A Good Feel To Today

It was a few ticks below 60°, all the windows in the house were open, birds were singing and both hounds were sound to sleep after waking me up a little past 7am to eat breakfast. With a forecast of 80° today before we are bombarded with thunderstorms tomorrow, I didn't hesitate putting on cargo shorts. Once I heard Stella shaking in the bedroom I knew our walk was just a few minutes away.

It felt warm outside with the old carport thermometer needle just past 50°. While Stella got her plan together I had already decided I would follow her today in whatever direction she took. She was going to be on her own with the whole field available. Totally unexpected, she started the walk in the normal way ... taking the path ... after a couple of days of needing verbal herding to get her to walk in that direction.

With that tall green grass, who could resist a little added breakfast food on top of her kibble a couple of hours before?

The past few days I had my hiking boots getting fully saturated from the heavy field dew. So this morning I slipped my North Face snow/rain boots over my low-cut summer socks. Just like Stella taking the normal path ... my boots didn't take on any water as the field had dried out along the path plus there wasn't any dew on the grass.

You can see the brush line getting green. While I was out mowing the other day I heard two of my neighbors doing the same thing and my next door neighbor mowed his yard as soon as he got home from work. I am anxious to see if this spring will be as wet as last year, where I only had a few days between rains to mow the fast growing yard. So far so good on the number of rain days.

Of course, just because it was a nice morning that does not mean that Heidi wakes up earlier and gets her day started. She will eventually walk out of the bedroom and start her stretching and move into the living room big leather chair sometime around 10am ... That will also be her norm during the hot summer months.

With a Cincinnati Reds game on tv at noon today, it will our normal time right after the game for the afternoon walk. Heidi will at least spend some time outside, whether she roams the yard or joins Stella and I for a little exercise. She enjoys time alone outside in the sun, just sitting there.

Even with all the freedom I was giving Stella for her walk, she didn't deviate too far from the normal path.

Like the other afternoon, for some reason she stopped out of nowhere and sat there. I have no idea what she heard, or saw ... maybe she was just in deep thought. With the pollen count increasing, even little bit, it's time for the daily wiping of Stella's eyes with a warm washcloth. I normally do that a couple of times per day for her and Heidi.

Right after I snapped that close up of her, she stood and leaned down on her front paws like she wanted to play then took off trotting away from me. Her and Sadie use to love wrestling along with running full speed a few years ago. Her running is a rare thing anymore.

I complained again to Chewy about how bad FedEx delivery was last month. I get Stella's glucosimine supplements from them. When I started last fall I'd get my shipment within two days. That gradually moved to five to seven days. So this morning I took a look at the tracking information and see that my shipment was picked up yesterday and will be delivered today. It will be interesting to see if the FedEx van pulls up the driveway to drop that small package off on my step.

Not a lot of eating today but a lot of data collection.

Close to getting back home and starting the day. The highlight of the day will be sitting inside watching the Reds baseball game. They are on a two game winning streak and could make it three today. That is quite a turnaround after starting the season 1-8.

She trotted a few times today but I was never able to catch her soon enough with the camera.

Not a lot going on as she entered the yard.

As usual, she walked right up next to the house as she finished her walk. You'll notice I have a clean car now. It was hard getting the dried bloodhound drool off the sides of it and the rear bumper. That stuff is harder to get off than tar or bugs.

Well I am headed to recycling.

A beautiful morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Enjoy Wednesday

While I pulled a few weeds from the mulch area in front of the house, Stella soaked up some sun while Heidi slept inside. She did not move while I worked and didn't know that I had checked my mailbox. In fact she had no idea I had left her ... until I walked back in the carport. She was really hot, hot enough to start panting. A sure sign she is not in shape yet for the warmer temps.

While I mowed the yard and washed the car, she slept inside with Heidi. Late afternoon it was a perfect time to take our afternoon walk, the same one I blogged about this morning with Heidi.

We didn't last long yesterday afternoon. The second time she sat down and stared at me, I told her "let's go home" and without hesitation she turned around we headed home. We took the same path that we take walking toward the back of the field.

This morning was different though. It was 20° colder, the skies looked like rain was on the way although a glance at the radar showed we were on the southern tip of the storm that covered over 200 miles north of us. While Stella walked at her own pace I thought about my plans for today. Those will not be much more than just enjoying being outside.

All that rain is north of us.

I can't remember the last time it rained but this part of the path all the way to the back is still muddy, too soft to walk on, so Stella and I walk just to the left of it. There was still some standing water as we got closer to the back of the field, which is a few feet higher in elevation.

I am not sure what she wants. I had not said anything to her, nor was any kind of food mentioned. Maybe she was wondering if I was going to keep up with her today or lag behind?

Almost home and a quick check on the neighbors. She didn't stop today, just looked in their direction as she continued her pace.

Evidently there hasn't been a lot of nighttime animal traffic around these trees. The past few days she has not stopped to smell anything ... just a straight walk to the door to get back inside.

It was an afternoon of perfect weather again. Our activities ranges from soaking up some sun to start my tan while Stella slept and Heidi roamed. I thought we were finished until Heidi came to be about an hour later to go outside. She found a spot in the backyard and spent over an hour by herself just enjoying the warm day.

While Heidi was outside, we had our excitement for the day and possibly the wee. Two trucks showed up and at first I thought it was another load of egg shells but it turned out to be two loads of fertilizer. I'll be sure to take some photos when they start to apply it to the field. The ground is still too soft to plow.

The red truck was stuck for a short time have emptying his truck. He kept spinning the tires through the mud and finally gain enough traction to escape.

Not much happened today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana but it was still a nice one.