The Hounds Survive

By noon the temperature had climbed to -1°, the hounds had been fed and we had received a phone call from California wishing us well. Since he had grown up on a farm in Indiana he still remembered what it was like being outside in weather like this 45 or more years ago. I could see out of the large kitchen window at the bright sunny day but anywhere else the door windows and storm windows were covered with ice. Thank God for storm windows. I went out with the hounds right after their lunch, they were finished and back inside the house in little over a minute.

They were maintaining pretty well since they were unable to wander the yard or field. I never had to call them since they could feel just how cold it was. It was indescribable. I cannot imagine what Chicago felt like at -45° today. Stella scratched as usual.

Heidi did her normal stretching and body shakes after lunch, right before she took a siesta.

I was a little surprised that Stella headed for the backyard at -1° ... but when you have to go you have to go I guess. Better to do that outside and not inside.

The carport thermometer is consistently 5-8 degrees warmer year round, than what my iPhone weather app tells me.

Like I said, they were both back at the door in little over a minutes time.

A few hours later while I was playing Mahjong, both hounds walked to the door, Stella slightly whining and Heidi fighting for position to be the first one outside ... I could only guess what they couldn't hold anymore.

The perfect house dog ... in the field at -1°.

Heidi still had time to explore a little on her way back from the front yard.

We anxiously look forward to tomorrow's heat wave when it climbs to the mid 20's ... that right there is cargo shorts and t-shirt weather.

All is good here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

It's A Warm -5 At 8am

First of all I am only speaking from my location here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. I don't have it that bad at all. I have electric power, a fast internet, a warm house and the sun is out. There are many many many other people a lot worse off than the hounds and I. So a -5° at 8am is not a bad deal. I have lived through a lot worse in this house, today's weather is nothing. 

You would have never thought it would be so cold yesterday when the hounds stepped outside after their late lunch but the wind was freezing cold, the wind chill temp was colder than it was when Stella and I took our walk, so the afternoon walk was canceled.

Even Heidi wasn't sure she was going to jump off the edge into the mulch, her favorite place to pee in the winter's cold weather.

Stella was more interested in getting back inside for more sleep ... like sleeping the afternoon away. She had no idea why she had followed Heidi outside on Tuesday afternoon.

After a Tuesday afternoon of doing nothing, we tried it again a little after 5pm. Would a walk be possible? Stella did some pre-aerobic stretching but I already knew with the howling wind and the freezing cold, that I wasn't going anywhere. I'd watch her as she moved to the backyard to relieve herself just to make sure she was heading back toward the house when finished instead of wandering out into the field.

It funny how she has to find that 'perfect spot' to pee but she does, even when it's freezing.

This morning was a different story thought. I woke up once around 5am and heard wind that was so loud I thought we were in the middle of a Spring thunderstorm or a tornado. I wondered how many tree limbs would be in my yard after last night. I even remembered the tv shows I watched last winter about the research teams living in tents in Antarctica. I glanced at my watch to see it was -2°, I went back to sleep.

No matter how cold it gets, the hounds still need to relieve themselves especially after a night of sleep. It was the normal routine with me letting them out at 7am in subzero temps but I was going to make an effort to pour their kibble a little faster today.

About the time I got to the door to let them back inside, Stella was sprinting from the backyard or field, around the Mini Cooper to the door. Heidi was not around !!!! So I stepped outside and looked to see her in the middle of the front yard just finishing her yard care and then sprinting up the driveway all the way to the door

By the time 8am rolled around, both hounds were back to sleep and the temp had dropped to -5°. Obviously both walks today will be canceled. Trips outside this afternoon will be limited to less than a minute or two and it will be a normal day inside the warm house.

At least the sun is not giving up on a day like today. There's no worries though ... it will be Spring like temperatures by Friday !!!

How's that for a little variety of winter weather ???

Even with the warm house yesterday, Heidi knew it was cold outside and demanded I go get 'her' sleeping bag from the bedroom to put on her while she slept on the couch. How did she demand that to happen? She sat there staring at me shivering as if she was cold. Once the sleeping bag was on the couch, she burrowed her way under it and around it for the perfect position to sleep.

