Summer Still Trying To Hang On

High energy right there

Even though the overnight temps are in the 40's and 50's ... daytime temps have been perfect here in the tropics. These next few days we will see high 70's and one day in the 80's. Because of that I put the jeans back in the closet and pulled out the summer cargo shorts and a t-shirt. I'll help all I can to keep summer around.

Those three things I listed on Monday that I planned to do ... never got started, except I did run out to replenish my coffee supply. Priorities right? With the simplest of tasks not getting started you can tell this has been a pretty laidback week so far.

The hounds played a little but not a lot. Winston has already started his winter hibernation activity ... a lot of sleeping. When they have come outside this week, they are mostly in the search and destroy mode. As you can see the frost last weekend killed a lot of the wild flowers in the field.

Heidi, that's normal for her. It's only been a few days since I changed her food back to include rice, barley ... all the good grains. I actually think I can see a little weight gain around her ribs. If so that is great news.

With the change from "no grain" dog food, her skin rash has not increased. In fact since I started adding the Probiotic Miracle to her food a few weeks ago, her skin has continued to improve and at the least has stabilized.

That tells me what I always thought, what my last vet thought back in February ... her skin problem is caused by environmental allergies, and is not a food allergy. I just hope these next 6-10 months she can regain her weight that was lost this past spring and summer.

Sadie and Stella had a short burst of energy this morning, but it didn't last long and within minutes after coming back inside, they were both in a deep sleep. Their inner clocks will get them up around 12:30pm, and they will let me know it's time to eat. Stella is doing more and more begging for food and is quite jealous in the attention department. She will do anything, anywhere, to get between me and Sadie when I am petting her.

I thought a few weeks ago I had mowed the yard for the last time. I had lowered my mower the next level which was a mistake. I've done that before and said it was a mistake. So today I am going to mow again, raising the blade back to the higher level. I have some grass in different spots that need mowing, plus it will mulch what leaves are on the ground.

I am still thinking about if I am going to leave for the winter this year. I have to admit, some days the urge to travel is there and some days it's not. Single digit temps later on may make that decision much clearer.

That's about all from "the tropics" today.

Stella's Personality Begins To Show

One of the most important tools for a sports addict that does not have enough televisions to keep up with all the football and baseball games that are currently shown at times simultaneously ... is the tv remote control. In my case it is the DirecTv remote control. Believe it or not, from the photos, this remote control still works perfectly and will be used until it doesn't. Then a quick call to DirecTv's customer service and they will ship me a new one free of charge, no questions asked.

It all started sometime Saturday as I was sitting at the computer. Both bloodhounds were in their normal positions on the floor next to each other, chewing on various dog bones that have been bought over the years. There is a familiar sound when they are chewing on nylabone or a real bone. So it was pretty obvious to me when I heard a different sound, something was up and that sound made me get out of my desk chair to investigate.

What I saw shocked me!! I mean she is 6 years old and this was something you would see if she was 6 months old maybe. That DirecTv remote was held between Stella's two front paws and I could tell she was enjoying how the soft plastic felt as her large molars bit down. There was enough force from her jaws that both halves of the remote had popped open. My only concern was, did the remote still work before the games started within the hour, since I had 14 hours worth of games to watch and needed to be able to change channels from my seat on the couch.

I took the remote from her, said "no" loudly and gave her one of the dog bones, which she started chewing immediately. If you could have seen her face when she looked up at me with the remote between her paws, there was no way you could be mad at her.

I snapped the two haves of the remote back together, wiped off the bloodhound drool from the sensor in front of the remote and gave it a try. It worked perfectly.

Wasn't it just a few days ago I had mentioned I was waiting for her to do something, anything bad? I see now I should not have said that. It's like going on a long trip hoping and verbalizing you hope you don't get a flat tire and then for the first time in years, you have a flat tire on the trip.

I wasn't mad at her because she is simply a great and well mannered bloodhound. Every day or at least every week, as time passes ... Stella's personality continues to show. Just like any dog that is in a new home, it takes a while for them to get use to their new environment and routines. She is now whining to go outside when she needs to. Just today before I wrote this blog post, she started that bloodhound howl when I asked her if she wanted to eat.

It's usually Heidi that barks to let me know it's time for the hounds to be fed and she was today ... Stella decided to join her.

Not a lot going on but a lot planned. House cleaning, doing just a few dishes from last night, maybe some laundry today, but probably tomorrow ... the most important ... a run to the store to pick up some coffee and sugar.

Temps have been in the high 50's and is again today. Heidi was shivering when she came outside this morning. Still after the brunch, she came outside to lay in the grass in the sun. All four hounds seem to find the sun on a regular basis.

Stella and Sadie have been so focused on being fed today, they have not even played at all today. Currently all the hounds are asleep since they have been fed and made their after meal trip outside. Normal routine for them.

Here are a more photos from this weekend and today.

Heavy frost Saturday morning

Winston is eating dirt like pictured below

What is it about this dirt he likes to eat it so much????

"I wasn't doing what you saw me do"

Some Saturday morning playing ... then just like that they stop and go off searching new smells.

Some Monday early afternoon sunshine.

Stella even has Sadie laying down now ... she never did before

While I raked leaves in the backyard again Sunday, Stella stayed in this position for the hour. I had to rake around her, she never moved.

Another fast paced weekend in "the tropics".

The Fast Paced Life Of Hounds

I debated whether to wait until Saturday morning to post these photos instead of making a 2nd post for today. Most bloggers post once per day, a few I follow post numerous times per day ... so here is my 2nd post of the day.

About the time I opened the door to go outside, Sadie locked into a squirrel that was standing on top of the fence that runs along the driveway. She took off sprinting after her target with Stella following her just as fast. Winston took off but had no idea what the excitement was about. The squirrel climbed the tree in the center of the photo. It should be a fun fall with the squirrels back in action. They are checking after the fact that it really was a squirrel on their property.

Friday afternoon turned out to be too much for the hounds. They spent most of the afternoon doing what the photos below show ... up until the daily walk. Heidi decided to stay inside for both adventures and was not included in this afternoon's photo shoot.

Only one MLB playoff game tonight ... a little rest for all of us before the sports marathon that happens every fall weekend in my house.

There are too many smells outside that make Sadie's nose work on a constant basis ... she would never have time to lay and sleep in the sun.