Can The Hounds Handle This Pace?

Just a couple of months short of 3 years, "we knew the job would be dangerous when we took it" ... retirement that is.

I knew I would be leaving days full of meetings, and deadlines to becoming a full-time 'doorman' for the hounds. Their day might change a little, while mine would be changing a lot. There was Winston at that time, no Stella. Only one bloodhound unlike now. Yet, Stella has adapted to the fast pace of retirement very well.

Long time blog readers know there isn't a lot of change from day to day here in 'the tropics'. This fast paced lifestyle even bores me at times and I find it hard to blog about it. Seeing all three hounds everyday is a motivating factor to keep blogging. Seasons determine how much gets done around here. One of four of them will determine if we are hibernating or doing new projects outside ... with some of those projects happening every spring. As long as the weather is good, we get two hound walks in per day.

Stella continues her new routine of walking with Sadie and I. She might lag back a little but now it's only for her to stop so she can scratch what is itching her. In between the walks all three of the hounds sleep most of the time, unless it's time for lunch. I read today the average amount of time a dog sleeps is 16 hours per day, that seems like a lot. They let me know when I have gone past meal time.

I'm not sure of the reason but it seems to me that both hounds have lost some of their energy lately. Is that because they feel it's still winter as they wait for the hot sunshine in the spring and summer to get them running more, playing more? We will see and it's something I have to keep an eye on I think. Otherwise they act normal for bloodhounds and bassets.

They didn't spend a lot of time in the far right corner this morning. Just a quick run through to check out some smells and they were back up with me. It was nice this morning, mid 40's, sun was out. There are many consecutive days in the 60's about 3 days away ... that should carry us through the month of February and very hard to believe after three months of winter.

It might be because they are female hounds but there has never been a fight between Sadie and Stella when they find the same thing in the field or eat the same kibble only a few feet apart. That's good because I am not sure I could break them up due to their size. Not only are they big but strong. Heidi holds her own when it comes to eating. Her bowl is a good 6' feet away from the larger hounds.

On the way back this morning I saw Stella behind us itching whatever is bothering her lately. Without calling her, she ran to catch up with Sadie and I. The leash has been in my pocket every walk but has not been used in a while. It would only take a deer chase to change this laidback pace.

I've had a slow leak in the rear tire of the Z4. I have been putting air into the tire on a more frequent basis, so I ran it over to the local tire shop today between hound walks to see what they could find. It was just a small bead leak and an easy fix.

Stella has been on a record pace lately as far as NOT causing damage while I am gone. It's been over two months now since her last separation anxiety attack. I hope she has realized that this is where she lives and that I will return after those times I leave the house. At 18 months living here, it is the longest she has lived anywhere in her 7 years.

To some it would be a pretty boring Tuesday but it's the norm around here. I have a lot of things I want to do this spring and summer around the house so it will be busier than last summer. With Stella's desire to 'drift away' while outside, I will have to put her on the 80' tether in the field while I work. She doesn't mind it.

This afternoon's walk was about as slow as you can imagine. Sadie walked close to me most of the the walk, not far enough away to take any pictures. Stella didn't run but walked most of the way a few paces behind us. I swear I can hear her dragging her feet when she walks that slow.

I've spent more time on the computer this week doing some reading and research, therefore my book reading has decreased a lot compared to the past two weeks. Maybe it's the subject matter that has slowed me down.

The reminder from the Cincinnati Reds page on Facebook tells me opening day is only 48 days away. Hard to believe they started spring training yesterday with pitchers and catchers, with the rest of the team starting in a few days ... with spring training games in a couple of weeks. It seems like MLB season gets longer each year.

The rest of our afternoon didn't change much. The hounds went back to sleep after their 2nd walk. I grabbed a salad and went back to reading on the internet while watching traffic on the highway outside the large window.

I was wondering if it will snow sometime in March? What did I tell you, it's a furious pace to try to keep up with.

One of the best winters ever here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

A Great Winter So Far

I know it's still early in the winter but I have to say that this winter has been mild here in 'the tropics'. We haven't had any snow to speak of. Ground cover does not count.

I look out ten days on the forecast and I am seeing 4 days this week in the high 60s. That gets us close to the end of February.

Now there is still a chance for all hell to break lose with snow blizzards but that did not happen last year either. We missed all the storms north of us. I do remember in the past wearing t-shirt and shorts on the 7th of March and I can remember the blizzard was so bad they declared a state of emergency the 23rd of March .... in different years, if not decades.

In the meantime the temps are swinging back and forth between the 20s and the 60s, with this morning starting at 28°. Over the weekend it was nice enough for the hounds and I to spend a lot of time outside. They explored while I picked up every stick or tree limb blown into the yard this winter.

Stella continues her new routine of following Sadie and I on our walks. Those times where she might decide to hang back, if I even mention the leash, she starts walking to me. In some cases she acts like I have attached a leash to her.

It was sunny and crisp on this morning's walk. Light frost covered the leaves and grass. It wasn't bad even though it was about 25° colder than yesterday during this time.

Both hounds were on their own but stayed pretty well in the vicinity of my path.

While I walked they both explored. When I called their names they came running.

Yet, there is always something on their way that causes them to stop and further investigate.

I was able to pick up every stick or twig that I could see on Saturday. There was not as many as last year and so far this burn pile has been the smallest I have seen since living here. Usually by the spring it's 3' to 4' high.

When I asked Heidi if she wanted to join us on our afternoon walk, she hopped off the bed and ran to the door. She didn't want to go on the walk though, she wanted to check out the front yard and the slowly walk up the driveway.

