Time Flies When You're Having Fun

We were out soon after 8am. I would have been drenched with water/dew if the field had not been cut. I still feel small droplets of water coming off my hiking boots with each step. Cool enough to wear a sweatshirt ... but the hounds were "noses to the ground".

While Sadie started chasing swallows almost immediately, Stella was more interested in finding supplements to her diet with hopes I wouldn't catch her soon enough. The word "no" was used a lot this morning for both hounds and each time their findings were dropped to the ground.

That didn't mean they couldn't exercise their noses. There was plenty of time and plenty of field to do that. We walked a little further today along the back side to keep everyone within the cut path so we would not mess up the piled rows that they will rake later before baling.

With the yard mowed yesterday and the forecasted rain blowing out for another few days replaced by sunshine today I wasn't sure what plans I had for today. It looked like the chances of rain were slim for this afternoon but very good later tonight after midnight.

I had a lot more weeds to cut along the driveway bank. I did that until my battery ran out of juice. I did take the Z4 out for another drive of about 50 miles.

This morning we walked by the electrical tower to the woods on the north side. Here is a picture from an angle never seen before. I am standing at the far NE corner of the field, the tall tower would be to the left. Looking back toward the house you can see just how much incline there is to the middle of the field.

I look for them to rake and start baling late this afternoon. Once that is done that will put us back on our regular path which can be seen since it's a darker green.

It is funny how excited they get when we get ready to head out for these two or three walks per day because when they get back home, all of them are in a deep sleep with ten minutes.

Today wasn't much different than yesterday afternoon, except less sporting events to watch. So I spent most of the day outside reading a couple of books. There were no bugs or gnats to bother me, Sadie and Stella enjoyed roaming the field even after two hound walk.

I thought the way Heidi jumped off the couch that she was going on with noon walk with us. She was only needing a place to lay outside under the sunshine while Sadie, Stella and I took our walk.

With all of them outside it was time to cut their nails and brush them. All three of them were very cooperative in the nail trimming expedition so they were awarded peanut flavored bone treats afterwards.

I remember how nice it was to walk around 8:15pm last night so we are going to wait until then for our 3rd walk of the day.

I found out a couple of things concerning my 2012 Mini Cooper S Countryman and the slowness I had with Google Chrome. I always suspected a previous owner had added those red stripes, stock design, to make it look like the model above what it actually was. If you remember I took all of the red striping on the car off in March.

These side panels were a dead giveaway because of the "John Cooper Works" side panel, plus the front bumper and by a couple of other features I knew that this was not a John Cooper Works model. That would make it sportier, a little more horsepower and worth more.

Did they change out these side panels, add red mirrors and the red inlets in the front grill and the stock red stripes to make more on the trade-in value or just because they wanted that model?

I found out the true specs of the car last night as I was curious enough to find a decoder that could break down the VIN in detail. In that description it stated the car came with black mirrors ("outside mirrors same color as car") and the HP was for the Sport model that I have, not the John Cooper Works model.

I was also suspicious at times when I looked in Google Images for my car and I could not find the model with the stock red stripes with a black roof. That model of car always had a red roof, along with red mirrors and red grill intakes.

I am going to buy the stock side panels for the "S" model that I have and still try to find some black mirrors to replace the red ones, taking the car back to it's stock description. Those black mirrors are hard to find, even used ones for sale.

I mentioned the other day I was having problems with Google Chrome when using blogger. I tried something this morning because the only recent change I had made was adding the "Pocket" app. That gives you the ability to save a website into Pocket so you can read it offline. It's a great feature for those using laptops yet is a standard option with the Safari browser.

It was a pretty quiet day in retirement here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Hounds Present A New Problem

As with anything in life, changes present new challenges. It's nothing new and it happens every time the field is mowed. The challenge during the multiple daily hound walks changes from trying to see them in tall grass to now watching for and preventing them from eating what they find.

It's the point in time of dog ownership where we find out they really are just dogs and not what their owners wish them to be. They might seem just like children or grown people as they sleep on couches, eat people food, toss things at you to play and understand what you are saying.

They are all of those things but one act they do proves they are still dogs. They can eat the grosses stuff when they find it. After a fresh cut field that includes dead mice and an occasional dead bird that was caught under the mower. Deer scat is the furthest thing from their mind when there is other stuff to try to devour before I scream "NO".

