The Mysterious Voice

I rarely have plans for the day when I finish my second cup of coffee. I basically fly by the seat of my pants on everything, where some days I don't get further than my backyard and other days I am all over town and the local area. It just depends what my scatterbrain wants to do, after all, it is also in retirement. Yesterday reminded me of days back in "the tropics" where I would be mowing the yard, glance at my car and decided it needed washed after the yard mowing. Then while washing one car I would decide I had to do the other one too. Yesterday was a lot like that.

Times Are Changing

Since our last post a lot of things are changing, here and nationwide. Obviously the blog theme or template has changed, the puppies are changing by getting bigger and possibly easier to live with. Henry is really giving me a run for my money ... funny funny basset hound and very mischievous. Walter has passed the 1 year mark and still considers himself the leader of the pack. Here are a few other things that have changed since I last posted -- gas prices, cost of groceries, warnings on where I can ride or hike, number of cars, different kind of cars, unbelievable decisions in DC, new residents, new houses, hot hot hot real estate market, and a lot of thinking.

No We Don't Miss Indiana Winters

With our second winter here in the southwest the bloodhound and I have realized we do not miss those single digit days in the winters back in "the tropics" of southern Indiana. The puppies are pure Arizona pups so they have not experieced the lifting of paws while on a walk through freezing snow like Stella has. Yes, it has been cold this week and it does get cold every night while sleeping but by the afternoon the sun is hot enough to be outside. Stella and Henry do this every afternoon. With the temps in the 50's and 60's this past week.

A Little Trip To Tombstone

It is perfect weather this time of year with cold mornings that climb into the 50's by noon and hotter by the afternoons. Sunshine almost every day, not counting the storms last week, storms that we really needed. It will be a few months before Carr Canyon Rd is open again where I can drive the 9,600' climb to the highest peak on the right there. The dogs love it because they can hang out in the backyard for as long as they want without hiding in the shade. Consequently the past few days since my last post I have spent a lot of time out and about the local area with the camera left at home.

Hounds & Dog Hibernate

It was 28° as the sun filled the sky. With the snow in the mountains the winds from the S-SW are colder now. Let's say throughout the day the two hounds and a dog did not spend any more time outside than needed. I didn't either. I had plans to go out to check different areas that were closed at the gate or had heavier snow than I had here in town. As usual things can change within minutes and those plans were put aside for another day. In its place I had a nice two hour phone call from an old friend that I had not heard from in almost a year.

Freezing Winds & Snow

Opening that door this morning in the dark for the first time reminded me of the winters spent in Indiana, where the bloodhounds wanted to go for a walk through the field and Heidi hanging back inside to sleep. The only difference was the temperature. It felt freezing at 28° at 5am but that was nothing compared to the single digit temps we use to walk in. I know it's winter here but I want spring. I moved to get away from stuff like today ... although it was actually pretty nice to see from a distance.

Miller Canyon Winter Exploration

I knew there would not be that much snow "up there" yet. I knew from growing up in Indiana with a VW bug that they were good in snow. I had no doubt that I could make it to the turn around on Miller Canyon. Based on what the weather was like would determined if I went to Montezuma Pass. I waited for two cups of coffee to be consumed, let the hounds and the dog out a few times and then grabbed my Nikon, my iPhone and took off.

It's Cold & Snow Is Close

I am a little late with this post because I did say the other day that I would post something this weekend with the hounds and the dog. It took a while to come up with anything blog worthy because they have not been doing much since it's been very cold today after another night of rain last night. You can see we finally have some snow on the mountains. Looking at the Windy app, it shows the snow will start at ground level late Monday night after midnight and will continue through Tuesday morning. But with temps in the 40s on Tuesday it will not stay around too long. Long enough for photos.

Cars Cars And More Cars

No ... don't get too excited, I am not jumping into the car collector world. Believe it or not this is a family owned car lot downtown and all of these cars are for sale. Last Saturday my friend that owns the bike shop couldn't leave work and wanted me to go down to check out a Ford Expedition for him. It had the 7.3L diesel and could be a replacement for his Ford truck he wants to sell that has the same engine. So while I waited for the owner to get back to the car lot, I took a look around.

Henry Continues To Impress

"The Mystery" of the day, week or this next month is where did Henry find this tree limb? I asked both neighbors Friday night if they might have tossed Henry a 'toy' over the fence but neither did and thought it was funny. He is quite the explorer. Or did someone walking behind the fence, which I never see anyone doing besides me or my neighbor, toss it over to the dogs in the backyard? Not sure but it came from somewhere early Friday night.