The Hounds Had A Visitor Today

I knew when I decided yesterday not to rake up the excess grass that a plan was coming together. I prepared last night by putting on a layer of Gorilla Glue to the pieces of my shoe sole that was pulling apart on my old Merrell "foot gloves". They don't make that trail runner anymore and now I wish I would have bought three pair instead of the two pair I bought ... great shoes. Yet with the glue repair, the shoes might last another year or two.

The third part of the plan fell into place very early this morning ... it was 68° when we headed out on our walk this morning. If felt fantastic and not a hint of humidity as cold air was blowing from the north. After a good night sleep with the windows open, I could tell there was going to be some motivation I was going to have to take advantage of. At the time I didn't know how much I would do today.

Stella started with a surprise by heading out into the field for the walk, directly on the path. I had planned to get my feet soaked and wore the appropriate shoes and sock.s What I didn't expect was just how old that heavy dew was as I could feel it squishing in my shoes as we approached the first corner where we make the first turn.

I could tell early in the walk that the theme of the morning was going to be deer scat. Even Sadie was not interested in her daily exploring, which surprised me ... but that wasn't going to be the biggest surprise of this morning.

It was nice to see Stella not veering off the path anywhere. Sure, she might move six to ten feet away but she was always headed in our direction. I was thinking about how cold my feet were more than anything else.

Since it was finally Saturday, after feeling it was for the past two days, I was also thinking about yard work since it looked like it was going to be a great day and nowhere near 90°. I've had it with all the weeds. The more I cut them with the weed trimmer, the more they multiply. So I decided I was going to go "pro" and buy the stuff that is so strong that 2oz of it in a gallon of water to spray on the weeds was what I was going to buy.

The hounds never go down along the driveway bank, the center of the driveway, and never down to the mailbox ... those were the areas I was going to spray. Plus I wanted to spray the left side of the driveway culvert. With my feet freezing and wet I was also going to look for a pair of rubber shoes ... I was thinking that I could find a pair at the local farm supply store.

Remember in all of these photos, that Stella is the bloodhound that wears the collar, Sadie does not, until she makes a trip to the vet so I can use the 6' leash. Sometimes they are hard to tell apart.

The more I thought about the yard I knew I had cut it too short the other day. It looks like crap yet every one of my neighbors along the highway cut their yards down to the ground or no longer than 1" tall. Obviously I have different types of grass than they do as I can also tell that difference in the winter when my grass is green and theirs is brown.

So the longer we walked, plans for today started taking shape.

Are you wondering about the 'visitor' I mentioned in the blog post title?

At this point of the walk there is nothing out of the ordinary going on. It has been so long that I can't even remember the last time I saw deer in the field. With Stella no longer running I can't remember if she even chased deer last summer and so far this year we have not seen any close enough to chase. Deer is usually our only kind of visitor that we run into in the field.

Not today though ... it was an entirely different kind of visitor. As I turned away from the hounds to continue my walk .... look who is staring at us.

A great looking Beagle with a collar and tags. A hound that I had never seen before but obviously a possible neighbor. He/she stood motionless looking at the hounds. My immediate thought was I had better get ready to run because I was positive the bloodhounds would be sprinting within seconds.

Just like a split second the Beagle takes off for the house it came from. It's short ears were flying and it was running as fast as it could. Where was the bloodhound baying I was expecting  to be hearing and the blur of reddish hound hair flying by me after the Beagle ???

No sounds from Sadie or Stella.

Once the Beagle was out of sight I turned to check on the bloodhounds ... they had not moved an inch the whole time !!!

Stella eating deer scat as fast as possible.

Sadie eating deer scat as fast as possible.

It didn't matter to me what they were eating today. All I know, the day was beautiful and I didn't have to chase the hounds on the run into the north woods where the Beagle was headed.

Stella took her time to get home.

Evidently wet grass taste good also.