Every winter when the weather stations go into over-drive with too much DRAMA about what is going to happen, I tune them out. I know they have to sell viewership but please give me a break. The world is not coming to an end. IT'S WINTER !!!!! It happens every year and has for as long as I can remember!!! Sorry, I'm not jumping on the 'panic wagon' based on the tone of voices from the local weather channels, or national ones either.

The past few winters I would 'chase' the temps by adjusting my thermostats, plus it was my way of saving energy. In this 45+ year old house each room has baseboard electric heat and its own thermostat. I'd turn it completely off when we slept and then back on for an hour or two to take the edge off.

This year I decided I wasn't doing that. In November when it was getting cold, I set every room thermostat to where the house stayed at 65°-68°. I'd let the heaters decide when they needed to cool down. The times the house is too hot I will turn the thermostats down or off for an hour or two. I can't stand a hot house.

My "electric usage' spreadsheet shows I have used less kilowatts than last winter but last winter was brutal with these sub-zero temps day after day and over 30 days in a row being below 32°. Still it is costing me less this year to keep the house warm instead of trying to save energy. (electricity)

With no plans to get out today, I will wait until tomorrow to start my car. I also will probably do nothing different from yesterday. It's interesting how schools are closed, college classes are cancelled, business are closed during the Polar Vortex .... but tonight the college basketball games on tv continue. No games will be canceled anywhere in the Midwest or the Eastern part of the states.

It was that way when I was growing up in the 60's. I remember more than a few times where school was closed for days from too much snow but people always found ways of filling the gym seats when a game was played on Friday and/or Saturday nights. Nothing has changed in that regard.

I'll try to get more photos later today as the hounds and I go outside. It is supposed to get up to 6° and that will be warm enough for short breaks outside. For them, not me. :)

It's sunny this morning in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Frozen Tundra

As expected, it was extremely cold this morning and the solid ice on the storm windows proved it. I had no plans of taking any walks today at all. We did last year in much more colder weather, more wind and a lower wind chill. There are always concerns walking the bloodhound in temperatures that range of 15° or lower. Will she get ice in between her toes and then have to be carried home? Or, will the extreme freezing weather harm her pads of her paws? Will it cause cracking later on? So with some hesitation, we cautiously walked outside after 10:30am and at 14° and a wind chill 5°.

Two things made it feel warmer, the sunshine was out and very bright. Plus the thermometer in the corner of the carport was at 20°, in the shade. The freezing wind was from the Southwest let me know it was going to be colder on the way home. With that bright sunshine, mentally it felt a lot warmer than it was. I didn't mind it so far and neither did Stella.

With it so cold what little snow was left from last night's dusting, it was not moving from the path onto Stella's paws. It was very dry, like the snow you would experience out west. So the only question would be as we started the walk was ... will Stella's paws get cold enough that we would have to turn around?

Really it did not feel that bad. I was wearing my normal layers of clothes, covered with a down parka and a hood over the top of my sock hat. The Mountain Hardwear parka is 25 years old and is still working fantastic keeping me warm. I had no doubt that I'd stay warm enough to finish the walk. Stella looked a little energized and ready to go. A complete walk was looking promising.

Stella kept trotting fast enough to always stay in front of me. I tried a couple of times to get around her but each time I was about to take a photo of her from the front, she would run by me before I could press the shutter. I was a little curious if that meant she would head for the far right corner of the field, knowing I was not going to run after her? Our pace was the same as always. We did not speed up just because it was cold, after all ... the sun was out. :)

With the straw blowing from left to right, you can't feel it by the way it is bending to the right, but it shows the winds were stronger than normal. With it forecasted to be even colder tomorrow I would have expected the winds coming from the NE or the upper left corner of the photo, since that is where the arctic front is coming from.

When I asked "Do you see any deer?" ... LOL .... she stopped and studied the landscape.

Then looked back at me to see if I was serious or just joking with her. Looking back through some photos in my Deer folder the other day, it showed I have not seen deer in this field since November 2017. What happened? Where did they go? Deer tracks yes ... actual deer no.

