Deer Chase #4 In 2016

Sorry I'm a little late tonight posting this but I was busying doing other things after our early afternoon walk today.

Right after lunch it looked like rain but like I said in my first post this morning I was wanting to get my yard mowed before it rained. I also wanted to get in a walk for the hounds before it rain. The skies looked like rain was near but the radar did not show rain within a 1,000 miles of us. Doesn't that photo look like rain?

Right from the start both Sadie and Stella were locked in on something. It was more intense than their normal activity. I made sure my camera was ready and hoping it would work all the time. It does have it's moments of not cooperating.

Out of nowhere Stella takes off sprinting but I don't see anything on the horizon. Sadie was soon to follow her and before I knew it they were both around the corner and out of sight. I figured they were gone.

Then in somewhat of a confused state they both came back but were facing the woods across the field to the left where the deer was a couple of weeks ago. I am looking at the woods, the horizon and see nothing but the hounds were definitely agitated. There is definitely something they are smelling.

Before I could even catch up to them, they turned around and took off again. Just as I turned the corner there they were but there activity seemed normal. I looked at the the back of the field just in case there were deer there. I was in for a surprise.

As I reach where the hounds are, they are doing nothing out of the norm ... I glance up at the gully and out jumps a pretty good size deer ... probably the biggest I have seen yet this year.

The 4th deer chase of the year was on!!!

 

Stella instantly started baying and sprinting after it although way behind. Sadie for some reason did not know yet what was going on and didn't start running until Stella was away.

The deer kicks it into a higher gear and extends her lead over Stella.

Sadie is just to the right of that photo up above running as fast as she can. She was never close to the deer but her and Stella were close as they went over the hill towards the power tower.

I'd been walking on the path the whole time and not running. It would not have done any good to run after them. I knew most likely I may have to go find them for the first time this year. Glancing at the horizon I don't see them anywhere. I continue to walk, not running.

About the time I start walking straight toward the tower I catch both hounds off to the left and fairly close. I was really happy that they had not jumped the small wire fence that is in those trees. Once again like all the other deer chases, when I called their names, they came running ... proud of what they had accomplished.

They must have thought the deer might come back for them as they kept stopping and looking back in that direction, while on the way home.

They acted pretty proud again of what they had done.

Still after a nice after lunch run - it was time for the afternoon water and siesta.

I posted just a few of the deer chase photos on my Facebook page today. I was fortunate to find Stella's original owner on Facebook sometime in April. She is thrilled that she can see how Stella is doing. It was out of her control that she had to give Stella up ... but she told me something tonight that I suspected, but didn't know.

She said that chasing deer was one of Stella's favorite hobbies. When I asked if she had ever ran away, she said that Stella always came back yet her mom was gone for over two weeks before she returned home after one deer chase.

It might be because of the three different homes Stella has had but she seems to be really attached to the house and will not take off when she has had the chance to ignore me calling her. In fact she likes to stay pretty close to me where ever I go. Some hounds would have taken off running no matter how loud you yelled.

Heidi took the day off from the ointment. Tonight her skin is still red and what I call out of control. She has chewed four spots raw. I am going to give her an Epsom Salt soak early Tuesday morning. I have no idea what set her skin off this time. It was looking better the majority of the day.

Could you tell the difference in the three photos of her rear leg and paw the other day?

Yes, my lawn was mowed under sunny skies with rain predicted Tuesday afternoon.

A good night here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

The Hounds Missed The Deer

I admit today's post title may be a little misleading. I'll get to the specifics after this short weather intro ... but it was a different kind of deer chase today.

The weather forecast did exactly what it said last night and this morning. From 46° yesterday in the late afternoon we were sitting below 15° around 7:30am and very little if any snow. Unlike 70 miles north of us, it's a different story.

Looking at Wunderground weather it wasn't going to get any warmer than 18° and it was already 'up' to that range by 9:30am, give or take a few minutes. With that in mind I decided we'd get our walk in and it would probably be the only walk of the day. These kind of temps always make me cautious, wondering if it's too cold when I consider some their paws coming down with frostbite.

What was the difference in this deer chase today compared to the other 5 or 6 we have had this summer and fall ?? Well the hounds were so busy with their normal exploring to start the walk ....

They didn't see the deer that jumped out of the woods at the first corner turn we make and in fact didn't even catch their scent until they got to that corner.

By the time the lens focused in this freezing weather, it did hesitate, this 2nd picture was the last I saw of the deer. They were so fast and quiet, neither Sadie nor Stella even raised their head and took off like they normally would have and have in the past.

They continued along the path not yet to that corner. I was prepping my camera in anticipation they would take off sprinting in the direction of the deer once that fresh scent of just a few minutes ago came up on their radar .... didn't happen.

It didn't happen even when they approached the corner well within the place the deer jumped out of the woods. Has 18° frozen the abilities of the bloodhound's accurate and powerful nose??

I'm shocked ... still no response !!!!

Then they take off sprinting !!! But wait ... the deer ran 90° left of where these two lost bloodhounds are running. What's up with that??

Flying down the backside of the field, not even close to the path of the most recent deer. There was probably a lot of deer activity earlier this morning along that path.

A look of confusion, after all they are not 'problem solvers'.

Yet they are sure they are just about ready to catch their deer so they continue to sprint in to the "No Fly Zone".

I don't have a problem with that. I change my direction off the path and start walking to my left so I can get on top of the small incline to have a better view of where they went and where they are.

But they stopped way before that and turned around just past the base of that large electrical tower.

Sadie looked as if she was still pretty proud of her chase, while Stella looked pretty disappointed. She is the one that normal is in full pursuit of the deer she chases.

They still took one last look for any possible new deer before heading back inside. With the unexpected run, we cut the walk short right after and headed home. It was too cold for them I guess as they both sprinted for the house.

Temperature started to drop soon after lunch. Heidi made an appearance long enough for me to take her picture as she trotted back to the house but she wasn't out very long when the windchill was 5°.

{Forgot to add the picture when I published the post}

We didn't do much after that. All of them slept, I watched NFL football games. Stella tried to get me to feed a third time around 5pm by howling like she does if I miss her lunch time. Only today, I did not miss their lunch time. I couldn't figure out any other reasons that would cause her to howl like that.

The weather experts were right when they predicted this would be a "colder than normal" winter. We are way below our averages but at the same time because he have not had any snow like other parts of the USA have had, nor any ice storms that can cause damage or take out power.

I noticed the dealership where I traded the FJ did not have it listed after adding some new cars to their inventory online. I guess they could have sold it in one day but more than likely they took it to the car auction to get rid of it. My old blue FJ is still for sale at the Indy Toyota dealership.

This new used Mini Cooper is working out great for me. There will enough room for anything I need in back, the ride is nice and the mpg is great.

We are staying warm her in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana, even in the low single digit windchill temps.