Stella Thought Spring Had Arrived

With it sunny and 48° with no snow, Stella thought spring had arrived and it was time for taking a short nap outside.

While she slept, Sadie found more interesting things to do.

It was a great day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana ... April will be here before we know it.

Weather Breaks Mean Hound Walk

It took a while but finally the temperatures moved out of the upper teens and low 20's to something more bearable. It took another day for the ground to absorb the melted snow. We found out yesterday afternoon it was solid enough to take a walk. The hounds loved it, as they had some serious 'cabin fever'.

There was plenty of other action before that afternoon walk though and at the time I didn't care for it ... because it caused me to lose my favorite baseball cap. It's the one I wear whenever outside doing yard work and at times when I am running errands around this rural area.

Sadie tried to warn me ... but I didn't pick up on what she was telling me. She came to sit next to me at my computer desk and had this look in her eyes that there was something going on that should not be going on ... she turned her head toward Stella. Both of them had been laying on the floor chewing different bones. I thought that was what Stella was doing. When I checked ten minutes later I found out what Sadie was trying to tell me ... Stella was chewing up and eating my favorite baseball cap.

Anyway after the initial shock was over, everything was okay ... I figured Stella was telling me it was time to buy a new ballcap to wear when I do yard work in this year. I am not really sure how old the one was that she chewed up.

With the snow melted and the first walk in a few days, the hounds were pretty excited with all the new scents and with the amount of deer tracks I was seeing the deer activity had been heavy. There was one close call yesterday with Stella. By the time I got the camera pointed in that direct she was already running towards me knowing she was in trouble. I had turned just in time to see her inside the wooded area and was on her way of running down into the very deep gully. She came running when I yelled her name.

The sun was trying to break through the overcast toward the end of our walk. Plus this shows a pretty nice "skyline" view of the neighborhood. The place is so quiet you don't know if people are still living there or have gone south for the winter.

Heidi for some reason protested any offers to go outside yesterday after her initial trip in the morning. With the change back to Earthborn Holistic Dog Food, the Primitive blend ... her skin has really looked good and has shown no signs of redness as the day progresses.

Stella spent most of the walk lagging behind ... I think it's because she likes to run to catch up to us. That's good exercise for her.

I didn't notice until I was editing this photo that a neighbor had put on a new red metal roof. I evidently don't get out much because I don't ever remember seeing that replacement taking place. Back in the 60's I remember visiting that house to meet and talk to my great grandfather. 

You can see that the hounds tracked scent all the way home. I also think you can see that the collar I bought for Stella a few weeks ago shows up well when the two hounds are together ... it's easy now to tell them apart.

Some of you know I've been thinking again about blogging. I am going to leave this blog open but I will be posting less frequently. Over the years there have been so good online friendships developed and due to the distance from 'the tropics' this blog is one way to stay in touch. Plus everyone likes to check in on the hounds to see what they are up to. I would prefer to set the blog up by invitation only but I found out yesterday from further reading that each person would need to log in with a Google account, which I assume that means you would need a gmail address to log in to read the blog. Most of the readers that I would invite don't have gmail accounts.

Honestly I'd like to block a few readers but that is not possible with Blogger like it is with Wordpress.

So, the blogging will continue but on a less frequent basis. Life is pretty boring here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana, especially in the winter months. It's hard to find things to write about during those times, as well as the warmer times of the year.

It's time to head out ... Sadie is giving me her stare telling me it's time to go out and check things since the sun is up.

A Hound Walk At 12°

We were fooled by the sun around 10:40am. With Heidi buried deep in her multiple blankets, Sadie and Stella kept sitting near the doorway to the computer room, giving me that 'stare' they use when they want to go outside. I headed outside with them wearing my Golite 800 jacket. It's just as worthless this winter as last year. Within minutes I left the hounds outside and went back inside to change into the Mountain Hardwear Parka w/hood.

