Hounds Have Been Busy

These past few days, when our "March Madness" marathon starts every day at 12:10pm and goes until after midnight ... there is not enough time in the day to blog.

That's where we have been.

For those that are unfamiliar with the term "March Madness", it is the annual college basketball tournament and not about any kind of drastic weather changes here in the "tropics'. We have one more day of it today and will get a break in the action until next Thursday night that will go through Sunday with only a couple of games per day.

In fact I am writing this post today during commercials of the ballgame. In the 2-3 hour window to get fed, shower, walk the hounds and fed them ... there hasn't been a lot of time to edit photos and blog. In fact for the first time since buying my Nikon D3200 camera a year or so ago ... I didn't take a picture for 3 straight days.

Before we get started about this morning and the pictures of the hounds during their morning walk this morning ... I will say that Stella started the week off bad. It was living proof why I cannot let her lag behind and do anything she wants when we walk. It also proved why I can't let her outside just to 'roam' the field.

During the Monday walk, Sadie and I are walking back toward the house and Stella is nowhere on the horizon. That is never a good sign. I figured she was either in the wooded area behind the neighbor's house or hopefully not in their front yard. By the time Sadie and I got closer to home there she was, she was where she cannot be ... ever.

The neighbor's drainage ditch.

That leads to the highway and has enough scents in that ditch to lead her right to trouble if she chose to go that direction. As I approached calling her name, I was happy to see that as she climbed out of the ditch her legs were clean. I found out later her two left paws were not and it was good that she did not mind having her feet washed in the bathroom tub ... she hopped right in.

Little did I know that was on the start of Murphy's Monday ... as in Murphy's Law. With basketball games on the planned schedule, starting Tuesday night ... if things were going to go wrong, break or otherwise ... Monday was the perfect day for it.

Later that afternoon the washer decided it would rinse but refused to spin enough to drain the water from all the clothes. I hate doing laundry anyway let alone hand wring each piece of soaked clothes before putting them in the dryer.

By Monday night "Murphy" still wasn't done and let me know just who really is in charge living here. While I was on the computer my two large Apple monitors went 'white' and nothing moved. It is the first time since I bought the iMac in October 2010 that the computer had ever acted weird on its own.

The other time was strictly my fault a few years ago when I tried to activate a program to encrypt the hard drive and found out later my model and date of build just missed the cutoff for it to work.

I thought Murphy had left on Tuesday, it seemed like a normal day. I found out during the ballgame that night he decided it was time to send me over the edge of insanity.

When you have one large tv screen, with four different channels showing four different ballgames at the same time and needs to work no later than Thursday night ... the Directv REMOTE CONTROL is the most important thing of my life right now. So as I was starting to watch a game on Tuesday night a couple of days before the marathon was to start, Murphy decided to take out the signal between the remote and DVR to change channels, or adjust volume.

I exchanged the batteries for brand new ones. No luck. Even though I reprogrammed the remote a few days before, I tried it again. No change. It wasn't long before I was on the phone with Directv to have them send me a new replacement. I begged and offered to pay for 'Next Day Delivery' but was told that was not possible. All she could do was process the order.

It arrived the next afternoon just in time for the basketball marathon.

Stella decided that this week she would try to be as stubborn as possible to also remind me that when 'Murphy' isn't around, that she is in control of the household. It wasn't just being stubborn but nothing was good enough for her. Clean water, she needed different water. Go outside, but she wanted inside ... then once back inside her nose would tap the door handle telling me she wanted back outside. A few walks required her to be on the 25' retractable leash.

With the weather feeling warmer and weeks of warmer weather on the way, we have been able to fit our walks in the tight schedule of ballgames. They haven't missed a meal nor a nap. Heidi has moved her sleeping bag to the couch between me and Stella and only comes up for air when she smells food.

The tree limb continues to get smaller little by little. I doubt if it will ever get to the point of breaking in two but there seems to be a lot of good food their for something.

This next picture is the summary of Stella's walks this week. She lags behind, ignores any calls of her name, walks in different directions after looking right at me. Monday memories remind me I can either stand and wait for her or double back and coax her into coming with Sadie and I.

