Heidi Is The Leader Of The Sunday Morning Walk

I woke up before dawn this morning. While Sadie snored from her bed in the corner of the room, the birds were so loud that I couldn't go back to sleep.

Finally a little after 7am Heidi was up to start the day with her daily body shake first thing every morning and that is what wakes the bloodhounds up. So the day was on. They had that look in their eye that they knew it was their breakfast time.

They hit their yard but didn't move into the field because something loud was coming from that direction. They were aware of something but didn't know what it was. It was a tractor in the field behind the one we walk in, moving slowly, discing his field.

Since they were not going in the field, we all returned to the house. Like I said in last nights post, the plan is to take Heidi on both walks during the day. I am assuming she is healthy enough to do that with her perfect blood work results just last month. As soon as I attached the leash to her collar while she was outside, she headed for the field knowing we were walking.

After about 50' I took the leash off of her and she immediately ran in front of me, leading the walk, just like the old days. Sadie and Stella went off on their own track while Heidi walked at her own slow pace, stopping to sniff spots too frequently.

She reminded me of Winston, lagging way behind, sniffing certain spots more than walking. The bloodhounds and I waited for her to catch up with her trotting some and walking some. Then Sadie and Stella took off to their deer bed spots.

 
As soon as I let her walk in front of me she took off up the path. It was GREAT to see her running in the field again, since yesterday was her first time walking since October 7th of last year.

When you are the leader of the walk you can do anything you want ... she found a spot she liked ... I'll find out later if she is allergic to grass because after this walk her skin should be red sometime today .. IF she is allergic to grass.

She got up long enough for the photo and then rolled back down. If I hadn't moved I think she could have stayed there most of the day.

While Sadie and Stella inspected the deer area ... Heidi decided to run forward ... it was like she knew she was the leader once again on the daily dog walk.

Stella of course stopped at her three favorite spots, got way behind as Sadie, Heidi and I continued to walk ... I did not even have to yell her name before she came running to catch us.

Here you can see where the farmer was discing his field early this morning getting ready to plant possibly this week before the rains show up.

You can barely see Stella in the center of the photos about the bush line.

In the meantime Heidi was on her own exploration. I can't tell you how good it is to see her back in the field enjoying herself. She even got into the trotting mode a few times.

From the past seven months it was like she was a new hound by the way she was acting. Is it because the change to warmer weather?

Leading Stella to the finish line while Sadie hung back to walk with me.

So she is off the leash much sooner than I expected. She has been leash free for years, really all the time except for the first two weeks after I brought her home. I was wrong I didn't bring her home in 2011 but June 28, 2012.

It looks like it's going to be another great day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Heidi Joins Us On The Walk

The day was really nice besides the weather. That was fantastic and still is the sunshine has not dropped behind the fields and trees yet. I'll get to the local drive photos but I wanted to talk about Heidi joining our daily walk today for the first time since October 7th, 2015.

This is her last October on that same day. ... skin looking the same.

Sorry that I don't have any photos of today's walk .. I used a retractable leash for her for only one reason. It was the only way I could get her off the couch and no longer not wanting to go.

NO force was used.

In fact as I slipped her collar on, and connected the leash right there where she was sitting on the couch, she stood up, wagged her tail, jumped off and trotted to the door like she wanted to go.

She made it the whole walk ... we went at her speed. Sadie and Stella did their own thing but then Sadie would come back at different times and touch noses .. where Heidi would take off trotting. The time walking, her tail was up and curled like a hound on a scent ... instead of lowered like many of her photos show.

So there is a new plan that hopefully get her back to her old self ... doing what I she use to like to do. She showed no signs of discomfort nor any weakness while walking.

Earlier this afternoon when I asked if she wanted to go in the car .. she walked over to the drivers door for me to lift her inside, while the bloodhounds stood in the back waiting for me to open 'their' door.

We took off on a road I have always wanted to take just to see what was out there. I use to see cars coming out or turning off the highway to take this road as I went to and from work. We stayed on paved roads all afternoon, when there were plenty of gravel roads branching off this road to take.

Al over at TheBayfieldBunch has motivated me to the point of taking these local trips. He doesn't know that. My photos are not as good as his, but it was really my first time where the plan was to take all the photos on the move. I followed his process by taking the 18-55mm, setting it at 18mm and shooting out the windows while driving.