This is about as far as Stella veered off the path this morning. She did not act cold in any way but she also did not get off the path too far.

As she stopped at the last turn for home, I told her "lets go home" ... and she took off trotting down the path.

I ran a little to get ahead of her, thinking I might catch her running but not today. She always tried staying in front of me.

The daily stop and look toward the woods behind the neighbor's house. Is it the smell of food outside or the smell of the rarely seen field cat?

It might be really cold, but that does not mean Stella will move any faster. She is always on her on time.

The bright sunshine made it feel warmer mentally. It is supposed to get up to 21° by late this afternoon but still has a wind chill of 7° predicted ... about like it was this morning. So the walk may not happen. I do know for sure it will not happen tomorrow when the high temps are single digits. She and Heidi will get their short 1-2 minute supervised trips outside to relieve themselves but that is all

My friend from the Chicago area after waking up to 8" of new snow on top what they had the previous days. Then today ... it's reported that Chicago will be colder than Antarcticia this week!!!

I was in such a hurry to get out of the store yesterday like I wrote about last night around midnight, that I forgot to buy oatmeal. I had failed to put that on my list. I did run into an old co-worker at the store yesterday. She retired a few years before I did but yesterday she told me the same thing I tell people, "It was the best career decision I ever made, and I don't miss working at all." No plans for today other than watching the taped show Bull, more reading about Steve Jobs, some internet surfing and probably some Mahjong games. Without any ice cream in the house, it is doubtful I'll pass out from a sugar overdose and need an afternoon siesta like I did yesterday. Life is rough in retirement but someone has to do it.

'The tropics' of Southern Indiana is freezing today but still warmer than most states in the Midwest and east of us.

A Solution For Frustration

{Comments section is now available, fixed, not sure how that was closed}  This is one of the finer things of retirement. The freedom of time is something I value more than any of the money I made working. It will be five years this April when I walked out of the door and never looked back. I turned into a 'slacker' from a 'workaholic', possibly adding years to my life. I am on my own schedule, after the hounds approval of course and flexibility is the keyword in all of this. So .... some late night blogging.

We didn't know what to expect this afternoon as we enjoyed temperatures in the mid 40's well past noon. Heidi and Stella checked things out after their lunch, with a short minute trip to the mulch for Heidi and Stella wasn't moving. Once back inside I double checked my 'short' shopping list and decided to make a trip to buy groceries

We were suppose to get snow showers late in the afternoon or possibly rain. A few miles west of town it turned into a light rain. The hounds were fed so I thought the chances were pretty good that Stella would a nap while I was gone.

She will always be shut off in the bedroom with Heidi as her supervisor. That room has the least amount of my possessions that can be destroyed if Stella has one of her anxiety attacks. I can repaint or repair any damage she does to the room ... but room damage has not taken place in over two years.

With her recent escapes by opening the round door knob I continue to tie a tight cord from the doorknob to another on a closet door about 12' away and then just in case she does get that door open wide enough to chew that cord (happened early December) I put a baby gate up outside of the door.

Looking at that face how would you ever guess she is an expert in escaping from a closed room and cannot be trusted if I am gone for any length of time??   LOL

As the afternoon passed I didn't see any signs of snow. For one reason, the temperatures were not dropping enough for it to snow. There wasn't really any kind of wind and only light rain. That canceled the afternoon walk for Stella and I.

I had caught up watching my two shows the DVR taped on Sunday. Nothing on tv was an interest to me. Mahjong? No. ... It seemed like a perfect time for a siesta. It was not quite 5:30pm. A strange time for a normal siesta but like I said, when you are retired anything is possible. Time means nothing.

While the groceries were being moved from the car to the kitchen, Heidi not only relieved herself but explored the edge of the property to make sure all the rain and melting snow had not washed away our bank. (joke) That was about all the aerobic exercise she got today outside.