You may have noticed with all of the photos this morning the tint is a little different ... I changed the setting back to 'automatic no flash' from 'landscape' so the photos wouldn't be so dark.

As you can tell I am not happy about the yard. Besides the clumps of excess grass from cutting it a notch lower or about 1-1/2" I have thought all year from the first cut in the spring that my blade needed sharpening. I don't have a shop or bench to mount a vice so getting my blade sharp on my own wasn't going to happen. The local hardware store gave me a quote of $10 but since it is the middle of the summer the line is long to get anything done dealing with mowers or blades.

So while I was at the farm supply store, name left off intentionally, wandering down the aisles admiring their large inventory .... I came up on a new blade that not only was the correct size but even mentioned the brand name of my mower "Craftsman" ... I was in luck for $12.

So with the '6hp Monster' having a nice new sharp blade I had to try it in the backyard ... that led me to mow the whole backyard. Not only were those clumps of grass disappearing but the grass was being cut better than it had all spring and summer.

Sadie and Stella were more than ready to inspect the yard and gave me a thumbs up. I knew there was a reason I didn't want to rake that grass the other day.

With the same problem in the front yard I decided to mow that also. I mowed at an angle, a different direction than I did the other day. It was also the best cut I have had all summer.

Stella was good again today while I was gone. I believe her problem with separation anxiety is finally over. Whenever I say "I've got to go" ... to buy groceries, to the library or to buy dog food ... she will walk into the bedroom on her own and lay down because she now knows that is where she stays when I am gone.

Where was Heidi during all of this beautiful weather??? Where she always is ... stretched out as long as possible on the couch sleeping. In fact she was sleeping when I drove the store and was still sleeping when I walked into the house when I got back ... some watch dog.  LOL

So after all the time I spent mowing, pulling weeds out of the mulch beds, weed trimming and spraying weed killer on the bank and driveway ... it was time for a shower, 600mg of ibuprofen and a 32oz glass of ice cold water ... I put this post together from the MacBook Air, sitting on the couch enjoying the Reds game at Wrigley Field.

Oh, I didn't find any rain boots or shoes at the farm supply store but saw a lot of Carhartt clothing on sale.

All is good today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ... weather is beautiful.

I Was Confused What Day It Was - But Turned Out Okay

After the hound walk late afternoon yesterday, I hung my soaked ballcap up outside on the nail knowing there was little chance of drying out overnight with the humidity. It was better than leaving it hung up on the door hinge inside, it's normal place. So it was not a shock to put a soaked ballcap on for our morning walk this morning ... it was 20° cooler at 8:46am but it didn't feel like it.

I tried something different this morning taking photos ... all at 35mm or 50mm, except three of the last four.

Stella continued her path of success and I am in disbelief that she has not changed this routine and all out ignored me so she can head north to the neighbor's woods and backyard. She takes her own path with little verbal herding and meets Sadie and I right before we reach the corner of the field, or our first turn.

Unlike the growth in the field this spring and early summer, where it was almost all grass, it is now filling up with food for bees and places to land for larger butterflies. Like last summer I think they will let it grow until next June. That's fine since the hounds will still be visible on our walks or when I sit outside and let them wander the field.

Sadie was showing signs there was a lot of deer or rabbit, maybe both, activity while we slept. She was intense in her exploring this morning.

When she is in this mode, she hears nothing, sees nothing and moves quick in different directions. The camera cannot pick all her moves up in time.

For over two weeks now, Stella has followed her same path starting north then slowly angling toward the corner to meet us. We meet up in about the same area of the field every morning. Maybe it's her old pink collar that is making her so controlled?

By this time in the walk, what I consider the first 25% of it, the humidity is thick yet a low percentage on the weather app. Since it took me a while to realize this is Friday morning and not Saturday morning (does it make a difference retired?) I had to alter my plans to buy dog food this morning. The chicken blend usually sells out on Friday.