Sadie in the meantime doesn't care what Stella does, she has scents to track, and places to go.

About the time I started to double back to pick up Stella ... she started running our direction. She rarely runs straight to us without a few interruptions in between. Obviously she does not care about time or how long it takes to complete the walk.

Sadie wasn't going to wait any longer and took off around the first turn. I had to go back and let Stella know we needed to keep going. I needed more coffee and some breakfast after the walk. That doesn't mean the pace needed to be picked up but it did mean she didn't have 30 minutes to investigate each spot she stopped at.

Even with the late breakfast kibble for the hounds they still like to be fed, let outside and back in before the first game of the say starts at 12:10pm. It's funny that after eating two meals only 3-4 hours apart, they never bother me again until the next morning for food.

At this point, if I were to leave her to do what she wanted ... by the time Sadie and I were on our way back after the final turn home, she would be over by the neighbors. It's not a new routine that I am liking too much and I cannot wait for a week to ten days to pass when she dreams up a new routine.

With Sadie fairly focused on her tracking, Stella is protesting my decision by walking in the slowest motion possible. At times it looks like she may not be able to bring that next paw forward in her stroll. I've never seen a hound walk as slow as she does.

She thought she was headed for the far right corner but not this morning. I had stood around long enough waiting for her to catch up, before I doubled back to get her twice that by this time all I am wanting to do is finished the journey that was only suppose to be a daily walk, not a cross country trip.

Sadie enjoys all parts of the field.

If you didn't know any better, you would swear that Stella is pouting as she walks. It's hard to tell with a bloodhound just how they are feeling because they normally look like every day is a bad day.

There is no bird that is safe if Sadie sees it on the ground. She has never caught one, so those quick sprints gives her a nice workout.

I am not sure what motivated Stella to get some running in but it was good to see.

They slowly get back to the house and prepare for another 12 hours of college basketball. I am still looking for that dream of grocery delivery here in a rural area. Not enough food to last the day and not enough time to go shopping.

Spots of grass look tall enough to mow. I might whack those areas with the weed eater instead of bring out the mower for its first time of the year. There isn't that much to mow but a couple of bad spots.

The worst thing about all of these games are the commercials. Great food commercials and everybody can afford a new $65,000 truck. It's no wonder obesity and personal debt are problems in our country. Speaking of something outside of basketball, I have no idea what is happening in the world as far as news.

It has been nothing but sports, coaching changes, college basketball and spring training in major league baseball. The regular season starts in 15 days and that will lead me into college football by the end of the summer.

The sun is out, ballgames are on, everyone is fed ... all is good here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

Where's The Snow?

Wunderground had today's forecast big on snow in this area. Then as I looked closer it was saying ~<1" ...

Yet when we stepped outside this morning it felt cold enough to snow and luckily there was no wind to make it feel colder.

So far I have not noticed the time change, for me or the hounds. Setting their time for lunch last spring at the time change was a good move. It is basically stays the same for them year round.

I have had a few readers ask me if Heidi is okay or where's Heidi ... It's below her 70° threshold so she has moved back into her normal winter hibernation spot ... my my Marmot sleeping bag. It looks like she has taken ownership of that bag.

Of course nothing bothers Sadie. It doesn't matter what the weather is, all she wants is her walk. Lately she is becoming more and more demanding, if that is possible. She is willing to sit for longer periods of time, giving me 'her stare' until we go.

I could tell by the pace that Stella was doing to start the walk, that she would not be coming with us today. She was walking in slow motion while Sadie had already moved ahead of us.

I was beginning to wonder if I would be walking alone today when I saw that both of them were lagging behind my pace. My pace is not fast but that did not matter to them. Today was added protein day. I hate that habit but they are hounds and all dogs eat gross stuff at times.

Before I knew it, Sadie had charged up near me on the run and then curled back to some points of interest. She always likes to run up and hit my knee or leg with her nose just to let me know that she is back.

I set my lens at 50mm so I could take the a picture of what I actually see when I looked backed at Stella. She is right of center in the picture, if you have a hard time finding her. This gives you an idea how far out in front Sadie and I are.

Sadie was her normal excited self during the walk. It felt like a Monday to me and by the time we got to this point of the walk I had seen one single small snow flake dropping from the sky. Just one.