Excuse the dirty windshield.

We covered about a 45 mile loop. We started in land of small hills, some steep hills, to land that was extremely flat and where the farms were bigger. I came back with 126 photos. Many were bad ones but I grabbed a few good ones. I think with more practice, the photos will improve.

(I just pulled off a tick crawling on me from our early evening walk. That is tick #17 for me since March 15.)

In the immediate vicinity of my house the majority of farms are small, old and fields are where ever you can fit a tractor, planter and combine, no matter how hilly the land might be.

Heidi spends most of the drive in the sitting position with just enough room to see out the window. She is collecting a lot of different scents.

All of these photos were taken while driving .. like Al, just holding the camera up in the general direction and editing the photos later, while keeping my eyes on the road. There is not one photo where I stopped and stood outside to take the photo.

This is the same power line that the hounds and I walk under but probably around 15 miles away from our house.

If you notice we have gone from hills to flat land. Of course the fields are bigger and those power lines keep going the further we drive.

This field will be corn or soybeans by this summer.

I did not notice the owner of this property mowing his yard until I was editing the photo. It took a lot of chopping to delete my side mirror, window frame ... I wonder what he thought of a weird looking foreign SUV, driving by with a camera pointed in his direction. They only drive Fords and Chevy's out here.

Heidi still enjoying the drive.

I wanted to get more photos of this property. This was the last one in a long line of 20 or more tractors and pieces of farm equipment, this age. I would have stopped but the family was having a large mid-day picnic with a great fire going, enjoying the outdoors on a 76° Saturday.

This land goes for a long way to the left. It is nothing but fenced in grass for cows to graze before being loaded and shipped to market. It was like a temporary holding area before the semi's would show up at night and take them away. I'd see a field full of cows when I came home from work and by the next morning, they were gone. There use to be a really nice tiny home to the left of the barn. The property is for sale thus less cows and a barn empty of large rolls of hay.

The hounds were happy with their trip and happy to get home, as always. All three of them like riding and Heidi did not look like she was car sick today. She looked out the window the whole way, enjoying the drive.

I read after we returned from the drive about dogs that are depressed. That article gave me the idea to "help" Heidi to do the things she use to enjoy ... thus, sliding the collar on her, attaching the leash and taking her on our walk. She may not have wanted to when I asked her but by the time she walked out the door heading to the field on her own ... I could tell she wanted to go on the walk ... for the 1st time since last fall on October 7th.

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

Stella Loves Saturday Morning

There is something about a sunny Saturday morning even if all my days are "a Saturday". It's quieter than a normal work week. With the bright sunshine it almost makes it perfect.

There was a lot of heavy dew this morning so our walk didn't take place until after 10am. It was still wet. There are not the normal number of photos this morning and I tell the reason for that below.

As we went out a couple of hours later to see if it was dry enough to take the morning walk ... Stella decided the fresh cut grass and sunshine was too much and decided to sit for some early morning sunbathing.

Sadie is checking out the part of the backyard where the parked RV in 2014 killed the grass. It is slowly growing back with throwing grass seed down annually.

Stella is not moving ... no matter what.

As I read through my updated blogs this morning, I was over at Al's TheBayfieldBunch, where he was talking about how he takes all of those great photos of farm houses and barns. It was good to know exactly what lens he uses, his process and a before and after photo.

I decided I would try the same process on our morning walk this morning. There was one problem though ... a dying camera battery. Yep, a flashing icon for battery level showed up the first photo I tried to take on the walk.

So with having no plans today on this beautiful day, I think we'll head out to the country roads around here and try out Al's process of taking photos 'on the run'. I should have a lot of photos in tonight's blog post after I see if I can do the same great job that Al does taking photos.

After mowing the lawn yesterday I had my first full blown sinus attack that lasted through the night and early this morning. My right eye looked and felt like I had a head cold, sinuses switched back and forth between being plugged and constantly running ... I was breaking records for the number of consecutive sneezes.

I am pretty sure whatever is in the air is affecting me that much ... it has to be affecting Heidi's allergies to as she has spent most of the morning constantly chewing her paws and legs.

Heading out to enjoy the great weather here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.