As Sadie and Stella walked mostly along the edge of the field after making that first turn, I could see a worn path right where Stella stopped, signifying deer traffic. You can kind of see the path right above her head that would lead into the gully.

She was positive the deer had gone that way and was about to get deep into the brush and down in the gully until I told her to get out of there. I am happy to see she knows what that means when I say it. An example of when hounds act like people.

With the field cut it was still a little wet this morning in the shaded areas but nothing like it is with tall grass. Now we can venture up into the far right corner adding a little more time, more steps and a longer walk ... and without getting soaked from the tall grass in the shaded area.

Here is Sadie about to act like a hound and not a person. It's a time where her nose is just too good. Luckily she dropped what she had found when I said "drop it". In the past about the time I would say "drop it", Winston would take one big gulp and it was gone. He never got sick but it made me sick seeing it happen.

There were a few times this morning that Stella broke into a trot that was a faster pace than previous weeks. I get the feeling she likes having the field cut.

When the hounds are in the searching mode it's a constant battle to keep walking forward while turning to keep an eye on them. They never drop anything they find on their own, only when I tell them to. Luckily on this morning's walk, they did not eat anything they found and followed my commands of "no" or "drop it".

Sadie was walking very slow as I took this picture. You notice she was able to curl her paw as much as she could with each step. It was like she was walking in slow motion.

Looking at the rows of drying grass, flowers and weeds it does not look like they will get their normal 16-18 rolls of hay. The field needed to be cut but I could tell during our walks that much of the field was not real tall nor thick like it has been in the past.

Even with the sunshine out early this morning and covering most of the field, Stella did not like walking over the rows that were still wet. Once she stepped into the yard she trotted to the door. She needed water and a morning nap when she got inside.

The afternoon turned out more productive than I had planned. One thing led to another and before I knew it 8pm was just around the corner. All three hounds made an appearance after their lunch. It didn't take long for Heidi to head back to the couch for a Sunday afternoon siesta while a cool breeze blew through the house. Sadie and Stella let me know that I probably should mow the yard.

By 12:30pm I was able to sit down for lunch and watch the IndyCar race. That followed into a Reds game. Since they were winning today instead of that loss on Saturday I watched most of the game but not all. I had the sudden urge to take the Z4 out for a nice 50 mile drive. It's perfect weather right now at 75°.

I was going to wait until there was more shade on the front yard but after I finished the mowing the backyard I kept going. It might rain tomorrow and there's a very good chance for the rain to return this week from Tuesday through Thursday.

Once again this week the Garmin VivoSmart3 shows I went over my max heart rate while mowing the yard. It wasn't that hot nor was I going that fast but much more effort mowing with a push mower than I ever suspected. Following the 'old school way of figuring the max heart rate, mine is 160. That is taking 225 - my age. There is probably a more accurate way in today's math but we used that formula for years while training for bike races.

The Z4 doesn't get driven much but when it does it runs quieter and smoother than any car I have owned.

After three hound walks today, the hounds are beat and were in a deep sleep by 7:30pm.

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

The Hounds Get Their Wish

I heard the sound of a tractor slowing down on the highway from my computer desk this morning. It looked like the farmer that bales the field behind the house but they were going the opposite direction for getting into the field. The hounds were about to take their first walk of this morning and I never have walked them while they are mowing the field ... I decided to take a chance today.

About the time I had changed into my hiking boots and stepped outside into sunshine for the first time in two days, I saw the old tractor with the mower on the back, making a turn to head past the house heading north. From the sounds I heard as we started out walk, it certainly sounded as if the field was going to get mowed today. Stella didn't show a lot of reaction to the noise but Sadie was more than curious.

It was heading along the north edge of the field so we continued walking. I knew which way he was going to go and figured by the time the hounds and I got near the back edge of the field we would meet. So before that happened I guided both hounds toward the middle of the field so we could watch him pass, keep the hounds out of his way and follow his mowed path back home.

At this time both hounds were off leash but I had the 6' standard leash in my back pocket for Stella. I was pretty sure what Sadie would do but not Stella, once the tractor drew near. Like many of you, he wanted to see the hounds. So right after he went around the edge of the "far right corner", he pulled his mower up off the ground and started driving our way.

