Surprise Visitor Thursday Night

With it being such a busy day I am late posting today on the blog. I am sitting down to do this one at 11:30pm.

I'm up late every night so that isn't an issue. It was a busy day, and I did a couple of things I had not planned on which took most of the afternoon. Then it was football and a baseball game on different channels that took up most of the evening.

Stella decided this morning there wasn't much to check out, she walked to the edge of the yard, looked at Sadie, then turned to come inside. When the weather was hot a few weeks ago she would head out to the middle of the field and wouldn't leave during that early morning trip.

Thursday night, close to 7pm, as I walked into my "computer room", something was out in the field. I couldn't tell if it was an animal or a possible sack of some kind that had blown into the field. I tried to check it out with my zoom lens on the camera and snapped this very poor photo through the mini blinds while standing inside. I didn't know how long that foreign unidentified object would stay there.

After a few minutes and four more poor quality photos, I decided to try to keep the bloodhounds inside and very quietly walk outside to try to get a photo of it before it ran/flew away. Not only was I able to stand there taking photos of it, it was in no rush. Strange how the hounds like deer scat and the broad wing hawk likes dog poop.

I could tell from where it was, that was most likely what it was eating. During the walk this morning I checked that area right on our path and all the dog poop was gone. I guess all forms of recycling are good.

I had to make a noise for it to fly away. The hounds were still inside standing at the door but were making no noises to come outside. Evidently they didn't smell the hawk. For some reason Stella decided months ago that she would stop opening the door on her own to go outside, so they were both looking out the screen door when went back to get them.

You can barely see it in the trees, in the center of the photo.

I went back inside to let Sadie and Stella outside. They came outside and had no idea who or what had been close to their yard. They didn't show any signs of running into the field to track it. They just needed to pee before the baseball game started and headed back inside.

Today was another nice day and even though we all were late risers, we were able to get two different walks in today plus some of the typical domestic stuff around the house. Heidi ??  She slept most of the day wrapped up in her sleeping bag with the windows open.

Stella decided on both walks today that she would cooperate and walk near Sadie and I. I didn't say a word the whole way and let the hounds go where their noses led them.

With Sadie not wearing a collar the past few months, it's easier to tell them apart. At times Stella looks like she has gotten bigger this past year but from a different angle, she looks the same.

On the way back on the first walk, they both took off as if they had found gold somewhere, or some food, but it turned out to be nothing.

Shortly after washing my dishes, for some strange reason I had this sudden urge to bring out the Rug Doctor Pro carpet cleaner that I have and clean the carpets. I normally do it in the spring and fall anyway but I usually plan in advance to do the job. That task has never been an impulsive act.

It didn't take long while the hounds were barricaded in the bedroom with the baby gate blocking the doorway. With one hound walk already taken, all of them slept through the noise of the carpet cleaner.

After all the equipment was cleaned up and put away, the fans turned on to help dry the carpet ... it was nice enough for the 2nd walk of the day. I may have said summer is over in my opinion but the forecast shows three days next week in the high 80's ... I'll not be complaining.

Before I could even get my first photos of the 2nd walk taken, Sadie and Stella were sprinting for the first corner in the field. I was sure they had smelled deer in the area but when I looked at the horizon ready to take photos ... I didn't see any deer activity. Maybe they were just happy to be let out of 'jail'.

They gave me a chance to catch them ... then they moved to their normal spots. I could tell some of the leaves had changed color even since this morning.

Most of the way home both Stella and Sadie were walking right next to me or right behind me. They were too close to take photos even with the 18mm setting.  About the time we were close to the yard, I could see Heidi over by the trees in the backyard. She has been spending more and more time outside alone just roaming the yard and laying in the sunshine. It's good to see her spending more time outside.

As always, Sadie had to run over to her, touch noses and see if she was okay.

I plan to plant new grass seed where that area of dirt is. It goes down a small bank and then over toward the fence. That has had the same wild brush growing there for years that was on the right side of the trees until April 2015.

Over by the fence the English Ivy has taken over. I had hoped it would have taken over the wild brush over the years but it didn't happen ... so I have a few more roots to dig out and will plant grass next spring, maybe some rye this fall to keep the weeds out and have some ground cover.

