Coldest Day Yet Makes Me Ramble

There was no early rising this morning, normal time. A chill was in the air, colder than I have felt this fall so far.

Normal routine with all 3 hounds outside the very first thing, while I pour the breakfast kibble. All of them are waiting at the door by the time I am finished and the only time they are not interested in roaming in the field.

Yet, when that door opened for the first time to let them out ... a rude awakening ... it was freezing and the wind was blowing to make it feel even colder.

My iPhone weather app was saying it was 21° and felt like 10° at 8am. I was doubtful it would warm up too much while I had my hot coffee and checked the latest sports, news and blogs online. Sadie hit me with her stare around 9:15am to go for a walk ... it wasn't happening. I wasn't finished with my 2nd cup yet and I could tell it was still cold outside.

By 10am Sadie won the stare down contest. The Oboz hiking shoes were put on along with the down coat, wool cap under the hood along with ski gloves. I wasn't too far into the walk and I could tell it was really ... really cold. You'll see though it doesn't affect the hounds. They were on their walk and happy.

Stella hung back and I kept walking and picking up my pace a little. I was hoping they would both come toward me on the way back if I yelled their names.

You can see in this next picture the worn path that Sadie has her nose buried in. That is a path worn down by deer traffic and followed along that brush all the way to the far right corner of the field.

I continued walking fairly fast. My face was frozen, finger tips were cold even inside the ski gloves and the wind was stronger than we had felt in a while. The weather app was showing 20mph winds from the west.

Just as I turned around to see where Stella was, she had already sprinted up to catch Sadie.

I turned and kept walking, veering along the path following the back edge of the field. Both hounds were in their favorite far right corner.

Just as I made the final turn to head back home the wind hit me squarely in my face ... instant freeze. Sadie glanced up and saw I was heading back so she came running toward me. As she ran up next to me she nudged my hand with her nose, I guess letting me know she was there.

It took Stella a little longer but she came the first time I yelled her name. That doesn't mean she will walk straight to the house though. She always has more places to stop and explore.

She might be headed your direction but in an instant she can turn in a different direction if her nose picks up something she just has to smell.

I was happy to see both hounds fairly close to each other and kind of heading in the right direction but they were slow and I was freezing.

By the time I got to the corner of the house they had not moved but my camera lens zoomed into 200mm to get this next picture. I could tell they were not interested in coming inside. I was, I was freezing.

By the time I got my coat, gloves and cap off and just had slid the SD card into the computer I hear Sadie run up against the door to let me know she wants in. I glanced out the window to see that Stella had not moved. It didn't take another 5 minutes, to see that Stella was no where to be seen when I looked at the window ... I had to go get her.

She had ventured over to the woods behind the neighbors house, another area the deer like to hang out. She came when I called her but she knew she had gone outside her boundary. How did I know? She had her head down and her tail tucked between her legs as she ran for the yard.  Smart hound.

By the time lunch rolled around, the house was cold. Some of the newer readers don't know about my effort to save as much electrical use as possible during the winter. I pay my electric bill on 'the budget plan', meaning I pay the same amount every month whether the AC is running full steam ahead in July or the baseboard electric heaters are running in the summer.

Long time readers know I like to analyze and I love Excel spreadsheets. So I have both on my electrical usage. Granted it was a warmer than usual winter last year but the summers were hotter and I was still able to get a $120 refund check in the mail last May, which is the month that the utility company settle up ... they either pay me with a refund or I pay them the balance where my total monthly payments didn't cover the bill. The the monthly amount is adjusted for the following 12 months.

My spreadsheets show if I am on track for a refund or expect to pay. I also do it not only for financial reasons but also trying not to waste electric. Similar to recycling all of my paper, glass and plastics and also taking one 32gl trash can with a 36gl bag of trash for $2. It looks like in 2016 I will have paid only $18 in trash ... before the circuits in my brain lit up last year I was paying $20 per month to have the truck stop every Thursday morning at 4am to pick up that one 36gl trash bag. There were some weeks I had no trash to set up ... so I now paid $18 instead of $240.

I am not broke being retired, I have plenty to live on and still save/invest excess funds every month ... but I hate 'wasting' money, no matter how small it might seem. That was a major conflict of mine while working in the government either as an employee or contractor in the field of account. There was so much waste it made me sick at times.

So I will continue to monitor the cost of turning on some heat every once in a while. Today around noon was one of those times. My living room was down to 52°, my computer room was at 56° and my hands were cold. So we blasted the heat for a timed hour  but after only 35 minutes I was too hot!!!! I had used only 3 kilowatts including all the other electrical appliances running and the room temperatures rose higher than I am comfortable with ... such as being too hot.

While talking to a DirecTV rep last night about AT&T's offer of free data while streaming on any device through DirecTV our conversation got off track discussing different internet browsers. He too had used Google Chrome for a long time but said he found the recent improvements on Firefox make it his default browser and that I should check it out.

