Grass Cut And The Hounds Take A Walk

It wasn't soon after that last photo in the previous post that I could tell not only was I going to cut the grass in certain spots of the yard ... the hounds were going to get their first walk after a 5 day layoff. I started by letting the bloodhounds sun bath in the yard while I picked up more sticks from the last storm. During this time I could tell I would mow half of the backyard. As far as the front yard I was going to mow the edge of the driveway all the way down the drive. Other than that I would mow just the upper corner of the yard.

I will have some trim work to do later this week. I am thinking of installing landscape edging like I have in the front, all along the back of the house to keep the river rock and grass separate ... but that will be later, not this week. Plus you can see those pesky weeds are growing fast in my driveway just yelling at me to spray them and put them out of their misery. That will also happen later this week.

After sitting in the sun for about 30 minutes, Stella was completely wore out for today. Looking at her you would have thought she was on her last legs. She did find out that if she stood next to me, it to be pretty easy to let her bloodhound drool find a place on my leg. That stuff is the best glue ever manufactured. A whole field to roam or a freshly cut yard to lay in ... she has to stand right next too me.

Our relaxation in the sunshine was rudely interrupted by one of the local rednecks. Whether a new engine adjustment on purpose or an accident engine malfunction, his truck backfired passing the house on the highway and freaked Stella completely out. She was frantic running around not knowing where to go. I was able to get her and Sadie back inside the house.

With the time change to Daylight Savings Time it makes it even easier for me to lose track of time. When I glanced up and it was a little past 4 pm, I knew it was time for their first walk in 5 days ... wet grounds or not. It was wet. I could feel the small pebbles of water hit my legs as I walked and could see the stomachs of each hound getting wet as they moved along.

As you can see they were more than thrilled to give their noses a workout and enjoy the sunshine. Stella did great running free.

Each time I called her name when she was heading in the wrong direction ... she came running. She must know she is on "double secret probation".

There were still enough things for her to investigate and a few times she was caught lagging behind but never failed to run when called.

Sadie rarely strays on the walk. She certainly has changed from her wild youth to a pretty laidback bloodhound who will be 8 years old in a couple of months.

Those weather experts are saying we should get some rain for a few hours later tonight. After that is about 3-4 days of pure hot sunshine. I am thrilled our winter was short and mild. BTW, I did change the blog back to show 3 posts on the first page.

It was up to 78° today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Hounds Are Happy - I'm Happy

It's amazing how different you feel when the weather is nice outside. I think the hounds feel the same way as I do. We spent a lot of time outside today but the grass was still wet at 1 pm. From all the rain the ground is really soft - a hound walk will be determined later in the day with hopes the sun helps dry out the field.

I need some feedback. Nothing major ... do you like blogs that have a list of posts on the first page, something you can scroll through or do you like to read blogs that have one post per page and in the end you have to click the link named "older posts"??

I changed this one for the first time ever to just one post per page. I'm just curious on reader's responses.

Like did with Stella when I first got her at the end of August 2015, I let her run free today but only when I was outside. They both headed back to their normal places in the field. Maybe they didn't like the field because it was heavily saturated? Stella didn't take long by walking out to the bush line. With the zoom camera lens not focusing I could not tell if she had crossed that threshold and was in the wooded area.

I yelled her name loud ... she came sprinting back to the house. After a little more wandering, she tried to get Sadie in the mood to wrestle ... but Sadie wasn't in the mood today.

I didn't have to carry Heidi outside but I did have to go into the bedroom to let her know she was going outside today one way or another. She immediately jumped up from her blankets and ran to the door to go outside. This morning I was bragging how much better her skin had been looking the past few days ... only to see this afternoon it was back to being red again.

It looks like it is time for another Epsom Salt soak for her and a bath. That really helped a couple of weeks ago.

Here is a photo I took today to show just how tall the grass is after 4 days of rain. This was before the sunshine had a day to help it get even taller. The photo with Stella also shows that one section of yard I spoke of this morning, that was helped with Winston's fertilizer this past winter.