She is still not gaining weight .. stuck at 36 pounds and has been that weight since June 2015.

We have a full day of football Saturday and Sunday with the MLB Playoff games mixed in during them. That means a lot of work with the remote changing channels during commercials of different games.

I made vegan chili and it's in the crock pot to cook on low all night so by the first game at noon Saturday it should be a good meal while watching football.

I had a really bad fight tonight with myself, resisting the urge to buy some Haagen Das ice cream just down the highway. Drinking water wasn't working and I finally had to think about something else to get ice cream out of my thoughts.

So I looked at my friend's car lot online, it's where I buy most of my cars. They had a 2007 Toyota FJ, silver, basic model for sale. Just looking through the 21 photos of that FJ erased the urge for ice cream.

It will be sunny and 70's tomorrow in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana on Saturday.

Where Did Summer Go?

Wasn't it just weeks ago that the first picture of the blog was always of sunshine and hot temperatures? Maybe it's the overcast skies or the cooler temps ... but summer feels like it happened long ago.

I am not a fan of winter ... I love hot weather. I could see from the clouds today it was going to be about the same as late afternoon yesterday. Which is okay I guess but I prefer sunshine.

I thought I might catch this farmer a couple of fields away across the highway but by the time I picked up the camera and ran into the front yard to get an angle to see him, he was already to the edge of the field.

It looked like a large mower where he was mowing his corn stalks to ground level. I could tell there were some difference in the height of the corn stalks based on the path he had created.

It started raining about the time I took the photo above and he disappeared to side of the field to his left which is blocked by the row of trees. I never could tell if he was mowing or cutting the stalks to ground level and that became more confusing when I saw both sides of his machine in the upright position so he could travel down the highway.

What ever he was towing did not look like mower blades when he lifted each side to the upright position for traveling down the highway. Before I could really tell what they were, he was out of sight.

With cooler temps today it really didn't matter when we took the walks. Before the hounds went anywhere they had to check out the 'new area' where I had mowed yesterday. I'm sure there are a lot of new scents for them to check out. It's nice not having to pull out 5-6 burrs from each hound now that the ragweed has been cut.

Stella thought that Sadie may have started the walk without her this morning and without me ... but when I yelled 'coffee' Sadie came running to the house. That word 'coffee' seems to work first thing in the morning to get both hounds to come back to the house so I can have MY coffee ... it's not for them.

By the time we started the walk today the sun was barely out, no wind and the temps were a bit nippy. Like I have said before, for whatever the reason, I don't believe we are going to see the bright vibrant colors when the leaves change color this year. So far those bright colors have not shown up before the leaves have died.

By the first turn I thought Stella might decide to walk with us today but once again she found that one spot she likes and stayed behind. Sadie moved out toward the middle of the field for a short time but sprinted back to the area where the deer hang out.

As long as their noses get a workout I know they are enjoying their walk.

While we continued to walk, Stella never moved from that spot. It came to the point I actually thought she might not move until Sadie and I had walked all the way up to her.

While looking through the lens at her, she acted as if she became startled or surprised that we had left her. It was nothing new having her stay back while we walked but she acted as if she was surprised and came sprinting on the path we had taken.

Her nose made a change and she started to move in our direction. Once she saw us, she stopped running and slowly walked toward us, almost with a look of disappointment.

Of coarse Sadie had to make nose to nose contact to make sure it was Stella.

I have continued to look at different internet options and I have called again today with the local company that installed my Exede Satellite Dish in 2014. Even moving to DishNet and keeping that 15Gb per month at the speed I have now, it's the identical cost.

I called the local company I had before Exede to see if anything had happened in the past two years, possibly having wireless internet in my area. They offer a much lower monthly fee and UNLIMITED data .... but ... the trees I have on the north side of the house block would block the signal from their tower a mile or so away.

DishNetwork tells me they can give me the same TV programming for $35 less per month, guaranteed for 2 years, plus add the Pac12 Network that I would love to have so I could see ALL of the Washington Husky games here in Indiana. I can see them on ABC or ESPN at times but not every game. Once again that is a contract issue (money) between the Pac12 Conference and Directv.

