REMC Tree Crew Shows Up

The tree crew from the local utility company showed up mid afternoon on Monday. Sadie and Stella let me know that something big was backing up the driveway with that loud piercing beeping sound that probably drove the hounds insane. I was very surprised that they cut more than I thought they would and was happy with their job.

When they started I had one small branch touching the transformer and a few others very close to the power lines. I wasn't sure how much they would cut back but I gave them an offer to cut the whole tree down if they wished. I've been quoted $1,300 to take it down.

The young kid that was in the bucket and going to do all the work looked familiar when I asked if he mind that I take pictures during the operation. He didn't mind and said take all I wanted. I still couldn't remember where I had seen him before or had I worked with him somewhere? I found out after he was finished, he also drives the tractor that cuts and bales the field behind my house.

I was happy to see they were cutting the limbs from the tree trunk and not just cutting the ends of the limbs. I now have only a few limbs hanging over my driveway. Basically any limbs pointing toward my house they didn't touch ... if they pointed to their power lines, they were cut down.

I might have that wrong but from these 5 cut limbs while leaving 1 seems to back up my theory of them cutting only those that pointed toward their power lines.

It looks a little strange with that big open spot  but they are Sycamore trees, the most worthless tree on the planet. Although they do a good job of shading a lot of the driveway.

Nothing is near the transformer or power lines and we are good to go for another ten years I guess.n That poor transformer has been struck by lightning a few times, had tree limbs blown into it during storms and exploded once a few years ago when a huge power surge took place.

What I did not know was that they would be leaving any limbs they cut with me to figure out what to do with them. I thought it was strange that a chipper truck pulled in behind the large truck with the lift/bucket but I didn't see either truck pulling the chipper. Nor did they say anything.

After they left I called the office and she said "I must have forgot to tell you it was your responsibility to get rid of the limbs, the other day when we set up your appointment".

It's not a big deal to me. That is just more fuel to my fire next fall or spring. These limbs are so green that I may not burn again until next spring in 2018. I'll use my lopper to cut a lot of them up into smaller lengths. Anything I cannot cut I'll pull them back into the woods.

Of course the curiosity of Stella was too much for her while she stood inside at the door watching. During the process she opened the door with her nose joining me and the supervisor in our conversation. Sadie never comes out of an unlocked door but she could not let Stella get all the attention, so today she lowered her head and pushed the door open to come outside. They were both very popular with the tree crew.

With Sadie and Stella inspecting the work after they drove off, Heidi decided it was time for a little relaxation in the sunshine and the soft grass.

Life is pretty rough when you are a hound in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

An Afternoon Full Of Butterflies

For some reason I rarely post pictures on this blog anytime after our morning walks. So today not only did I take the camera with me but I am also posting the best pictures I took of the butterflies in the field during this afternoon hound walk. I took over 50 very good butterfly pictures and these are the best of those.


Lately the hounds have been breaking away from me as we get near the yard at the end of the walk. Stella likes to come in from the north side of the property and Sadie likes to enter the yard from the middle. Heidi???  She's inside sleeping with the air conditioning on.

A Cool Morning To Walk

While Heidi slept in her new favorite spot, curled up in the corner of the living room, the bloodhounds and I took off for our morning walk with the temperature at 67°. Nice.

Heidi's Gotcha Day Was On Saturday

I did not forget the day for Heidi but I did not blog about it. 6 years ago last Saturday I drove up toe Merrillville and picked up Heidi in my 2010 Toyota Camry.

She really has been a great basset hound.

She came with a reputation of a 'runner', had to 'be leashed at all times'. Not here. She does not even wear a collar except when we go to the vet. She had meds to take and skin allergies. She did have a couple of years with terrible skin that 4 different vets could not figure out.

She has been healthy this past year, gained her lost weight back. She is back to being a basset hound again. She was really depressed in the 2016 spring. Could it have been Winston's death that bothered her?

No pictures and not long post but I wanted to mentioned for the record (to me).

It was 6 years ago on June 30.

The Hounds Have A Full Day Of Activity

We started our day under overcast skies. It felt like rain was on the way but after checking the radar and Wunderground any storms that we might have were iffy. Stella didn't hesitate in getting a little jogging in this morning a little faster than she has been trotting. Both bloodhounds had total freedom this morning. As long as the grass is short in the field, it's easy to keep track of them.

By the time I finished the walk I knew I was going to get started cutting up and moving those Sycamore tree limbs the utility crew cut down yesterday. I wasn't told that they cut the limbs for free but I have to move what falls to the ground. One guy was stacking them in a pile as they were cut ... it wasn't a bad deal at all since they cut more than I thought they would so I saved a little money by getting the tree trimmed more than I had expected.

This morning I added some anti-inflammatory tablets to Stella's kibble and will give her two more tablets in a few hours when it's 12 hours since the dose this morning. I am out of the detail writing naming meds or supplements after Heidi's experience. I'll just leave it that Stella is going something to help her rear hips and legs.