The stares continued even outside ... I sat the camera on a chair while adding some gloves to the equation. The sun was bright as you can see, the ground was as hard as any highway but off we went. From the start both hounds took off and I was way behind for most of the walk. They were supplementing their diet of Fromm Dog Food for Large Breeds. Some say it takes weeks before you notice a change in dog food but I can say that within 7 days their coats became even softer, Sadie quit chewing and licking at her front leg. Stella never has an issue with different food. I am sticking with Fromm.

Even with them stopping at the  normal places, I noticed they were in a lot of hurry to get around that first right turn. I am pretty sure that is where the deer spend a lot of time. Today Stella wasn't going to move and we got quite a bit out in front of her before she started sprinting to catch up.

No sprinting photos ... why?? ... that damn camera. After not getting it to focus I glance at the rear screen to see "lens not attached" ... it was just a photo before. By the time I took the 55-200mm lens off and put it back on, Stella was already beside me. From then on, each time I tried to catch her running ... camera wouldn't work.

By the time we were about 3/4 of the walk, it must have been really cold to them (12° WC 2°) because both of them took off running toward the house. That is something neither one had ever done before. They were able to continue to eat the stuff I don't want to see while waiting for me to catch up.

From the way the air felt ... the afternoon hound walk has been cancelled for today.

Here is a photo of Heidi from yesterday afternoon. It shows she is up and has a pulse. In addition, I am also happy I went back to Earthborn Primitive Natural for her. I still had the 28# bag to finish. The top two ingredients are Turkey Meal and Chicken Meal. Her skin has never looked better and lately has not been turning red as the day progresses. I might change the blend but I will be sticking with Earthborn Dog Food from now on.

It's sunny and dry here in "the tropics' of Southern Indiana even if it is only 12°.

My Rambling Starts Extremely Early

It's been a weird 10 hours. Here I am blogging before I have my first photo of the day, before the sun is up .... still after the hounds were fed breakfast and with all my lights off inside the house. The temperature is 9° and they tell me it feels like 2°. I don't really know because I have not been outside but I felt the freezing temps when I opened the door to let all 3 hounds outside. A few months ago I started feeding the hounds twice per day ... so their breakfast is served right after they get back inside ... which doesn't take too long. They are more interested in eating than dumping their tanks after a night of sleep.

A night of sleep it was. I knew something was wrong when I started nodding out at 8:30pm. I am a natural born 'night person'. I am rarely in bed before 1am if not later. So when I am sitting on the couch next to a sleeping bloodhound (Stella) and hearing a snoring bloodhound in the big chair (Sadie), with a basset setting the all-time record for sleeping on the bed (Heidi) ... trying to read a book but falling asleep ... I know my night is about to get weird.

In the life of retirement though, you learn to go with the wave. Follow what you feel and go with the flow. So the lights were turned off, the bloodhounds stayed where they were and I headed off to bed ... It was only 9:10pm. With forecasts predicting a low of 2° I decided to leave my bathroom water running just for my own peace of mind. My water pipes have never frozen here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana in temperature much colder than 2° ... but some recommend running the water, some say to let it drip so I pick somewhere close to just a small steady stream.

I don't think I was awake longer than a few minutes after laying down. Heidi decided I could have my 1/3 of the bed, as close to the edge as possible. It didn't matter though, whatever had knocked me out was working overtime and I was out cold within minutes. Of course when you go to bed early you wake up early ... at 5am I am wide awake. It's dark outside and I can tell from the frozen covered storm windows it is $%*$#* cold outside.

Before that 5am is where things got weird. Some of the strangest dreams took place somewhere between 9pm and 5am. The kind of dreams you can actually remember after you wake up. The weirdness and my detailed memory of them led me to log into my search engine "DuckDuckGo" to check out some of the things I was dreaming about. How crazy is that???

It was nice to see the internet prove they were only dreams and that's where they will stay. My mind is crazy sometimes.