A little after noon I thought the hounds might want to walk. It was beautiful outside and in the mid 40s. I thought it was odd that as we walked outside Sadie was not doing her normal 'happy dance' and both hounds barely moved around the backyard.

Had I interrupted their siestas? Could it be possible the hounds were not that interested in taking a mid-day walk? We went about 50' and turned around. They came inside and went back to the spots I woke them up in and went back to sleep. Unbelievable.

The rest of the afternoon was just as quiet. We made a few short trips outside to enjoy the weather, check the mail and look at both engine compartments of each car. Last winter I found a mice nest in the engine compartment of the Mini Cooper S I had.

Sadie decided it was time for the 2nd walk of the day and off we went.

I think you can see Stella's walk was pretty exciting. It fits her personality.

Of course as they search the field, they are only looking for one thing.

It's been a pretty lazy Monday really. I had no plans with a couple of hopes of some house work and possibly a load of laundry ... neither got done. There is always tomorrow when you are retired, no deadlines, no meetings ... it's perfect.

It was a beautiful day here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana today.

A Quiet Enjoyable Friday

Not much was planned today. The temps were going to climb from the 20's to the 50's by late afternoon. I knew the hounds would needed a couple of walks. Plus I was back in the mood for reading, after taking a day off from books.

The highlight of the week I guess was taking the car cover off of the Z4 and taking it for a spin yesterday. It had been almost a month since the last trip. It's all based on weather, when I take it out. Even in freezing temps it started right up, and the heater will blast you out of the car when turned on. I thought about putting the top down but still would have been too cold with a down parka and ski gloves.

I took it out again today after the hounds had been fed lunch. I have a few very nice country roads or highways I can take, all different directions. During the drive yesterday I decided to flip the car's positions in the carport. I had always parked my other Mini Cooper in the smaller outboard space.

Since I no longer had the FJ, I moved the Z4 to the 'inside' space and that keeps it away from the weather a little more. I'll still keep the car cover on it during bad weather and during the times the fields are being plowed or harvested due to the large amount of dust in the air.

Stella was out in front on this mornings walk. While Sadie was doing her normal hopping up and down, grabbing my hand, thrilled we were walking ... Stella trotted out in front of us.

Does it look like this chewed tree limb is getting smaller?

The hounds were a little slow in their searches this morning, not really energized and even I was walking at a slower pace. It was Friday I guess, after surviving another week of retirement.

While Sadie checked out some of the brush area, Stella was behind us and had disappeared. Instead of leaving her there, I backtracked to find her barely inside the wooded area. She came when I called and trotted along the edge of field for a while, then got distracted by something she smelled.

She didn't seem really thrilled that she had to move from her point of interest but didn't hesitate in trotting toward Sadie. Then she stopped again for the second time so it was time for the infamous standard leash. I connected it and let it drop to the ground.

It's funny how she reacts to having the leash ... she will move and stay on the path, walks slower, head lowered to the ground. I guess it's a way for her to show me her displeasure.

While she was walking along with us I moved up to unhook her from the leash and she still followed the path until we got to the far right hand corner.

She was about to take off right, until I called her name. She then ran to catch up with Sadie. She has been pretty cooperative this week.

Like I said before, Sadie wasn't as energized has she has been in recent weeks. Maybe they were tracking older deer scent that they had already identified and nothing exciting was crossing their noses.

I made the turn without looking back, calling Stella's name ... when I turned to take a picture she was already on her way to run in front of me.

It was sunny this morning but still very very cold and windy, from the SW.

I needed to make a trip to the local Walmart to pick up a new pair of sunglasses, the kind that clip on to my eyeglass. I only wear glasses to drive and watch tv. They are not needed when I am on the computer nor when reading books. But once again, I lost the clip on sunglasses yesterday in the most mysterious way. I still cannot figure out how I lost them nor where.

I parked the Z4 by the air pump, got out of the car and took off the sunglass slipping them into my jacket pocket (I thought), walked across the parking lot to the mini mart to get some change for the machine, came back to the car and couldn't find my sunglasses when I started to leave.

I went back to the mini mart to double check the counter, asked the cashier if they had found them and also checked by the ATM machine ... while walking back to the car I kept my eyes to the ground just in case they dropped out of my pocket. It was a true 'senior moment' ... they were gone!

After lunch I always let the hounds out, including Heidi, for a short trip but today I saw Sadie in an area that is not allowed. There is a small ditch behind the burn pile for her to cross to get to where she is in this photo. With all of that being overgrown with wild bushes in the summer she doesn't go in there.

For some reason when I got back from the short Z4 drive this afternoon I thought it was somewhere around 4pm. Maybe because we did so much today. So I grabbed the camera, the leash and headed out for our afternoon walk. The leash was not needed this afternoon. I only had to tell Stella "come on" and she would move and catch up with us.

It was warming up but the winds were stronger this afternoon and still blowing cold air. It's going to be great with 7 days of warmer weather and much warmer than the past February averages.

I let the hounds go where they wanted this afternoon. They were moving much faster than they were this morning. Stella and Sadie were getting in some good exercise. Heidi? She was in a deep sleep snoring when I left the house.

For some reason lately Stella has been itching a lot. No fleas were found when I checked and she will take time even during the walk to scratch herself.

Sadie was pretty happy with a walk so soon in the afternoon. I found out why as I was way off on the time, by almost two hours.

While Sadie and Stella joined Heidi for an afternoon siesta, I sat in a sunlit living room reading.

With college and pro football officially over now, I am kinda in a lull for my sports addiction. I get a daily email reminder of how many days until MLB starts but that is still a couple of months away. Maybe Heidi has the right idea and taking daily siesta isn't a bad idea.

It's sunny and nice today in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.