In our discussed we even went as far back as Netscape, my favorite browser from the mid to late 1990's. He told me that Firefox was built off that platform and all the big companies had invested money into Mozilla to build a safe and secure browser many years ago and continue to supply funding today. Those were Microsoft, Apple, and Google ... all competitors in the internet browser industry.  So that is what I have been using since last night while make a few preference tweaks along the way.

Al over at The Bayfield Bunch posted last night that he too was noticing his photos on Blogger just didn't seem sharp and clear. I made a comment on what I had found. He and Mark had been discussing this issue and it's a discussion Mark and I had last summer about the same problem.

This is what I have found even as recently as this morning when I made a post on my Wordpress blog as well as when I wrote about it on this blog last winter and last summer. The same photos on this blog don't look sharp after they are posted ... EXCEPT ... when I look at them on Apple's 'retina' display which my iMac does not have but my iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air does. One those devices these photos are sharp, clear and crisp.

This morning when I posted on my Wordpress blog those pictures were sharp, clear, and crisp ... same pictures. So it has to be something with the Blogger platform or Google might be compressing the picture file size like they do in Google Photos.

On another topic ... I continue to see the Bloodhound breed is MUCH MORE DEMANDING than the Basset Hound breed. At times that is a PIA. I have mentioned here in the past 6 months or so that after these hounds have passed I would be houndless for the first time since 1987. I do not plan to replace them with other hounds ... but lately I've been thinking that might not happen but I will test the waters so to speak about life without any hounds. If I were to have just one hound it will be a Basset Hound not a Bloodhound ... too different and too hard to handle as I would get older. At times I forget how old I really am, I don't feel my age.

I do know that if I had just Heidi or no hounds I would be out in the middle of the desert somewhere boondocking with a small trailer or tent camping. There is NO way that Stella would be a good camping hound ... to obnoxious.

We made numerous trips outside today and Sadie would have probably stayed outside forever but Stella was always running back to the house after dumping her tanks. Due to the freezing temps we cancelled the afternoon walk.

I know winter has just started but how many days until spring?? It's too cold for me here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

Hounds Negotiate a 2nd Walk

I knew as I was pouring out breakfast kibble a little after 4am, that the hounds would probably want their lunch by 10am if not earlier. What would I do? Sure enough, around 9:23am, Stella found me and starts nudging me with her nose. When I looked at her she started howling, Heidi started barking and Sadie started her hopping up and down ... they wanted lunch now.

Seeing it had been close to 5-1/2 hours since they had eaten breakfast, I served them lunch almost 3 hours earlier than normal. They were all back to a sound sleep within minutes after their trip outside, their normal routine after lunch. As predicted a siesta took place in the afternoon and it wasn't 5 minutes after I woke up later in the afternoon, that the hounds are wanting a 3rd meal of the day ... wasn't going to  happen.

So a 2nd walk took place as a negotiated solution. Although it was a good ten degrees warmer, I still wasn't that excited about going back outside. Yet, I was the one that threw their schedule off by getting them up in the middle of the night to start their day this morning at 4am, so it was the thing to do.

They were more than happy with that decision as both of them ran by me to start the walk and then headed for their recently claimed favorite stops.

Whenever Sadie looks at one of the neighbors houses near the first turn, I never see anyone outside nor any animals around. I am not sure what she smells.

With Stella hanging back, Stella took off on her own and wasn't waiting for me nor Stella.

Every time I get curious enough to walk over and look at what has their nose pressed to the ground ... I find nothing. No scat, no worms but both hounds are always hanging out in these same areas.

I continued my walking knowing based on the past few walks, both hounds would eventually catch up with me as I walked the last part toward the house.

Up in the far right corner, Sadie was all over that area with her tail up and her nose to the ground while moving in different directions, darting from spot to spot.

By this time I have made the last turn and headed home. Stella still on that same spot as she was when I was not even as far as the back edge of the field.

When I saw Sadie look up at me in the distance I knew she'd come running but she had just one more place to check out on the way.

It's good to see Sadie get a couple of good runs in every day. At her age, weight gain can be a health problem.

While Sadie was walking next to me, Stella was about to head to the far right corner of the field. You may not believe this but I've seen Sadie do this over and over for at least since she was two years old. She ran over to Stella and touched noses ... Stella then changed direction and headed the same direction Sadie was running, toward the house.

Whatever Sadie told her, she got her ass in gear and took off sprinting toward the house not waiting for me to walk with them.

Looks like we will get our first snow this Sunday and by next week the high temps will not get out of the teens. Still that is just a prediction as weather her in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana can change in an instant.

Back to the bookshelf for another book.

The Hounds Test Out 27°

It's good that the hounds are flexible since they live with someone that has a few crazy tendencies and being retired isn't the cause. Let's just say today it was great that they are flexible, but nothing too serious that would harm their routine.

A few months ago I couldn't get to sleep and would spend most nights staying up until 2 or 3 am and would still have to force myself to go to bed. I'm a 'night person' by nature, always have been. About two weeks ago all of that changed.