Sunday, late afternoon while there was a short period of sun and the rain had stopped, I went to the north side of the front yard and cut some small trees down to ground level. Cutting them thinned out the area and they are not something I want growing to full size. Consequently the burn pile grew and it will have to dry out over the summer before I can light that pile on fire. It will be a good fall burning, probably the same time I an raking the leaves.

Time will tell if I cut the grass today for the first time in 2016, the middle of March, in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Sun Is Out & The Hounds Are Back

It was great to wake up to sunny skies, birds singing outside loud enough to hear around some long distance heavy equipment operating over at the landscaping business. I know it's been a few days since our last post but believe me, with off and on rain, overcast skies and two bloodhounds that didn't want to go further than the edge of the carport ... there wasn't a lot to blog about.

There have been some changes though and some of you have noticed just from last night.

I went ahead and changed the domain name of this blog back to the original blogger url when I set up the blog in October 2011. From what the traffic reports were showing last night, it looked like most if not all regular readers and those that found my blog by searching for 'lil snoozy trailers', had visited and saw the notice of the new domain name change. I may have missed a few but I don't think there are many.

Since I am always a patient person (j/k), I deleted the old .com domain last night instead of waiting until Friday - then went to my GoDaddy account and not only deleted the domain name there but also my GoDaddy account. Why all the change? It must be one of those periods I go through from time to time where I don't care about the $12 per year for a domain renewal but I hate paying the $144 per year to do it. Like a friend told me in January ... "why pay for a domain if it is not producing income" ... good point.

So it's final, I have no more urls to move to.

The rains were pretty consistent for the past few days. About the time you thought you saw some sunshine trying to poke through the clouds, a light rain would start. The hounds were not happy and by Monday had a severe case of 'cabin fever'.

Not only did the domain name change since our last real post on the 10th of March but so have the hounds. Changes that I am not real happy about but I am thrilled with Heidi's change.

For some reason 3 or 4 days ago, the hounds quit walking directly out into the field like they have done for years ... yes, years. Straight out from the house and linger in the field exploring as much as they wanted. "Free range" so to speak. Well for some reason the other day they made a turn left and headed to the north side of the yard.

Now that I think about it, it was rainy that morning so they were both staying under the roof overhang walking along the side of the house. Plus around the new area I cleared last week, both were very interested in what had been walking in that area. I don't mind them walking in that area but what Stella did a few days ago changed everything. She is now on "double secret probation".

It was the normal routine ... dogs out while I am inside making coffee. I walk into my computer room to turn on the computer and glance out the window to check on the hounds. Sadie is sitting in the field stiff as a board, like a statue, facing the house. I had seen that look from her before but never more than one or two times in her 7-1/2 years.

I knew something was wrong.

Without taking the camera with me I sprinted outside because I was pretty sure I already knew what was going on. Stella had ran off. I could tell with Sadie not moving even as I approached her that she was giving me the look of "someone is in big trouble". While glancing over the north field where the hounds never go and yelling Stella's name ... she is no where to be found.

I look back along the bush line along the path that we take for the daily walk ... I don't see her anywhere. I am not in the state of panic yet but I am beginning to think the worse. High speed highways are never nice to hounds that are loose, nor any other breed of dog.

About the time that I turn to head to the house, grab the keys to the FJ to go find her .. my glance barely catches a red color bloodhound down inside the deep drainage ditch that runs along the edge of the north field and my neighbor's yard. It is deep enough that in some parts of that ditch she would not have been seen.

Luckily as I yelled her name ... Stella jumped out of the ditch and came sprinting to me. Sadie met her nose to nose, tails wagging to let her know "never do that again".

I was thrilled to say the least that the worst had not happened. I definitely didn't want to see her laying in the highway when I looked that direction. So the problem now ... both hounds continue to make that immediate left as they hit the yard and I cannot let Stella out on her own. The 80' tethered rope that is anchored in the field is back in operation temporarily and Stella is connected to that anytime the hounds want to go out and enjoy the yard. That has been rare since it's been raining most of the time.

Stella looking back to see if I am watching her.

Stella checking a 2nd time to see if I am watching her or can she make an escape and head north and back to that ditch.

