a week.

Still, it has it advantages. It's much faster than my 5 year old iMac with the solid state hard drive. The screen quality is fantastic and unlike the brand new version of the MacBook ... this one still has the slots on the side for my ScanDisk card from the camera to upload photos, a USB slot and a couple of fire wire connections. Whereas the new MacBook is going to all wireless. It's also nice to sit at my kitchen table with the big window that looks out over the highway, plus the fields across the highway and use it as I surf the web.

I remembered that last fall I could have used a spare computer when I made the mistake activating File Vault to encrypt my hard drive, then finding out later after my computer crashed, that it did play well with an older iMac ... I needed a "spare" computer to blog with, do my normal financial transactions, that was bigger than the size of a iPad Mini. I had to point out the small print on this screen to the Geek Squad Rep, to show him why it didn't work after they made the same mistake as I did, by reactivating File Vault!!!!  "it may not be compatible with File Vault"

So even thought it's very tempting to make some extra cash, I still use all of these devises on a regular basis. I guess I have to admit that I could probably live with out them and adapt but it's that I don't want to. I found the iPhone to be a very valuable tool when traveling. Whereas when cell phones first came out, I only bought one to carry with me for emergencies when traveling.

The iPhone also has a great program called "Notes" that I use all the time. It's like my brain and saves me when I can't remember stuff. Also the maps on that iPhone has saved me more than a few times from getting lost.

So the devices will stay with me and will be used. I have no plans to upgrade after Apples announcements today with the large 12" iPad and the new iPhones. Another reason I like that iPhone ... the camera. It's great to use for quick shots when I am not taking the Nikon with me.

Sorry for getting off subject from the hounds ... but the cool rainy weather makes me ramble at times.

The hounds and I are happy with the drop in temps ... this kind of weather is always nice in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.

Hounds Survived The Labor Day Weekend

Their pace was pretty fast and furious for the Labor Day Holiday with food, a lot of college football on the tv and temperatures hot enough outside that justified hours of sleeping in the cool inside.

They didn't do much different than their normal days which included numerous trips outside then back inside to enjoy the AC. We did do the daily walk every day after 7pm. They slept their normal amounts of time, which is a lot. In fact all 4 hounds are sleeping as I write this in the middle of the day.

Heidi went out this morning just long enough to pee and then sprinted back inside the house as I was walking in to get the camera. The other three hounds did their daily sniffing expedition and Stella passed a very big test being off the tethered rope.

The previous owner said that she use to follow her riding mower as she mowed the yard. The sound of my mower last week when Stella opened the door on her own and came out to meet me mowing, was probably because of that reason. Well today it wasn't me mowing, but my neighbor that is north of me. He is across a field but the sound of his riding mower was loud enough that she heard it.

So when she was way out in the field taking care of her business, she starting to meander in a northern direction. I called her by her new name and she turned to come towards me. Not only was it good that she came in my direction but she once again answered to her new name which is only a week old.

She hears her name in this first photo. It's her choice to go to the neighbors or back to her yard. It was her slow pace but she did make it back to the yard.

With Heidi back inside enjoying the dirty blankets that will be washed today, Winston was trying out his latest hobby of eating the fresh fine grade dirt that is pushed up through the ground by the moles. I cannot tell you what he enjoys in eating that dirt but he likes it. I hope this new habit of his is short term.

Sadie is staring to like Stella more and more since she sees that Stella has no intentions of becoming "leader of the pack". (On a side note I know it's proper English to put that period inside the quotation mark but to me it's never looked right that way ... so I follow my own rule).

Sadie is starting to spend more time sleeping next to Stella or at least with 3' of her. There has been no issues of eating dog food in the same room. All three hounds eat their food much faster than Stella does and I've had to stand in front of her to keep the other hounds away from her food dish until Stella finishes. They seem to REALLY like the Fromm Less Active blend with Duck as the #1 ingredient. Heidi started her new bag of Earthborn Holistic food today, moving from Bison Meal to Lamb Meal as the #1 ingredient.

I also made a short trip to town last night and left her in the bedroom with the other three hounds .. she did okay again, no signs of damage to the walls, back of the door or window sills. That might sound weird but from photos on the Bloodhound Owners group on Facebook, all of that damage plus more is photographed. Most likely caused by the hound's separation anxiety.

I am sure having the other hounds with her in the same room play a huge factor in Stella's success when I am away. I am also willing for her to have a bad day occasionally and understand it's always possible.

I think this last photo of the morning shows that she is a pretty happy bloodhound and Sadie is no longer upset with the new hound in the family.

This is suppose to be the last day for a while where the temps here will be in the low 90's. Someway tomorrow it will have a high in the 70's. I hope we have seen the last of the 90's until next July sometime.

You never know what the change in weather might bring here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.