A Stormy July 4th

We spent most of the day having this over and over. Needless to say, the hounds and dogs did not get outside much. We did have time to clean the yard between rains and it was good to see all that rain I got last night really soaked into that new grass seed in the side yard. It needed it and I could already tell today the difference in new grass growth. The rumor is there will be severe storms later tonight.

A Great Day !!!

I wrote that title at 8:36am this morning. I don't care what else happens, no matter how bad ... it will still be a great day. I had changed the routine a little this morning with the hounds and dogs. I didn't let them go out all at one time, hoping to cut down on the amount of playing with Ava. She went out by herself, Henry and Watson went out together and Walter sprinted outside right after his breakfast like he always does. So things were more calmer than most mornings because she likes to run and play right off the bat, that first trip outside after their breakfast. Temporarily I am approving all comments before they post, so that is why you don't see your comment as soon as you submit it.

What A Start To Tuesday

I'm exhausted at 4:37pm CT. Ava wakes me up a little later than normal and as I lean up in bed I can see her cone has come apart someway during the night but is still connected around her neck. It is flopping and dragging the floor. I immediately look at her leg and do not see anything out of the ordinary. Of course I cannot get the cone connected with their plastic strap going through the other side so I decide to feed her breakfast and her meds.

But that is not where the fun begins for Tuesday ... oh no, not even close.

Ava Has Not Slowed Down

When I told the vet that Ava likes to sprint from the patio door to where she see a rabbit or squirrel inside her fence, she replied I might have to use a leash to prevent that. Well luckily that was not needed this morning. 4am she woke me like usual to go outside to pee, then semi trotted back to her dog bed. After her meal that was mixed with two required meds, she was out exploring the backyard like normal. I think she understands when I tell her not to run by the way she responds.

Ava Goes To Emergency Vet

Warning --- Very graphic photos below that shows a lot of blood. Proceed at your own risk.

As you can see Ava is home and resting. She will get the bandage off in 24-48 hours but the cone and staples in her leg have to stay for 14 days. Appointments have been made with my regular vet to do each removal. It's a real mystery what happened. I have looked inside and outside and the mouth, chest and feet of each hound and dog ... no signs of blood on the hounds and dog. The vet did say it was NOT a dog bite.

I Guess I'm Back

After a couple of weeks on 'blog vacation' it looks and feels like I might be back to blogging. I read all the comments and emails I received after announcing I was retiring from blogging. A newsletter was suggested to keep in touch but I finally decided, if I had time to do one of those I have time to do a blog post on occasion. 

I have always come back to blogging after a few times of trying to quit. The thing is I like to talk which leads to writing and I have always liked taking photos of my hounds and now dogs. 

One thing that really got me thinking about the readers that really enjoy just the photos of the hounds and dogs came to me last Saturday. 

I noticed in my Apple Photo Library, after years they returned the file names under each photo. Was it an update or did I click something that made them show up? I don't know.

When I went back before the year 2000 to see if the file names I manually changed at the time I took photos and saw they were still there, I grabbed another cup of coffee and started scrolling. By late Saturday afternoon I had scrolled through 82,000 + photos. It was like reading a book. Good and bad memories came back to me with the photos that I would click to enlarge and look at. 

I Am Retiring From Blogging

I know in the past I have either announced I was going to stop blogging (December 2015) or took unannounced months off (May 2019) but this time it's for good. 

I am going to stop blogging.

Just like that old oak tree pictured there, things change over time and it has gotten to the point I really struggle to put a post together. Probably some have noticed that in my posts.

With two dogs and two hounds there is plenty of stuff to blog about I guess but when most of that is here at the house ... to me as a reader, that is not something I want to follow or read.

I know, I know ... most are here to see photos of the hounds and dogs. Yet, even with a new puppy, taking time to take photos just to put a blog post together is becoming a chore.

An old blogger told me once, "some of the best photos you ever take will be the ones you don't". I have to agree with that because a lot happens around here besides what you see.

Dog Crate Possession

Friday was a day of battling the heat and deciding who owns the dog crate. Early morning cool enough to leave the patio door open but the majority of time it is closed with the AC on during these hot temperatures. I did get the yard mowed for the week. No calls nor repairs to lingering storm damage. Reds game ends in a weird and exciting way, with a win. Ava walked in the crate on her own and laid down.

Ava Needs A Crate

Ava has lived here a little over two months. She has been the best puppy I have ever lived with and I have raised a few in the past 37 years from 8 weeks old. She is easy to live with, she gets along with the other three. She has never needed to be crated at night to sleep and always whines at 5:30am to wake me so I can trot with her to the patio door so she can go out for a quick trip. Then back to bed she runs and we might sleep for another 30 minutes to one hour.

Storm Damage Saga Continues

For the first time in a long time I am putting a post together spread over a lot of days. I changed my mind about his post before 11am. See below for the reason. As I sit here Saturday morning June 8th, I hear a light rain outside my open windows. It will keep the lawn green, the one that I mowed yesterday just in case it would rain like it predicted. What's that picture above????