Stella is never happy when I call her to come to the house, she would love to get back to that drainage ditch she found. The good news is, although they are both stubborn at times, they do come when their name is called ... but at THEIR pace.

From all the rain you can see that one part of the yard's grass has grown exponentially over the past few days. Once it dries out this afternoon I am going to mow just that small section. The grass is taller than any other part of the yard. It was a section that Winston used all winter when he dumped his tanks. Good fertilizer.

Heidi has improved taking the supplement the vet gave me on her last vet visit a week and a half ago. It was something called Herma A Spike. I won't say that her energy level is up because that had already improved but it feels like and looks like she has gained some muscle around those bones that were showing. Also on her rear paws, hair is replacing the bare skin and is becoming thicker. She is also still eating dog food with grains included. I'll post more about that later, with her own post and hopefully some photos.

It's good to be back blogging here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Domain Change

I have decided to close the current domain name earlier than the expiration date. So for those that follow this blog on a regular basis you should change your bookmarks/favorites to:

www.bhounds.blogspot.com

This will be the last domain change for this blog. The change will happen some time this week and no later than Friday.

www.houndsandrvs.com will be deleted.

A Quite Rainy Day

I actually enjoy days like this if they don't happen often. It's warm enough to have all the windows open, you can hear the birds talking and a light rain in the background. It's been a steady very light rain all morning, so a lot has not been done outside. The hounds sleep, I read the internet, play Mahjong or try to finish the book Area 51.




We didn't do much after their lunch. I had to make a trip to Bloomington and that was going to test Stella the 3-4 hours that I would be gone. They wanted to check the work I did yesterday clearing that small section of yard, sniff the field a little and then come inside.

Since I was going to be gone for 3-4 hours, I decided I would load up the Kong balls/bones with treats. They would be able to smell the treats but not get them out of the Kong balls. With the Kong bones, after a lot of work, they would be able to get the treats out to eat. I thought that would give Stella plenty of time to work at something besides her separation anxiety destruction.

I am not sure if those were shared between the two bloodhounds but I could tell by where they were when I got back, they were the main focus of activity. I didn't see any kind of damage when I returned home.

For her own protection, I always move Heidi and let her have the run of the house. About the only movement she has I think is from the chair she sleeps in and the water bowl. I am not sure if it is the supplement the vet gave me called Hera A Spike but her eyes have really improved this week, plus she has been a little more active. She is still scratching at an obsessive pace at times, but over all her skin color is normal and less irritation on her back paws and legs.

With her and the bloodhounds eating the Fromm For Large Breeds kibble, 2.06 pounds per day are consumed. I have been feeding Heidi the same amount of food as Stella gets to eat. I think she would even eat more if I poured it out into her bowl. In fact I don't think she would ever stop eating. With the new supplement the vet gave me to give her, I will take Heidi back in 30 days just to get her weighed and see if there is any gain.

As long as it is raining there will not be many photos the next few days. Along with college basketball getting into their conference tournaments and then the NCAA tournament ... my days and nights will be and have been shortened to from the time I wake up until noon. After that it is nothing but basketball games on tv, fitting in some meals in between or during games and a hound walk once the ground dries out. After a few weeks as the number of teams still playing decreases, then I will have days available but not nights. That is the way it is for a sports addict that loves college basketball in the month of March.

That will make no difference to the hounds schedule. They will not be neglected but will do their normal routine, whether there are games going on or not  .... sleep, eat, sleep, eat and walk when the ground is dry.

This morning Sadie checking to see if she wants to step out into the light rain or not. They don't mind the rain but she always checks before walking out into the rain. As far as Heidi, she will run immediately behind the Yews in front and stay under the roof overhang to stay dry. She is strictly a sunny and at least 70° basset hound.

After Sadie and Stella moved out into the yard, they didn't have a lot of motivation to take off in the field, and it wasn't long before they turned and started walking back toward the house. Rainy days bring decreased activity.

With the rain and not much going on here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana the hounds and I may take a 'mini' vacation from blogging. At least until it stops raining in a few days and the grounds dry out. Thanks for stopping by to read the blog and check the photos of the hounds.