At first I thought Stella was going to make a run for it to catch up to us. It looked like it for a couple of her steps but she stopped when she found something. I knew then she would not be coming with us today. I was guessing we would see her over by the neighbors' woods on our way back. It's good for her to do her own thing as long as she is not near the highway (100')

The air was crisp, not as cold as you would think at 35°, but it kind of felt like it could snow. It will be interesting to see how today's forecast will play out. The hounds and I both need our food replenished, so no matter what the weather is going to be, I am going out to grocery shop and buy dog food.

As I near the back edge of the field Sadie has not moved to far from the spot pictured above. I catch her through my zoomed lens chomping down on something. I hate to think what it might be.

Once again within a minute of taking that picture, she came running up around me, slowing down from her full out sprint.

I think I am seeing a little weight loss for her and that's a good thing. At her age and breed I have to watch her weight as she gets older. The vet told me she was in great shape for an 'almost 9 year old'. He remembers checking her when she was 6 weeks old. I didn't bring her home until she was 12 weeks old.

As I made the final turn on the path to return home I glanced along the horizon. Since I don't wear my glasses while walk due to them getting in the way as I look through the camera viewfinder so I have to squint to see if I can find Stella. A lens at 200mm always helps me find her.

She was right where I expected she would be, around the woods behind the neighbor's house. Luckily she was more towards the field instead of the highway.

When I called her name she raised her head and started walking toward Sadie and I. Today Sadie did not have to run after her. She continued to walk and made it all the way to us, without me having to use a leash. That's pretty good for her.

That did not mean she would walk with Sadie and I back to the house. Don't be fooled by her. There were still things she wanted to check out and may have missed the first time when she started her walk.

Once again I set the lens at 50mm to give you a better idea how far away she is as Sadie and I get close to the house.

This was taken from the corner of the house. Sadie and I both went inside. I was pretty sure based on past experience that she would come to the door wanting in within the next ten minutes.

Sadie made one last look to see where Stella was.

I hear the splashing of wet pavement from passing traffic on the highway. Winds have shifted from the east, which is very rare to get winds from that direction. My iPhone weather app tells me it 'feels like' 27° and that crazy snow icon is stretched across the rest of the day.

One of my blog readers that I found through my Wordpress blog, has a Basset Hound and a Pyrenees. Her Basset Hound did not have skin issues like Heidi but her Pyrenees did. She told me that after a week of feeding Rachael Ray's Basic 6 kibble, her skin cleared up. She also added some coconut oil 2x per week.

So that is the food I am going to buy for Heidi today. I haven't tried that food yet and the way I see Heidi' has nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying it. I was looking through pictures of her taken this time last year and she looks exactly the same. Although her skin issues have stabilized these past couple of years you can still see slight changes of irritation based on what season it is.

Stella's coat has become very soft after 16 days on the SportMix kibble I bought. It is manufactured by Earthborn and is sold just a half mile from my house at the hardware store. I'll buy a 40# bag today for Sadie and Stella. Sadie has the softest coat of all of them and has never had skin issues.

Other than the shopping run, nothing else planned but staying inside and keeping warm. I have a couple of new books I want to start and one older one I want to finish.

Very light snow is falling now here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana as I post this.

DST Does Not Bother The Hounds

With everything in our lives computerized, there were no clocks to manually move forward one hour last night when turning off the lights around 2am.

The hounds were all sleeping in their normal spots and they didn't wake up any later this morning. Actually based on the 'old' time, we started the day about an hour earlier than we had the past weeks. It was going to be really cold this morning and the hounds found that out was they walked on the 'frozen tundra'. It didn't feel later with the DST time change.

It was the normal routine before starting the morning walk, coffee coffee and more coffee. This gives you some idea that it's in the 20's. The t-shirt and cargo shorts were switched back to wool socks, jeans and the down jacket for the morning walk. At least this morning the down jacket, ski cap and ski gloves were used. Freezing temps are still better than the snow that was predicted.

Stella joined Sadie this morning and without much coaxing, she made the whole walk with us, a pleasant surprise.

Does it look like 22° ?

