Ben&Jerry's Brownie Batter Core Ice Cream

One of the advantages of being single, even at an older age, is you can eat anything you want anytime you want ... that is also a disadvantage ... today I paid for it.

It was not a surprise, since the consequences had been lived through before. But when it tastes so good you forget about the consequences ... until you live through them again.

I have no clue how it happened, but last night I ran out to get some coffee, salmon and sugar for the coffee. I came back with a lot more and some way THREE containers of Ben&Jerry's ice cream snuck into my cart.

One of those containers was something I had never tried nor saw before, it was one of their new "core" flavors. I knew from personal experience that their chocolate brownie mixture always put me into a coma after eating it. Maybe in this case that split with vanilla ice cream plus a liquid core of something would make a difference.

It did not make a difference ... same result ... same consequence.

I can't remember the time but somewhere around 3pm when the hounds came back inside and I had finished the whole container of the Brownie Batter Core I felt myself slowly slipping into a state of unconsciousness.

It was so sunny and nice outside but the ice cream had taken over.

The hounds and I slept through a beautiful day until around 5pm. Only pains of indigestion woke me up off and on during the unconscious state. I didn't like the indigestion but liked waking up  because I was having some of the strangest dreams I could ever imagine. Some people say your soul travels during dreaming ... if that is the case, holy shit!

Yet, I feel better now, with some Tums and an afternoon dog walk ... things feel kinda like normal again.

Earlier in the morning while writing the previous post I glanced out my window and saw a bird checking out my old thermometer in the carport. I know that has been mounted there for at least 30 years, maybe longer.

I recognized the bird from a couple of years ago and knew exactly what she was doing. She was checking to see if she could rebuild her nest on top of that thermometer. So she started around 10:47am. I took photos of her progress around my sleeping ... she is a hard one to catch because she would always fly away once she heard the camera focus.

The Builder

10:47am

2:12pm

4:55pm

This is the reason I don't like bird nests built in the carport. Besides the mess it makes on the wall and the floor on the carport, bird crap shows up on my steps, and/or on my cars. The nest building may come to a halt or the building site will be protested with sign carrying hounds.

With the hounds well rested and I knowing what it feels like living the life of a hound ... I was rested too and wanted to go on a walk as bad as they did. Is their lifestyle taking over mine?

With a lot of rain and sun ... the field is not only growing but coming into bloom.

Today proved that the bloodhounds may have great noses but they may not be great trackers ... when this photo was taken of Stella, NOT TEN FEET AWAY ... the dark gray cat I saw months ago around 1am one night, scurried through the field into the wooded area.

The hounds were close to her but didn't see her ... neither one.

By this time Stella is hopping and running around all over the place and highly excited ... but she is late ... and my camera isn't working as fast as she is moving.

She figures maybe the cat ran over where the deer are and took off in that direction. I can tell it's going to be one of those days she will ignore everyone and everything until she can find that cat or what's at the end of that scent.

Sadie's help didn't come up with any different result.

With Stella unconscious I continue to walk and let her do whatever she wants. When I finally glance back I can't see her and guess she has ran into the gully or the wooded area. Both areas are outside of her boundaries.

As I take this next photo trying to fit a panoramic shot of an empty field ... there is Stella with her head down and her tail up. I thought she was running back to me and Sadie but midstream she takes off in another direction .. her nose is driving her crazy today and it all started with cat she didn't see.

Most of the walk Sadie stayed right next to me but would occasionally help Stella in her hunt ... they still came up with nothing.

On the way back Stella takes off again in a direction different than the normal path and sprints back to the "scene of the crime" ... that cat has to be there somewhere. She is determined to find it.

Finally Sadie convinces her to stop the search and head back to the house. It's hot, the gnats are bad and Sadie would rather drink some fresh filtered water she knows is back at the house.

Once we were back inside, as usual, Sadie chugged the water and both of them have been sound to sleep while I put this post together. The life of a bloodhound ...

Now, what are we going to do about that nest??

Weather is great here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Hounds Ready For The Weekend

It might be Friday the 13th but we are off to a good start for the weekend. As you see to the left, the sunshine is back and that is always a good thing here in 'the tropics'.

The grass is still really wet with heavy dew and even with Sadie giving me the stare wanting to go for the 1st walk of the day, she is going to have to wait a few hours. It's their morning nap time anyway so a few hours will not hurt.


It could be close but it looks like the yard could be mowed again this afternoon, after just mowing it three days ago. With all the rain, that is how fast it is growing. Besides the normal hound morning routine, all of us have already made a drive to the post office and a swing by the Dairy Queen drive thru.

While I ate my bacon, egg and cheese biscuit at home, Sadie, Stella and Heidi had bully sticks. They were more than happy with that.

