Heidi Barking For Action

Here's Heidi in between her bouts of barking. Since I will never post a video, or a recording, you will just have to take my word for it. In the almost seven years I have had her I have found she barks for only two reasons ... it's time to eat or she is excited more than normal. Today she must have been excited about our return on our morning walk that was done four hours later than normal. I can explain later.

I could tell she was excited about today. Before I could even lift my camera into position she was already past the FJ. She never goes left but always to the right to relieve herself. So I was pretty sure she was going to join our morning walk at 11:30am. I can explain later.

As she strolled through the tall grass, even though it's been mowed every third day. I even raked that excess grass up the other day but once I had more on the mowing after that I decided I was not going to exert any more energy raking returning dead grass ... that will happen next fall in the 2018 Leaf Project. Yes, the field grew another 6" while we slept last night.

Okay, here's the reason for our late start to the day. Last night around 10:30pm I started watching a 4-star rated movie called Interstellar, filmed in 2014. I had never seen the movie so while the hounds were sleeping and I was wide awake after my three hour siesta in the afternoon, I decided to watch it ... not knowing it was going to take four hours with commercials. I thought about taping the rest of it so I could go to bed and then I could watch it later today ... but the movie was so good that I had to stay up for the end of the movie.

Sadie was hot after field mice?? Something was at ground level and she was hopping around faster than my camera could pick up ... why ???

Because Stella was taking off on her own walk at a faster pace than normal, while Heidi was inspecting the backyard for the perfect place to relieve herself. I had to keep an eye on Stella.

In less than 30 minutes after waking up, answering an email and eating a bowl of granola ... I had three hounds going three different directions ... this walk was was going to be hard and challenging. It's never a good sign seeing three hounds doing their own thing in three different directions ... ever!

I coaxed Heidi to return to the path off of the yard. I knew she would walk a little but based on what was taking place I was going to have to leave Heidi on her own and would not be able to linger back with her.  Why ???

Because Stella was moving out too far in front of us and picking her up pace. Sadie was nowhere close and I was still trying to comprehend starting my day four hours later than normal, maybe even four and a half hours later than normal.

I could tell immediately that Heidi didn't really want to walk the the half mile loop, she just wanted to check out the first 100' of the field and most likely would return home while Sadie, Stella and I continued on.

What is it that makes grass taste so good?

As Sadie and I were catching up with Stella before the first turn, Sadie had to make a quick dash to the left to hopefully get Stella back on the path but she was also in the middle of chasing small birds or mice in the field.

Those weren't deer tracks she was glued to ... something was trying to get away, running at ground level, so small that I saw nothing that could be leading Sadie on the chase.

So by this time I have Heidi out of sight way behind us, Stella was heading to my left and ignoring my calls to get back on the path. She had to be "temporarily" taken off her Freedom To Roam program, just for this walk. Sadie was pretty sure she heard me talking to myself out loud.

If you squint really hard you will see a little 'white' just off dead center of the picture ... that's Heidi enjoying her own exploration.

Don't be fooled by that photo. Stella did NOT come trotting over in our direction to join Sadie and I ... I had to walk over to her mumbling to myself, then leading her by her dog collar back to the path. She had no problem with that and actually trotted a little faster than I could lead her.

Sadie stops to check to see if we are really going on this walk or what is going on. Nothing has started smoothly on the half mile trek, yet she was fed breakfast at the normal time and lunch followed four hours later. She is ready to go just as soon as Stella and I are headed in the same direction.

Stella, as usual, cannot understand what all the concern is about so she reverts to her slower than slow pace just a little ways behind me and Sadie. With Heidi outside and in the field I knew it had to be below 80°, her threshold ... but with little humidity, the bugs, gnats and small mosquitoes were attacking me on my arms and legs ... I needed to get this walk over as soon as possible.

Yet we were not even at the halfway point. That still left plenty of time for the hounds to take their sweet time on this walk.