I admit I lost track of what day it was while I was driving to the store 12 miles away. It all started at a stop light downtown, where I couldn't tell if the normally bright orange 'open' light was on in the window of the Chinese restaurant. That activated the word buffet from my memory and I remembered the buffet is not served on Monday's. So what day was it?

A quick glance to my watch told me it was Monday, 45° and cloudy and my pulse rate was 62 bpm, even with a sheriff pulled along side of me in the right hand lane.  :)

Just because I have all this time on my hands, not working, no meetings to attend anymore, that does not mean the word frustration has been erased from my dictionary. It all started when a car pulled out in front of me as I had just made my left hand turn downtown. This town is loaded with old people and those old people always drive ultra slow, even through town.

I passed her in a legal passing zone just as I was leaving town with the speed limit 35 mph. ... Those same slow ass drivers were waiting for me up ahead and my 12 mile trip to the store seemed like a cross-country drive. It did not stop there ... oh no.

With the forecast that our location would be coming to an end within 48 hours with a winter storm from hell, everybody and their mother was at the Super Walmart Store, the best grocery store available within a 20 mile radius of my house.

Not only do they drive slow, they shop slow. They block aisles while stopping to talk. Some don't know if they are going left or right so they stay in the middle of the aisle, dazed and confused. I only needed a few things, like coffee, eggs, butter, chicken, veggies and fruit. It would have been quicker if I would have shopped and bought one thing from every aisle in the store ... it was that clogged with people and slower than slow.

I might think I am flexible being retired until I am in this situation ... then I'm claustrophobic. It's not that I have to get out of there because walls are closing in ... no ... I have to get out of here to get away from people who irritate the hell out of me.

I don't deal with stupidity well. Never have.

To top it off ... slow cashiers and backed up checkout lines was the icing on the cake. I finally excused myself to the lady behind me and the lady behind her, so they could back up and I could get out of line ... then go through the self checkout.

LOL ... NO !!!!!!

It didn't get better .... I have all my food checked out and sacked with no problem. But the machine would not read my debit card. Finally the lady that works that department when trouble arises came over but she couldn't get my card to work either. Something was wrong with the reader.

Luckily after she tried for the 4th time and was about ready to call someone ... it decided to work, while she did nothing different from the four previous attempts.

I was able to get out of the parking lot without anyone backing into me, pulling out in front of me, all those crazy things that can happen in parking lots. So that was a good thing. Did this mean I had a clear shot home? A short 12 mile drive at 60-65mph ???

Not today.

Oncoming traffic was spaced out just enough that even if I punched the accelerator I still would not have been able to slide in front of someone. Right before my eyes I saw my 12 mile trip was going to take longer than I did driving over. The 'lead' car would be an old beatup pickup truck with a Confederate liscense plate on the front ... how did I know I was screwed on the drive home??  LOL

So I kicked back, knew I was going to go slower than slow, five cars behind the leader (that truck) of the 45mph caravan. Sports talk AM radio saved the day.

It's always an encouraging sign as I pull into the driveway that Stella is not outside waiting for me to pull up the driveway. I know that sounds weird and surely impossible but it did happen right after I first got her in August 2015. She broke out of the house that day because I made the mistake of leaving my screened windows open, the bottom of that window she tore through was 4' off the ground. So the thought of that might happening is always there.

I glance inside the door window as I unlock the door and see the door, the baby gate and cord are all as I left it a couple of hours ago. That's a good thing to see. Some 'short' shopping trip that was. People panic when the news is blasting scare tactics on winter storms.

Don't they know they live in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana where you can count on it being much much better than the rest of the nation will get? We don't have a lot of bad weather anymore.

So I am home. I am happy, The hounds are happy and treated with their grain free bacon flavored dog bone. How could I celebrate surviving a couple of hours of frustration?

I fell off my food discipline while shopping. I anxiously took off the lid to a brand new container of Haagan Dazs Strawberry ice cream and started eating. Damn!!! did that taste good.

I'm blaming those 22grams of sugar for my late afternoon siesta ... yes ... I ate the whole container and then basically passed out a few hours later.

LOL

It turned out to be a successful day in 'the tropics' of  Southern Indiana.