Am I seeing this correctly? Reading a text from his smart phone while mowing the field???   LOL

Mowing along the back edge of the field almost to the far right corner.

Not only to see the hounds he wanted to know if I had the tether attached to the 'spike in the ground' so he would not mow over it. They always check with me every time before they mow along the backyard. When the tractor was coming right at us as we stood in the middle of the field, Stella sat down next to me and Sadie stood in front of me not really sure that thing was coming towards us.

As he pulled away and headed around the first turn, Sadie wanted to run after him but with a loud "no", she trotted back toward me and walked just in front of me. Before the tractor drove over to meet us I had put the leash on Stella's collar. She acted as if she had been around tractors before in her earlier years.

With a nice path mowed why walk through the taller grass on the way home?  It was great to walk on the mowed path of the field.

The last of the yellow flowers. It will dry out all day today and rolled into 2,000 pound rolls of hay tomorrow or Monday.

He is over by Stella's all-time favorite place ... the wooded area behind the neighbor's house.

One last look at the flowers before they are mowed.

Later on he will come back in the opposite direction to cut the edge of the field, just like trimming your driveway or sidewalk after mowing your yard.

Once he finished cutting the field, since the hounds had their lunch we went outside to enjoy this great weather. It's such a change from the past two days of dark skies and rain. While I cut some weeds, Stella decided to nap under the sun.

Sadie was more interested in exploring the field now that it was cut. Heidi was laying about a foot away from Stella but out of camera range. Anytime I pointed the camera at her, she would get up and trot away. She might be tired of blogging, who knows?

I whacked weeds until my batter died. It was a great time to take our first walk in the mowed field. It makes a lot of difference because I can see where the hounds are at all times plus I find there are less ticks on me after the walk.

Stella took her time soaking in every inch of mowed grass.

Sadie walked along the very edge of the field and thought there might be a chance to curl up to the far right corner since it was cut. That is where she saw the one deer the other night.

Stella did not run fast but it was more between a run and a trot. She had not been to the far right corner in a while and was happy to head that direction.

I am hoping now the field is cut that she will start running more like she use to, but that will be up to her.

Too many deer scents to walk away.

Sadie and I headed off along the back edge of the field following a path created by the mower. I don't want to mess up their rows of hay that will be raked up tomorrow before they bale it ... so we stayed on the same path going out and coming back home.

It looks a lot different once the field is cut ... much more enjoyable doing the hound walks. Once everything is raked and baled, the path we walk every day will show up in dark green from the grass that has been mashed down as I walk.

We picked Stella up on the way back.

The last of the yellow flowers until next year.

Although the high temperature was only low 70's today, Sadie had enough exercise exploring the field plus a lot of running full steam trying to catch sparrows while I was cutting weeds. I was on the north side of the yard at the time with the weed eater and did not have the camera to show how far she was running to get them. She had never ran further or faster chasing sparrows until today.

It started last night when I tried to reply on a couple of recent blog comments. Blogger would not load my box to reply in, then did not recognize my user name. After a few attempts I decided I'd try to clear out 'cookies' and erase all the built up data. I hate doing that because that means I have to re-sign into all the websites I use that require a user name and password.

After doing that, I was able to reply to the comments and thought clearing out the cookies of the browser Google Chrome fixed the problem. This morning while starting this post it was even more messed up. It was trying to load all of my photos in their original size instead of the smaller version like the settings I have. So I rebooted my computer thinking I might have a network problem with just Blogger.

Not only did that not work but when I clicked the link to edit the post I had started, my Activity Monitor graph I have open on my other monitor, started to max out and I was going through data like water while the page was hung up trying to load. I shut Google Chrome down and tried using Safari.

My blog loaded fast the morning photos loading without any problems, almost instantly while using only 5Mb of data. I have been using Google Chrome the past few weeks for their Data Saver app that seems to work based on the decreased amount of data I am using in a 24 hour period.

The major plan for today was cutting weeds on the driveway until the battery died. I'll probably wait until tomorrow to mow the yard making sure the sun bakes out all of the wetness from two days of rain.

Since he turned around soon after passing the house I had the feeling he may have been doing a test drive before buying the old tractor. I didn't know of any tractor shows going on locally but I think I remember seeing this tractor for sale a few days ago when I drove to town.

It's back to great weather here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.