The hay was too wet for Stella but not Sadie. As you can see it's getting over 30" tall and in some places where they have dumped their tanks all winter, the hay is as tall as my chest. Out in some parts of the field it doesn't reach my knees.

Stella found something that she was trying to dig out of the ground with her nose ... not sure what that was but there was nothing hanging from her mouth as she raised her head. So whatever it was she did not eat it.

As you can tell she is pretty motivated to get her day started.

After the Dairy Queen breakfast, their bully sticks and a fresh application of water/vinegar sprayed on Heidi ... all of them decided it was time to go outside. I mentioned the other day that when we came back from our walk that Heidi was walking up the driveway almost past her boundary. I did not know how close to the road she had gone while we were gone. She has never gone down by the highway.

Today I found out where she had been. I moved out of sight just to see where she was going. She normally poops up by the top of the yard but today and in a couple of times prior, by the evidence, she has decided she likes the middle of the yard right now. She had just walked straight out from the yard to the driveway when I took this photo.

Of course Sadie was concerned and watched her all the way. She knows that is too far than the allowed boundary. She touched noses with Heidi at the corner of the carport just to remind her of the rules.

I am going to resist posting any photos of Heidi's skin until next week. I will say after just a few days of the water, vinegar mixture I am seeing improvement. The amount of vinegar amounts to 40% of the water weight. So in the batch I made, 48oz of water equaled 3.2oz of vinegar.

The spray bottle works much better and faster than applying it with cotton balls. After spraying an area I dab it with a dry cloth to keep it from dripping ... but the skin is still saturated with the mixture.

How can I tell it's improving? Her skin color is staying normal color up to nighttime instead of turning red by noon. She is itching a lot less. The yeast infected skin is falling off in large portions. She is more active and her tail is wagging more than it has. This morning when I asked if she wanted to go for a ride in the car, she jumped off the bed and headed to the FJ.

For the time being I want to keep her from doing the daily walk, just in case the tall grass, hay or wild plants activates her allergies. I want to give this water/vinegar mix a chance to work.

I've never had problems with Fridays that have dates of the 13th ... most of my self inflicted injuries over the years have occurred on or around cinco de mayo weekends.

It's a beautiful morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Please Stop Raining

Today has had the feel of rain to it but the radar didn't show anything until late this afternoon. Could be a short rain shower and then three of the next four days will be sunny, based on the 10-day forecast.

With weather like that, not much is done except a lot of reading on the internet or my current book. All of the hounds sleep most of the time without wanting to go outside. I guess we need days like this to make up for the months of June, July and August.

After the strong winds last night this was the only sign of any damage and it's not really damage. A few green leaves were blown off the trees but didn't find anything else. My Exede Satellite Internet signal stayed strong throughout the storm.

After lunch the hounds wanted to check to see if there was any chance for a walk. Stella didn't get much further than the carport ... until Sadie touched noses and then led her to the field.

They were ready for the walk but the ground was still too saturated. I had to talk them into coming back inside and wait a few hours. This all seems to be pretty boring to me to blog about. It is the fast paced life we lead here in 'the tropics' ... not much changes from day to day. I think they have scared all of the deer away for the rest of the summer.

I know it's way to early to judge whether the new mix of water/vinegar is working but Heidi's skin looks as good mid-day as it does first thing in the morning. That is usually not the case. I have noticed she had spent a lot less time itching last night and today.

The tops of her paws looked really good this morning. Normal skin color was still hanging in there late this afternoon. Usually that skin has turned red by late afternoon. I have put the mixture in a spray bottle that has a mist setting and that seems to work better than me dipping cotton balls into the mixture and spreading it that way.

I have also noticed some skin has been shedding from her chest and stomach. I remember last year the vet said not to expect any hair to grow back on her paws, rear legs or the rear hocks ... so I am happy there is signs of hair growth.

By mid-afternoon I wanted to get the hounds walked before the rain was to show up. It was wet, too wet but we took off anyway. I was sure I felt some drops of rain when I started but we were able to finish the walk without any kind of rain.

They both acted like there was something to chase today, active. Luckily nothing jumped out of the woods and they stayed pretty close to me most of the walk. Stella always likes to see if I will let her escape to her 'no fly zone' but always comes back when I call her.

You can't get ears on bloodhounds much straighter than that!!  LOL

It's even hard for me to tell them apart in the photos. I thought a new collar would make a difference a few months ago but it's too close to the faded red collar that Sadie wears. Stella has the black on her tail.

Sadie decided that she would be the one to hang back a little toward the end of the walk, so she could sprint home. That is good for her weight reduction program.

That's about all today from 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.