Stella was already into her Sunday stroll pace. Nothing to get excited about today. She will be fed the same time for lunch with DTS not changing that at all. In fact they might finally get their way and eat earlier than 11am (old time). They will determine their lunch time by howling and/or barking.

Sadie had been following the edge of the field non-stop, even past the first turn. Maybe the freezing temps make those scents that much stronger. Or, there were just more of them this morning.

Stella was about to lag behind but right after I took this picture she looked up and trotted in our direction. Maybe it's the colder temps that motivates her enough not to lag behind or follow her own schedule.

They were excited to get to the far right corner of the field, it's the entry way to the 'deer highway' that reaches downhill into the deep gully. I could almost imagine a group of deer walking through there at daybreak.

Stella is right on the entry ramp of the deer freeway.

Surprise surprise as she continued to follow Sadie and I.

Even from a distance I could hear Sadie making that sound that bloodhounds have when they are really inhaling a scent. Years ago someone that walked Bertha everyday when I had to leave them in a kennel while I was on a business trip, told me she had never heard a sound like that from any other dog.

I heard that sound as I snapped this picture. It's the sound of her jowls flapping as she sniffs deeply into the ground. It is a continuous flapping sound with each inhale.

You can tell here that once again she is pretty keen on tracking. She probably lives for these two walks per day so she can get a nose workout.

Stella had stood and looked over at the cornfield. She was almost positive that deer had ran through here into the field. Just to the right of her is where I have seen a line of deer follow each other, jumping over the older wire fence that has been mashed down. Once they hit that cornfield they talk off running and hopping high into the air, faster than any bloodhound chasing them.

I did not have to say "let's go" this morning. By this part of the walk the hounds were gladly heading back to a warm house while my finger tips inside my ski gloves were numb from the cold.

Nearing the house I kept hearing a loud bird conversation. I saw two birds sitting at the top of the Mahogany tree in the backyard. They either heard the hounds or my camera beeping when the focus locked in because as I pressed the shutter, they flew away. The camera caught just one of them.

They flew higher and circled back to the edge of the driveway and landed high on the tall sycamore tree. Guess where those hard little round buds land?

I can only assume after the million of times I had pushed buttons on my Directv remote over the years while watching college football, college basketball, NFL games and MLB games ... it was bound to happen. Last night only some of the buttons on the remote were responding. I was only a phone call away of having Directv sending me a new replacement, free of charge.

Since some of the buttons were still working by changing channels and turning the DVR and TV off and on, I thought there was a chance I could salvage this remote and get it to work again. With 'March Madness' only a couple of days away this is no time to have to wait for a new replacement remote to show up in the mail.

I went into the drawer that is full of all the owners manuals I have for different things. Everything from the Bunn Coffee Maker to that PIA Echo non-starting weed eater. This time I needed to find the Directv Remote manual because I was going to reprogram it. I pulled out the two stacks of manuals that fill the draw to the maximum amount without blocking the drawer.

Not only did I find that manual but the results were even better than I ever expected !!!

A month or so ago I wrote on this blog about a possible 'senior moment' when the owners manual for my Nikon D3200 had strangely disappeared. I was 99.9% sure I had put that manual in this drawer with the others. Multiple times I looked at every manual one by one ... not finding the owners manual for the camera. My memory cells were turning to soap as I mentally retraced my steps trying to remember where I left that manual for my camera.

I had a downloaded .pdf file copy but it always seemed easier to read through the manual in my hands with the camera sitting nearby instead of having to read a manual on the computer.

So, as I am looking for the remote owners manual I see this page. It was one I had looked at 3-5 times before during the prior searches for the camera manual. The "Approved Memory Cards" caught my eyes. I couldn't believe it!!! Could it be???

I slowly closed the book back to the outside cover and there was my answer. The Nikon D3200 User's Manual had been there the whole time. I had not lost my mind (that's debatable) and the manual was exactly where I had put it months ago ... in the drawer.

I know that may seem like a small issue but when you finally find something that was missing, turning your memory cells into soup as you try to remember where you put something, it was a great feeling.

There was a 20° increase today temps in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana and that put the hounds back into the 40's which is pretty nice this time of year.