Stella was more active than she had been in a while. What I mean by that is, she wasn't trotting but walking faster, more receptive to what she was smelling and the shocker ... she wasn't eating deer scat.

She looks at me as if I am crazy when I talk to her ... who knows? Maybe I am.

As I walk through the field I am wondering what all of these 'normal' photos are going to look like shot at 50mm instead of 70mm-200mm? Will they be sharper, more clear? Will I have to crop any? We'll see when they are sent through the editing process.

I didn't call Sadie's name or say anything ... but as I was tracking her with the camera held to my eye ... she looked right at me. Still intense and walking at a fast pace. Scents were all over the field for her today.

It didn't surprise me. I expected it. When I turned from Sadie to see what Stella was doing ... she was looking at that 'far right corner', even taking a few steps in that direction ....

When I called her name ... she turned and came right toward me. What's up with her? I am not use to all of this obedience from a bloodhound. Honestly I am shocked how nice she has been the past few weeks on these walks.

With all the rain and sun this spring/summer ... everything is nice and green. This stood out in seven acres of greenness.

The back of the field always has a lot of deer traffic, in any season.

I am surprised how many photos I am catching with 50mm setting. I may have overlooked this for the past year or two. I am liking what I see as I downloaded them from my camera to my computer.

I am noticing with bright sunshine and the setting of 'landscape' some of the images are too dark when I am shooting back towards the sun.

From this angle it looks like Stella has gained her weight back from her loss from 15 months ago. At other angles she still looks thin but eats like a horse.

We might be close to finishing the walk but that does not mean that Stella is going to follow Sadie and I. She would love to turn right toward those woods but walked parallel to Sadie and I, to within three feet of the yard ... then turned toward us.

The only animal that would stand that tall next to the pole to draw so much interest from Stella ... is deer. I've seen them walk by that pole and took pictures of it last year (can't remember the month) ... so deer is my only guess for what she seems to be smelling.

Those last three photos were taken at 200mm

As you can probably tell, I lowered my lawn mower blade one notch yesterday ... I have a lot of grass to rake up before my next mowing next week sometime. Any grass collected will be added to the burn pile for this fall. Stella actually broke into a little trot in that photo ...

It was really nice today with temps in the mid 80's. Yet the hounds were not interested in any kind of walking or soaking up the rays after their lunch. They came out, sniffed a little and all headed toward the door to be let inside. I tried a couple of different formula's of vinegar and water mixtures to see if that will kill the weeds. Three hours after I sprayed a 50/50, a 75/25 and 100% vinegar ... I saw no signs of wilting.

I am afraid that Stella has become addicted to the air conditioning. That is as far as she got today after her lunch. She didn't move until Heidi and Sadie headed for the door to go back inside. I was almost ready to pull out my weed trimmer but decided I would do all of it tonight after 7pm when the temperature is suppose to drop to 78°. With the Reds playing in Chicago at 2:20pm I was able to cut weeds and rake grass after 7pm.

To confirm in my mind, I have looked at past pictures of this driveway in the same months for each year going back to 2010. That year I spent a week on my hands and knees pulling out every weed by it's roots with my hands ... I even blogged about it since it was so exciting .... well that only MULTIPLIED them the following summer and they have never stopped multiplying. I haven't had this many weeds in the driveway since I moved in March 1998.

99.9% of my mailbox down by the highway is a receiver of junk mail. The general consensus is I am close to death and if I return a card the state of Indiana will help pay for my funeral. I also have been getting weekly offers for the past two years for government funded hearing aids or a price discount IF I come in for an exam. Some time this past spring those offers have changed to them confirming my examination appointment ... one that I have never made.

They don't give up.

By the time I finished watching the Reds beat the Cubs 3-2 in Chicago, then taking our 2nd hound walk of the day, I had changed my mind about raking dead grass in the yard. It might be a real possibility Saturday morning but things change rapidly in retirement so we'll see

Another fine day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.