I did have a Directv customer service rep tell me things have changed since AT&T bought Directv and a lot of those things are not as good as Directv had before, so he did not know if they would ever get Pac12 or not.

I noticed something interesting last night as I was downloading photos from my iPhone to the computer. Due to only 5Gb of iCloud storage I do not have that on automatic settings to synchornize with every picture is taken by my iPhone. I found it interesting the difference in picture quality of the two photos I took just minutes apart, with the same lighting.

Can you tell which photo is from my iPhone and which one I took with my Nikon D3200 w/Tamron lens?

The back seats are still upright in the FJ but the more I thought about it yesterday ... the hounds have to be able to ride even on short trips. I'll just have to plan to vacuum the inside out more often and maybe a weekly swipe to clean the inside of the FJ windows. I do the same inside my house so why not the FJ?

I can confirm that Google Chrome uses less data than Firefox and Safari, for those that work with a data limit to be on the internet. That data also includes what it takes to upload a lot of photos into a blog for any post that you are writing.

As I sit here wearing cargo shorts and a sweatshirt, I am declaring that fall is officially here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

Hounds Had A Huge Surprise

It's been a week where I keep forgetting or get mixed up on what the day of the week it is. That could be from staying up lately past 3am on a regular basis.

The air had a feel of rain this morning but the forecast showed it wasn't possible until after midnight tonight. The winds were pretty strong from the SW - S, strong enough where I had hopes it would blow what leaves I have out of the yard.

Sadie and Stella inspected the backyard and the field this morning, since they had some major excitement last night a little past 7pm. We had gone outside and it was so nice I decided to take a break from the baseball game on tv, pulled up a chair to enjoy the last part of the day.

The mistake was, I changed my camera lens back to the Nikon 55-200mm because I wanted to see if it was really giving me more color in my photos compared to the new Tamron. Once again the intermittent performance of the lens cost me in some great photos.

Why? ... the hounds had an unexpected deer chase.

Sadie was standing beside me while I rubbed her back when all of the sudden her head pointed to toward the field with her ears cocked up and her nostrils moving really fast ... I looked to see what got her excited ... a deer was not only standing but actually walked from the edge of the field by the woods towards us. I started trying to take photos of that but the Nikon LENS DID NOT WORK !!!!

By the time the lens focused the deer was almost back into the woods.

Of coarse both took off after their surprise. The deer turned and headed for the woods once she heard Stella baying as she ran. That is Sadie leading the pack but by the time they got to that edge of the field Stella had beat Sadie to the spot.

Stella made one final inspection to make sure the deer was gone.

So, this morning both of them had to double check and make sure that deer had not been near their yard while they slept last night.

After their lunch we took off for the first of two walks today. Heidi was barking to go outside but she didn't want to walk and stayed back to do her own inspection in the yard while we were gone.

I am assuming moles are pushing the ground up in the field like this ... am I correct?

With the wind blowing from the south, it sure felt like rain in the air. As I glanced back to see where Stella was (on the left) I could see the skies in the west looking like rain was near. Looking at maps when I got back home, the rain is in the center of Illinois so maybe our local forecast is correct.

About the time that Sadie and I were on our way back to the house ... starting the 'last half' of the walk, Stella had picked up a scent and was moving across the field at a fast pace in front of us but going in a direct away from us.

I was actually surprised that she stopped, turned and headed toward us when I yelled "hey Stella".

As we made the last turn I asked Sadie "where's Heidi" ? She immediately took off further up the path to see if Heidi was waiting like she does at times when she comes on the walk. I knew that Heidi was back at the house but wanted to see Sadie's reaction.

Of coarse when Sadie took off running, Stella had to also just in case she was missing something that Sadie was getting.

Sadie stands looking for Heidi.

Sadie is double checking to see if Heidi is behind us. Still no sign of Heidi.

She then turned and started trotting toward the house trying to pick up Heidi's scent.

When she saw Heidi in the yard, she ran over and touched noses like she always does. The camera caught a moving semi truck in the background.

Heidi is becoming more active each day. Her nails have been cut back shorter than they have ever been, could that be the reason? I have also changed her dog food.

Heidi is just making sure Stella is who she says she is.

One last scratch in the yard before we go inside.