I started going to bed before midnight, then gradually that kept moving earlier to 10:30pm. It was pretty consistent until last night as I was reading while sitting on the couch, then laying in one half of the couch while Stella took up the other half.

I headed for bed and it was only 9:07pm. I don't recall being awake longer than a couple of minutes. Of coarse going to bed that early only meant I would most likely be getting up early ... but I didn't think it would be that early. I was wide awake by 2am, and tried to get back to sleep until 4am ... when I gave up.

I flicked on the lights, woke up all the hounds. They were a little confused but by the time the kitchen light was turned on and coffee was being made they had figured out it was time for breakfast ... even if it was pitch black outside.

Stella howls just as loud inside the house at 4am as she does at 7:30am. She knows the kibble has been poured out and all I have to do is sit the bowls on the floor in each of their spaces. Sadie and Stella finished their bowl in less than a minute, Heidi takes her time and finishes a couple of minutes later. Sadie was the only one that wanted to go outside. She was trained at 12 weeks old of going outside after every meal ... she continues that 8+ years later.

Stella and Heidi had other plans though. They could tell it was dark and that meant it was still not too late to get some sleep in before daybreak, so they both trotted for the bedroom full of Mexican blankets and sleeping bags. Sadie eventually joined them after she figured out things were not normal this morning.

I can say it's warmer outside at 4am than it is a t 6:30am. I like that time of day outside between 2am-4am. My inside thermometer may have said it was 60° but it felt much colder as we approached daybreak.

By 8am we headed out for an early walk with the weather apps telling me it was 27°. I pulled the Mountain Hardwear down coat out of the closet, traded the lighter gloves for my ski gloves and threw on a wook ski cap even though the down jacket comes with a hood.

Stella sprinted to the back of the field directly in back of the house.

It was within seconds that I could feel winter had arrived. It felt much colder and I am thinking this year I might have to buy a pair of lined jeans, new ski pants or some Carharts. Each year it feels colder than the last when we take these walks.

I could see fresh deer hoof prints in the frosted grass ... none of the four pictures I took of them were any good, too blurry. But the hounds knew they were there and acted like it was all new stuff to them.

I wasn't sure what there pace would be today but I knew what mine was going to be ... non-stop.

Sadie as usual will not be left behind.

As you can see, Stella is different ... no amount of calling her will make her move, until she wants to move. Sadie and continued around the first turn.

You could hear the frozen grass crunching while Sadie ran.

She found it first and Stella joined her soon after.

Stella letting me know they are going to be there for a while, don't bother waiting.

Those are only three of the six large barnes to raise turkeys. I was told over 40,000 but I can't remember if that is per year, per month or per quarter.

Sadie gives Stella a look but decided it was cold enough to sprint to me and then head home. She has seen enough.

Sorry for the blurriness of the pictures. I am not sure it was the thick ski gloves that was moving the camera or the glove fingers slightly moving it when I took the picture.

Stella is more interested staying there rather than getting out of the cold ... or so I thought.

About the time she got to Sadie and I, they both took off, not waiting to see if I was following them or not.

Still maintaining the distance in front of me. The zoom lens make them look closer to me than they were.

It must have been cold because Stella did not hesitate getting home. I barely caught her in this picture since she was trotting for the house, with Sadie already at the door to be let back inside.

Heidi in the meantime had a "Do Not Disturb" sign on her blankets. She was sleeping when we left and snoring when we got back. She will come back to life around lunch time or if she hears me fixing my lunch.

I had so much time on my hands this morning you may notice I added some old and some new blogs to the sidebar. Since I like most things equal, I also edited my 'label' section on the right sidebar and doubled the number of labels to make it pretty close to even with the left sidebar.

For the first time, I added a gadget that counts the number of visitors and installed that at the bottom of the blog. By the time I finished the daily ration of 2 cups of coffee near 6am I wondered if an afternoon siesta might be in store later this afternoon. You can do that as often as you like when you are retired ... I am still telling myself after 32 months, retiring was the best decision I ever made.

I may break the 2 cup limit and fix at least one more cup of coffee to have while I read. Even with the heat turned on, it just didn't feel warm enough so I pulled out one of my space heaters designed like the old steam registers. It wasn't long before Stella as sitting right beside it as close as possible getting her ears warm.

Only Heidi has ridden in the 'new' FJ. I still enjoy how clean it is so the bloodhounds have not been in back, nor have I folded the back seats down yet. It's nice to have a clean vehicle I guess but today may be the day they get their first ride. I need to get out of the house and they would just sleep in the back anyway.

I saw my old FJ on the Toyota dealership site for sale. Obviously everything is fixed and I do admit I felt a little buyers remorse when I saw it. I kind of miss the radial look of the Voodoo Blue set up compared to the stock look with running boards. Yet, once I feel how smooth this one rides and I glance to see I have almost 30,000 fewer miles ... I feel better about the transaction.

I guess as usual the hounds will dictate how much we do today ... but it's cold, really cold so that means a lot of book reading.

The tundra has arrived here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.