Can't Believe It's Friday

The hounds woke up to cooler temps, slept in late and when they went outside they didn't stay out long. By the time I brought my cup of coffee, the camera with one lens attached and my 18-55mm lens  outside ... Heidi had returned to the door to go back inside. She wasn't out more than a minute.

It all started at 10:03am when Stella stepped over to my desk and started whining. I have figured out that means one of two things ... she has to go outside to pee or she wants to eat. Of course since feeding time for the hounds is between noon and 1pm, the 10:03am was just a bit early to eat.

When I told her it was too early to eat, she starting howling. It was confirmed by the howl she wanted to eat. That brought Sadie into the room whining, Winston started barking and Heidi sprinting from the bedroom to her food dish because it was time for food. She always wakes up when food is involved although you can't tell it by her weight.

I gave in, just like always. I decided at least today and maybe from now on that I will start feeding them twice per day and split the quantity of food in half. For all the readers out there with dogs of any breed and size ... do you feed yours once per day or twice per day?

Sadie and Winston enjoyed some grass and a little dirt eating before I stopped them. 

Stella took out to the field to dump her tanks. On her return trip she was heading in a direction away from the house toward the neighbors so I yelled her name. She stopped, looked up and came running.

What other breed can run and have their ears not only go vertical but also lay over the top of each other in the same run??  LOL

The leaves are back!!!  I may have spoke too soon about raking leaves for the last time. I guess the tall sycamore tree had more leaves left on the tree than I had seen. I will wait until ALL the leaves are off the trees before I rake again. I'll either rake or vacuum them next time.

I know I'll have to fight Friday traffic on 25 miles of two lane highway but Heidi needs food and the kind she eats is 25 miles away. I could use Chewy.com and have that same food delivered for the same price but each place has a "buy 10 bags get 1 free". I am closer to those 10 bags at the store 25 miles away, rather than starting a new account on chewy.com.

Do you like the multiple posts per day or just a daily summary post?

Suns out, the hounds are asleep and fed. It's not even noon yet. Another fine day here in the tropics.

The Forecasted Rain Arrives

For those that have not read my earlier blog post from this morning ... this is my 2nd blog post of the day. I may start writing more than one post per day, we'll see. Just in case you might want to look at the right sidebar at the post titles or scroll at the bottom of the post for new posts written.

I'll admit I took the day off from life today. Didn't do one thing, except feed myself and the hounds. A bad trend is starting. Stella has now decided to be the spokesperson for the other hounds and is now howling for me to feed all of them. She has a great howl but the problem is, dinner time isn't until 12 or 1pm with the time change and she is howling at 10:30am.

I finally broke down and poured the dry kibble out at 11:30am. The sleep monster Heidi who had not been awake all day by that time, woke up when she heard the dry kibble hit the stainless steel bowls and came sprinting in for her lunch. She even made it outside and spent more time chasing flies than anything else.

While we were outside after lunch I could see in the distance that the rain forecast might actually happen. Around 7pm tonight I started to hear a lot of thunder and then a light rain hitting the large sycamore leaves that are laying in the yard. I was told in August that Stella did not like thunder. Tonight there was enough thunder for her test ... she never reacted one way or another, just laid behind my desk chair and went to sleep.

Stella and Sadie still found time for some afternoon play ... around Winston, who had found his spot for the afternoon and he wasn't moving no matter what.

They went at it pretty hard for a short period of time, just long enough for both of them to sleep the rest of the afternoon away as I played Mahjong. I finished a couple of timed games under 3 minutes. These photos are listed in the order they were taken.

After a nice piece of baked salmon with steamed carrots and broccoli tonight for dinner, I am set for the NFL game tonight. Since I am not in the mood to watch a movie I may actually watch the whole game tonight, with a book nearby in case I decide to turn the sound down and read.

Another day of nothing here in the tropics.

I continue to be happy about picking up Stella. She has been a great addition and has really helped Sadie get some additional exercise. She is a great bloodhound.

Leaf Project Recovery

The Nikon D3200 mystery continues. After verbally abusing my camera on Tuesday, it worked perfectly all day Wednesday ... both lenses. This morning it performed without missing a beat ... both lenses. I am still not happy about the inconsistencies.

I might have multiple posts today since this one is earlier than planned, but I skipped yesterday. In fact I am thinking about making multiple posts per day, basically writing when I feel like it and include photos ... instead of the 'summary' format.

The hounds, excluding Heidi, and I have been a little 'low' energy since the leaf project was finished on Tuesday afternoon. It's Thursday, nice weather but I don't have any motivation to get on the roof of the house to clean out the gutters, nor clear the leaves along the drive. Maybe a nice strong wind will take care of the bank along the driveway. If I could get my smaller gas powered leaf blower to start I would be more inclined to do both jobs. It will not start and I'm not a small engine mechanic.

Tuesday started with Sadie and Stella playing inside. It's always at a slower paced, not as aggressive type play inside. Once I opened the door to go outside they were in full out playing mode.

Then just in an instant, they would stop and sniff the air, take a look over the yard and field. It's an ugly time of year. The color of the leaves is gone. Plants have died and turned ugly brown. All of those tall dead plants in the field have burrs ... burrs that the two bloodhounds have decided are their appetizers. They like chewing the burrs, they don't like swallowing them. Guess who gets to take them out of their mouths???

So nothing much was done on Tuesday. The hounds relaxed anytime we went outside. I spent the day reading books and ignoring dishes and laundry. I continue to wait for the day of forecasted rain, using that for justification for not doing inside chores until I have a reason to stay inside. The problem is, here in the tropics of southern Indiana the weather changes daily and forecasts are rarely accurate when it comes to rain or snow.

With the World Series over, that is one less sport to track but with college basketball starting soon I will be back to not having enough televisions.

This morning over coffee I felt like blogging. The hounds played only for a short time and three of them just enjoyed staying outside. Winston and Sadie in fact did stay outside to roam the field while Stella and I went back inside. Heidi of course refused to move from her sleeping position so far today. Lately Heidi has liked going out after lunch, maybe late afternoon and something new ... late at night.

What is it about hounds searching all over the place for that one specific spot to dump their tanks? They will search the field from one end to another just to find that specific spot. At least I don't have to pick it up when they do it out there.

Here is Winston giving me that "innocent" look again, after I see him eating something he has found in the field. He always thinks he is getting away with it.

Not sure what is on the schedule today. It's slightly overcast, cool temps and feels like a pretty non-productive day. It will be another day of reading books, an occasional game of Mahjong and prep for the NFL Thursday night game tonight.

I'll post again later today.

Retirement never gets old here in "the tropics" of southern Indiana.