Again this morning Stella ran past me and tried to catch Sadie. No deer was seen on the horizon today but it was in the 60's early this morning and the hounds just felt like running. Heidi did her exercise on the couch wondering when the AC would kick on automatically. She rolled over on her back looking at me when I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. She knows how to pace herself.

I did write a post with pictures from the tree cutting crew yesterday. I have that schedule to post sometime tomorrow. I have also noted the date we started Stella on the anti-flams so I can tell how long it takes if she shows any improvements. Through all of her weight loss this past winter one thing that has never decreased is her appetite.

Contrary to what my pictures show, there is more colors than the color green around our area ... but not much.

I mentioned the word 'breakfast' on the way back. Stella thought she was getting fed again but I meant I was going to fix my breakfast when we got back, not hers.

Sadie tracked one scent most of the walk and spent most of her time in the far right hand corner. With her that far away I was able to capture some of the morning butterflies with my camera.

Stella met us once again on the return path. She had spent most of her time out in the middle of the lower portion of the field but came trotting when she saw Sadie and I walk past.

Blue skies were showing up from the Southwest ... that was a good sign.

The only white flower I saw the whole walk. It's about 12" away from the edge of the yard.

I had a large pile of tree limbs to cut into shorter pieces and move to my burn pile. I used a pair of loppers and only had to saw a couple of limbs down to size.

It was not as hard as it may look. I was done with everything in less than an hour. Sadie and Stella stayed in the area to supervise. Since we had just walked they had no urge to leave so they stayed in the backyard eating all the fresh dirt pushed up by the yard moles. They must think it's easier for me to mow the yard if those hills of dirt are gone.

The burn pile that I started in the spring is behind and under the new tree limbs. It's straight ahead and mashed down. That is all tree limbs from today and the ones I cut in April on the bank of the driveway. The large green leaves of the Sycamore tree cover the whole pile.

Since these limbs were pretty green I might have to wait for my 'pyro hobby' until next spring, so they will dry out. I have my largest pile of tree limbs that I can remember. If I add the ones I will collect next winter after high winds and storms ... I could be looking at my biggest fire ever. That's exciting. I'll really have to pay close attention to what is going one, otherwise I will have a fire big enough the catch the woods on fire. You can see how high my flames have been by the bare tree limbs of the tree in the center.

Tom made a comment on my post last night about the FJ transaction, that the blue spare tire cover might grow on me. So after the tree moving exercise I put the tire cover back on. I am still not sure I like it. It's too much blue with that in back. Maybe I'll get use to it.

Tell me which one you like ... just out of curiosity ... the one above with the cover or the one below without the cover? I like without the cover.

I brought the hounds out to check my work as usual and the new car cover. I expected at least Stella would initiate the polished blue cover with some fresh bloodhound drool, but she had other plans.

Plus they had been fed between the jobs of moving the tree limbs and putting the cover on. They couldn't wait. I had gone inside for some water and to get the tire cover ... but Heidi started barking for lunch and wouldn't let up. So I stopped what I was doing and fed the hounds.

Sadie didn't care about the tire cover ... she wanted back inside where it was cool.

 Stella didn't care about the tire cover ... she flopped down or fell down again to take a short nap.

Heidi didn't care about the tire cover ... she walked a lap around the house and headed straight to the door when she was finished.

I've replenished my food supply, including extra coffee and the ice tea bags. I'll never run out of coffee again nor coffee filters. A fresh 3qt pitcher of ice tea was made this afternoon. It's refreshing to drink as I watch my Reds team take an early lead every game and then end up losing 2 out of 3 games. Losses have been at a higher rate since the MLB All-Star game ... they have won only 3.

I forgot to tell you about the little test I did yesterday for those that are interested in data usage depending which browser you use. I used Safari for 20 minutes. That is all it took for me to read through my sports pages, the weather, read all updated blogs and my Feedly feed. I used 48Mb, which was bout the same average per minute that I got last week with Safari used for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I then used Google Chrome with its data saver app but missed the 20 minute mark and didn't look up until 22 minutes had past, 2 minutes longer than Safari. I also went back to the exact same websites I did with Safari ... Google Chrome only used 12Mb in that 22 minute period.

Google Chrome wins ... 12Mb compared to Safari's 48Mb in 20 minutes.

The highlight of the day was a yell from the neighbors backyard as I had walked over in that general area to put Stella on the leash. Sadie and I did the whole walk but Stella spent her afternoon walk in the same place as this morning, in the middle of the field.

By the time the hounds explored Gary's freshly mowed backyard while we talked, I ended up taking a bag each of small red potatoes, green beans, huge zucchini squash, and tomatoes ... all from their garden. Gary was also upset about all the mole traffic in his yard, which is manicured compared to mine. He did confirm my thinking was right ... there is nothing we can do to stop them living this close to a field.

I'm sure there was a little more rambling I was going to do but can't remember what it was. It will be another night of baseball with the tv sound turned off while I read a book as the game plays on. If there is some sort of action, I turn up the sound and watch until the 3rd out of the inning.

It might rain in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana tomorrow or the next day, maybe both.