The Hounds Are Ahead Of Schedule

The weather was so nice yesterday that we ended up taking a total of 3 walks, the last one with Stella on the retractable leash. It might just me but with warmer weather I am seeing more of these deer hoof prints than I normally do. That may be the reason for Sadie's obsession of wanting to go outside all of the time recently.

Stella enjoy her leisurely stroll yesterday afternoon but it's always at a very slow pace and unlike her morning walks, she never hangs back. Plus she will never stay behind me ... walks by me on the path, gets back on the path I am walking then slows down so I can walk her pace. She is a funny bloodhound and very smart.

Not sure why but I was up and making coffee before any of the hounds even thought of getting up this morning. Once Sadie saw the kitchen lights were on, she was hopping up and down to go outside like every morning. Stella and Heidi joined her as they walk out into the dark while I poured their morning kibble. As soon as they finished eating they were back in the dark bedroom sound asleep.

I was hoping to download all of the updates awaiting me on my laptop, tablet and phone this morning. I had that 50Gb of free data available until 8am. I found my internet connection intermittent just like I left it last night. I was hoping while I slept they would fix whatever issues there were having. I decided to call tech support and found out that the HughesNet engineers were doing network repairs and it would be back up in a couple of hours.

By 8am this morning the HughesNet Gen 5 was fast and all the lights were green. While it down last night, it gave me a chance to use my iPhone hot spot and that tested to be just as fast as Hughes with a download speed of 48Mbps.

This morning just after daybreak Sadie took off tracking scent as soon as her paws hit the field. Stella decided again today to do her own walk and didn't cover much distance.

On our way back I looked to see where Stella was through my 200mm lens and could barely see her tail just a little left of dead center.

More fresh deer hoof tracks very close to the yard. Not sure if the deer were there first and then the ATVs rode following deer tracks last summer or the deer seem to be doing all of their running on the paths made by the ATVs last summer.

Another successful morning walk in the books. It's good to see 'February' has arrived. Hopefully that means just 28 more days of up and down weather. It was cold enough to wear a jacket on the walk this morning but warm enough not to wear gloves. Yet, we were at the highest temp for today at 7:30am ... we start the slow migration downward to 21° by tonight.

A few people have told me by email that I should consider whether my quality of life will improve if I move. My old friend that lives 90 miles away told me to ask myself if any move will be an improvement from what I have now. Those are both hard questions to answer.

Since it seems that more than a few blog readers thought I was buying a house site unseen, I was curious enough to do a google search on that topic  .... 19% of all new home buyers never see their house in person before they buy it. Some are investors, some are military families returning from overseas, some are too far away and other are just too busy. The one common denominator for all the articles I read was to have a very good house inspector look at the house and possibly a contingency walk-thru before putting your name on the dotted line.

My current home and the option of moving are basically 'neck and neck' in a race to the finish. Both towns are rated nice places to live. Both have things that attract you to live there. There are some houses I like and am following but this house has everything I need and it's a great location for the hounds. So who knows what will happen.

The week is almost over here in the face paced life of 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Bloodhounds Start Early

All of the hounds were surprised to have their breakfast kibble served earlier than normal. Their first trip outside before the meal and after waking up was in the dark. Yet, they did not hesitate to chow down once they came back inside. A short nap, and an early walk just after 8am. Same routine as this week ... Sadie tracked scent, Stella stayed behind in her own world.

Heidi Checks Out The Howling Winds

Sitting at the computer I felt a gust of wind so strong I thought the roof was coming off the house or we all were going flying. I wish those strong winds from the SW were blowing warmer air but it is freezing cold air. Even Heidi was fooled as she completed her lap around the house after lunch ... yet her nose explored the yard by the inch as she walked.

This is my 2nd post of the day. I am not going to type the number of each post but just to point out that in the past when I post more than once per day, for some strange reason visitors don't look at both posts in the same day but at the latest one. Makes me wonder sometimes why I have the front page set up the way I do.

After 11 months eating Wholesome Sportmix dog food her skin problems have been the best she has had since 2014. That food is made by the same company that makes Earthborn Holistic grain free food. We tried all of their grain free foods before switching to their 'generic' kibble ... it did nothing to improve her skin like this chicken meal kibble has worked.

Plus last summer she had gained her lost weight back. As has Stella. All the hounds eat the same food and all three hounds have to softest coats they have ever had. Bravo to Wholesome Sportmix.

One of our local hawks wanted to let Stella know she had her eye out on the hounds. With it being so cold all Stella wanted was to get back inside for her afternoon siesta.

Many years ago when my 89 year old father was a teenager, there was a path from the top of my driveway that went down between the two large trees, through the water and out to the country road. Every since then, every home owner of this house has watched the south part of the field sink over time with underground water from the field behind us.

It's only January but the 2018 Burn Pile is way behind last year's amount of tree limbs that are burned every spring and fall. That is actually a good thing.

The wind is howling today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Sadie Only Wanted To Track Scent

Once again the sunshine in the morning forgot to mention just how cold it was outside this morning. That didn't matter to Sadie who was back behind my burn pile checking out recent deer scent and she never stopped tracking the rest of the walk. Stella on the other hand had no interest in taking a walk, nor tracking scent.

I wish the camera could capture Sadie's quick movements in different directions, instead of still shots of her stopped in action. She was darting all over the place with excitement.

The wind was much stronger than normal out of the SW this morning ... and colder. When I checked my 10 day forecast this morning, I saw 4 small icons in the next 10 days ... snow. So just because we are in warmer days, everything is possible in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana when it comes to weather.

Since I feel the blog is boring most of the time, I may change it up a little. I like the template, plus it's kinda the 'brand' of the blog ... recognizable. So I'll not change that but I might do less story telling and just a short intro before listing the same number of photos. Then possibly multiple posts per day where there may not be more than just 1 photo and a paragraph of content that goes with the photo.

So here we go ...

It's going to be another good day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Heidi Checks Out January

She is rarely outside long enough for any kind of photos to be taken of her, especially in January. She did a lap around the house today after lunch ... battling winds from the SW at 20mph and gusts up to 35mph. She was more than happy to sprint back to the couch as soon as I opened the door.