So after a cup of coffee by 6:03am, looking at the calendar on my computer to see the day was Saturday ... I decided what a perfect time to ramble. Well rested. The hounds following their normal routine are sleeping all together after they eat breakfast. Their next scheduled time to go outside will be when the sun comes up. That usually occurs about the time I finish my first cup of coffee with Sadie standing next to my desk giving me the stare down.

That will not happen today though ... the schedule is off due to getting up at 6am. I just poured my 2nd cup of coffee, it's still quite dark outside and the hounds are in the snoring stage of sleep. Not much will take place any different than the weekdays. There will be a lot more college basketball on tv today. I'll not sit and watch games like I do college football but there will be games on the tv in the background. I'll check in at times when things show they are interesting or a good game to watch. I cannot keep that book Area 51 down long ... so I'll continue my reading of that.

Sadie, Stella and I took off for the walk yesterday and we will try to do that again today ... even with the cold temps. If there is no wind it should be okay. Unlike the last two days, I'll be taking the camera this time. The pantry is stocked, FJ is full of gas that was bought at an unbelievable price and the Mini Cooper S needs a wash in the  worse way.

Now on to different subjects that's on my mind.

For those that live in rural areas and would like faster internet service ... I am NOT talking Hughes Net ... but the Exede Satellite Service (Viastat) I had installed in June 2014 I am really happy with. Through all kinds of weather, high winds, torrential spring rains ... I rarely lose my internet connection. My internet speed tests out most of the time around 12Mbps. For example, websites load about a half second slower than instant. They do have their own satellite in space and will be launching a new in this April. They will not confess to me what the new surprise will be but I am pretty sure it is about data limits being increased ... maybe even close to unlimited. As far as customer service, they are knowledgeable and when they tell you something it happens.

Blogging came back up for discussion in my head a few days ago. Nothing different than anytime before. The current template stays ... I actually like it, go figure. It's not a surprise that traffic numbers change based on topic. For example I doubt this post will get a lot of prime time views, but I am here just to ramble this morning. Most of my RV crowd left years ago. The bloodhounds get the most traffic ...even if I do nothing but post a line of photos. Yet, my friends converted bus post the other night is the winner so far this month for the most views.

I found out it is much better to allow anonymous comments with a word verification instead of blocking them just because you are trying to prevent being swamped with spam comments. With word verification I rarely get any spam comments. One or two might fall through the cracks. My 'haters' have seemed to moved on ... there is one that still views the blog daily. She claims she is RVing, on the road blah blah blah ... but her server IP never seems to move from her house location. One I had to block, not really block but blogger blocked her ... I am not sure what she sees if anything when she visits. I guess some people make a living out of ranting after reading other people's blogs. All I can say is "get a life".

I guess I am a little late but saw it first thing this morning on my blog roll that Al & Kelly have decided to sell their winter home in Congress Arizona. Click here to see some of the details along with photos. They have done a fantastic job with that house and property. They just have 'a feel' for getting things done like that. Everything is planned out perfect and that includes their house in Canada. That had to have been a very hard decision for them. I was sad when I read the news this morning. I wish I had that much cash available to buy the place. It's priced at $85,000 and based on what I have seen over the year on Zillow.com, that is a steal for whoever the new owner will be.

My friend over at Travels of a Rambling Van had me laughing about trying to get a UPS delivery, even mail delivery to a location off the grid. He said the maps show his property a little off from the actual location. I have him beat on that one. Most of the maps I use to check my location show me in the country on the east side of town. AT&T thought I lived on the west side of town years ago ... luckily at that time the AT&T installer was a neighbor and knew exactly where I lived. At the time I needed that landline installed for my DSL service.