If you remember from a few weeks ago when they cut the hay field for the 2nd time, they left the corner of the field by my yard uncut because it was all giant ragweed. I was going to clear it out but had not made up my mind which way I was going to do it. The neighbor who owns the field stopped by a few weeks ago as he toured the edge of the field in his pickup truck and mentioned he wished they had cut the field further back close to the wooded area.

In prior years they have cut that area all the way over to the edge on the far right side of the photo above but it was never full of ragweed like it was this summer. I like it being cut because that gets rid of all of those small burrs that not only attached to the hounds skin but my shoes, shorts, or shirt when we walk. The hounds also like eating those burrs that are attached to the ragweed or the brush it is mixed with.

I decided a few weeks ago to start the process I'd cut all of that ragweed with the Echo Weed Eater that had the steel blade and could cut saplings up to 2" in diameter. When I couldn't get the Echo SRM-225U started after a week of trying ... I pulled out my manual tree and shrub trimmers.

The plan was to cut the giant ragweed, let it dry out in the field and then take it over to my burn pile. That was a slow process, so I decided I'd continue to cut and let it dry in the field ... only burn it right where it laid. With Stella supervising my work, you can tell there were a lot of delays in the job.

You can see that even after I made my first cut with the manual pruning shears there was still a lot left. That is when I decided I'd wait for that to dry out and then burn it with my water hose nearby so I would not catch the field on fire.

The problem was ... the burrs ... the hounds were bringing them inside, they were eating them and were getting stuck in their coats. While I was cutting everything they were in my socks, on my shirt, wrapped among my shoe strings ... so I became a little more motivated to get rid of that brush. Plus I didn't like the way it looked.

I kept cutting and then dragging the tall stalks to my burn pile but that wasn't working as well as I had planned. My burn pile was getting taller and on the edge of being unsafe, since the flames will get 15'-20' high.

Yesterday I cut more and started to rake it over to the burn pile but the brush was too thick for a garden rake ... so the thought of burning it where it was even a better idea.

A new day brings a new idea. Now not wanting to burn it and taking a chance on catching the field on fire I decided that my small mower set at the highest level ... could turn into a small brush mower. I took the shrub trimmers and was able to cut the brush and ragweed pretty close to ground level.

I raised my mower to the highest level and mowed over all the dead brush along with any of the green stuff I had not cut yet. I later called my neighbor (owns the field) and told him I had made "a command decision" and had cut the brush back ... something he tried to do with his riding mower last spring.

So before:

And after:

Not bad for a small 22" Sears Craftsman 6ph push mower. If I could only have it get rid of my yard moles, things would be perfect.

As much as I would like to use Firefox as my browser I have already moved back to Google Chrome .. in fact, I changed the browser in the middle of writing this post.

Firefox started today by having all of my websites zoomed to less than 100%. The highest I could adjust the text and screen was 125% but it would jump back to less than 100% ... which is too small on my 27" monitor. Once I started this blog and loading all of the photos ... which I load all the photos first and then type commentary between them (the fastest way to write on Blogger) ... Firefox would get to the last photo and never load it ... just set there working trying to load that last photo while hanging up my screen.

I saved the blog post, opened Google Chrome and went back to the blog post to finish it without any issues loading photos nor screen size.

In my "Activity Monitor" I am also seeing that Google Chrome uses less data than Firefox does in the same amount of time doing the same kind of web surfing and writing a blog post.

Speaking of data again ... I called AT&T last night out of curiosity. I had the most recent flyer in front of me, giving me all those great bargains to come back to AT&T for my wireless internet and phone.

Where the customer service rep I talked to a few nights ago was ready to place the order and everything in my location checked out on his AT&T computer ... trying to get me to make the decision that night .... it was a different story last night.

The AT&T customer service rep checked out my location and told me that AT&T wireless internet was not available where I lived, nor was streaming tv on Directv through the AT&T system nor was their U-verse television service. The only thing available was AT&T cell phone service.

Just like I had assumed when I got the flyer ... I was not going back to AT&T when I have dependable service with Directv, Exede Satellite Internet and Verizon for my cell phone.

Well I have to go ... Sadie is giving me the "stare down" to let me know she would like to walk now before the rains show up.

The wind is blowing the leaves off the trees today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.