The main thing he had me doing was looking for all of those Omaha Steak mailers I get. You know the ones, where you never open them and just toss them into the recycling box? Well since my life is all electronic now, I didn't need to look for those fliers at all because I went to their website. Very tempting to buy beef and chicken the way he does. Something I might consider. I can still buy grass fed beef here locally at the farmers market. I also find that Lucky's Market has great meat and fresh fish. Since it is just a few blocks from where I buy dog food, it makes it pretty convenient, except the times I take Stella with me.

I don't have a stand up freezer like he does but believe it or not this 40 year old house does have the space for it and correct wiring for it. The original owner of the house (great aunt) had a stand up freezer, inside a built in space made just for that. It was built into the wall that separates my kitchen and computer room. When I moved in I filled that space with a book case on one side and installed shelves on the other side of the open space for more books and my music. For a short time it served as my compact computer desk.

No matter what, Travels of a Rambling Van has me looking at Omaha Steaks.

I like following the blog roll on the left sidebar. Everyone posts at different intervals. They are scattered everywhere in all kinds of weather, all kinds of RVs .. a few are like me, retired and home based most of the time. I will say this cold weather has not bothered me. I don' t wish I was somewhere warmer. It's part of winter here and so far this winter it's been more than mild, with it half over. I can't complain about that. I like the decisions I have made the past couple of years of staying put. For new readers, a few summers ago I actually had a For Sale sign in the front yard to sell the house. I had a few calls, probably just local curiosity more than anything.

Sure, there are times I wished I lived out west. I spent close to 30 years in California and Washington along with 10 months in Breckenridge Colorado. I loved it out there. I was more active out there but at the same time I was also 20-30 years younger. Evidently I don't mind living here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana too much ... March is my anniversary date and it will be 19 years next month, that I have lived here.

There are also times I take off day dreaming about traveling, living in a van or driving my FJ and tent camping wherever I decide to stop. The urge to live in an RV or a converted bus disappeared over a year ago. One thing that has never changed is the indecision on what to buy to travel in. I still don't have any idea what I would want ... at the same time I no longer spend a lot of time thinking about it. I was warned by someone that has traveled for years with more than two dogs ... that traveling with dogs is work. At times it's not easy. Having dogs that cannot sleep on the dash of your vehicle due to their size but you swear they can tear your knee ligaments when they hit you running full steam ... makes traveling even harder.

With hound breeds and not working breeds, ONE interesting scent can send them into an oblivion state of unconsciousness and your chances of catching them are slim to none. That is not a good thing in strange land. Yea I know, you all know someone that has traveled for years with 3-4 dogs or is traveling now with 3-4 dogs .... good for them ... I found it to be a hassle. As much as I love my hounds I cannot say I enjoyed traveling with them. Of course that short 8 day trip was in the 90° temps so even leaving them in the car while you ran inside to pay for gas because the pump didn't read your debit card ... made things interesting.

Stops at Rest Area's were always exciting. A lot of strange noises and scents made for excited strong pulling hounds. Their normal eating times were off and based on when the camp was set up or how far away the next Rest Area was located. Based on the two trips that Stella has made to buy dog food, with a main 4 lane street running in front of the store ... she is freaked out by the traffic noise. Scared. Jumpy. She wants to take off running. I'm not sure that would work parked in a Rest Area on I-70. Anyway the inconvenience traveling now with TWO large hounds and a smaller one that is skin and bones is not something I want to put up with.

So ... sure I daydream at times of traveling ... but my image is doing it alone, without hounds ... maybe just one basset hound.

Hmmm ... hounds, satellite interent, traveling, food ... I'm not sure if I covered everything I wanted to 'ramble' about but this went on longer than I had planned. This post will be boring to most and that's okay ... I just needed somewhere to write before the sun came up.

Now that it has ... it's time to wake up the bloodhounds with "you want to go outside?", grab the camera, put on my Mountain Hardwear Parka and get outside just to see how cold it really is.

Since this is all rambling ... I've decided not to include any photos ... they would have been old ones anyway.

Hounds Hibernate With Temps in Teens

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I didn't post on the blog. There was just nothing to blog about. With the temperatures floating between 18°-21° most of the day yesterday and it looks like that again today ... we didn't get out much. After Sadie, who I cannot carry if required, raised her left front paw yesterday around noon because it was frozen or had snow/ice between her toes ... staying inside seemed to be the right thing to do.

They hounds slept, I read books, had some hot soup and a nice siesta. All nothing to write home about nor blog about. I am finding the book I picked up at the library this week, Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen is a great book, right from the start.

With weekend temps projecting to drop to the low teens or single digits ... expect more of the same. It might be a good time to "ramble" a little, dig through the photo archives and tell some stories of past hounds or places I've been. Many of those photos still need to be converted to a digital format. So I'm not sure what the blogging situation will be.

In the mean time here are a few photos from yesterday afternoon and this morning.

The afternoon yesterday felt pretty warm but neither hound had any desire to stay out long. These first photos were from yesterday morning. We did take off on a walk later yesterday afternoon but I didn't have my camera with me. It was a nice change of pace.

I knew it was too cold yesterday morning when I glanced out to Sadie seeing her lift her front paw. She limped back to the house.

It might look warmer this morning but don't let that sunshine fool you. It was 23° when we took these photos and WeatherBug said it "felt like" 15°. I had to agree with my fingers freezing almost immediately.

The "to do' list is starting to be developed for the spring of 2016. High pressure washing the fence along the driveway will be one of the first things done. Some minor repairs of nailing some parts back together and I am going to add some steel fencing posts to help support some of the wooden posts .... yes, the same type of steel posts that I just cut down about 5 years ago.

If my memory serves me well ... I am pretty sure that I cut these shrubs at ground level about 3 years ago. My neighbor at the time denied he set them on fire while burning "my bank". I guess the south side of them became mysteriously burnt, reasons unknown. The time is not the factor here but "ground level" is. If I am correct about that, then I have some serious erosion going on that will have to be taken care of. Any suggestions for saving a bank that is being eroded away?? In the meantime I'll do some research on the internet.

The problem has always been, the 10 acre field behind my house angles downward and towards the south end of my property. All of that underground water flows towards my house and veers towards the south end of the property over the bank where Winston was sitting just last May. Back 60-70 years ago, my driveway use to be continuous with a small brick road that went between these two trees. The red brick is still down in the bottom of that gully. It would come out to the road that is still there today and used.

I learned from a cousin that grew up a few houses north of me and was very familiar with my house, that annually they would bring in a load of pea gravel every spring and fill in the washed out yard that is at the edge of my property and bank. A few years ago I had 2-3 truck loads of 'mine dust' brought in, recommended by an old neighbor and that stopped the underground water. Of course that water found another path around the edge of that mine dust over the years.

I may or may not clear that patch of land I talked of last week and make it all green grass. The problem is, a "to do" list is coming together but I am wanting to travel. I'd like to back out to Utah earlier this year to miss the 90° temps and get up to Glacier NP before the forest fires, then head back to Indiana. My issue isn't the list ... it's Stella's separation anxiety.

She is passing tests where I leave for short periods of time, most of the time ... but didn't like being left in the FJ when I stopped in the library this week. Although there is no damage in the bedroom lately, she is still digging  at the door trim and was still able to move my chest of drawers ... with a 25lb dumbbell on the floor to block any movement.

With her anxiety ... it would be hard to stop for grocery shopping. When I buy gas she seems okay, because she can see me. When it gets a little warmer, we will stay overnight in the tent in the backyard to see how she handles that. With that anxiety I am not sure that Stella will be a good camper ... hard to say until we try a few things. I was about to leave a few weeks ago to a friends place in AZ and warmer weather but when she started trying to dig out of my bedroom while I was gone, plans were put on hold. There is no way I am going to let her destroy a friends house while we are away.

That's all for this morning here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. I'll post more later, possibly today.