Once Sadie and Stella were finished checking out the back of the field, we make the turn for home and quickened the pace. Both of them walked the path right behind me, too close for camera range and we headed home. I kept Sadie moving by asking her "where's Heidi" ...

She took off running down the return path for the yard where Heidi had returned. Like always inside or outside, any time that Heidi returns inside or is there waiting for us, Sadie will always tap noses with her while on the run.

Stella and I were close to the yard and it certainly looked like Heidi was wanting to play a little bit. Whereas Winston would run or chase Sadie even with a big difference in size, Heidi has never done that with Sadie. I guess she found Sadie to be much bigger than the Greyhound she was living with when I rescued her.

With clean ears and no ticks inside them, it always feels good to a basset hound when they shake their heads hard enough to get some fresh air up inside the long ears. You can see that she is just starting the shaking process while Sadie thinks she is going to get to play a little.

Was Heidi barking because she was excited we had returned or because I left her behind??

Once she shook her head for the final time and then turned to sprint for the door, I decided she must have been barking because she wanted to go back inside where it was cool. Stella eventually showed up and she also trotted to the door to be let inside where it was cool. She was asleep behind my desk chair within minutes of walking inside.

You may have noticed a couple of slight changes in the blog post today. I wrote under the photo instead of on top of the photo as a description or the content that went with the photo. I also did not use small numbers if they were less than ten. A friend who had written a book, told me today that he found out from his editor that any number one through ten was to be spelled out and 11 or above could be typed as numbers.

I tried that here today but I cannot say that I am thrilled with that rule of the English language, so most likely I will revert back to breaking the rules on numbers and punctuation in the English language, starting with my next post.

Within two hours after starting our day, all of us were back on schedule. When it was 2pm it felt like 2pm ... so all is good. Once again it looks like rain but I am hoping it doesn't tonight since the Cubs are playing in Cincinnati. I will be back to my 'early to bed early to rise' routine starting tonight.

Even the shorter day is a good day in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Stella Always Surprises Me

This morning was Day Two of Stella's Total Freedom routine. On the way back I had an uneasy feeling about my decision because she was nowhere on the horizon as I scanned from the center of the field to my right to see the woods behind the neighbor. The search was going to have to take place with shoes and feet so wet I could feel the water squishing inside my shoe with each step. Another poor decision choosing the New Balance running shoes with the field so wet.

As Sadie took off on the normal path I could see the field was continuing to grow at a rapid rate. Within 10' of stepping into the field from the yard my legs were wet from the heavy morning dew. As I glanced back at the house, the grass is tall enough now that I couldn't see Stella anywhere.

She had decided to walk north through the yard, not even close to where Stella and I were. I have a feeling she is really enjoying her new found freedom without any verbal herding by me. Where would she end up this morning?

Just passing the property line pole and heading due north.

Sadie's face, ears and legs were already as soaked as my shoes were soon after she started. That never bothers her.

By the time I approached the first turn both hounds were almost complete out of view. Stella because she was hidden some where in the middle of the field and Sadie standing in taller grass over by the edge of the field and brush line.

I turned and kept walking.

I was hoping I'd get some photos of Sadie running to catch up with me but by the time I turned around she was already close to me. I took some rapid fire photos and came up with only this one, while the others were too blurry to post here. Nothing like shaking your head dry while on the run.

Amazing how the dew stayed in perfect round balls lined up along the seam of the leaf.

With a slight wind out of the North/Northeast, this morning had that feeling of muggy. I could tell it was going to be hotter than yesterday yet the weather apps were saying no higher than 84°. We've gone from 15° below normal in April to 10° above normal so far in May. We are already in what I call "June Weather".

Heading back on the return path at a faster pace with that uneasy feeling I had about Stella, I told Sadie to "go find Stella". She took off running straight ahead but for some reason stopped until I caught up with her. I was still scanning the field straight ahead and then toward the woods. She must be down in that drainage ditch next to the neighbor's yard.

Then my eyes caught just a little movement in my vision to the left of me .... unbelievable ... Stella had not moved 10' while Sadie and I did the half mile loop.

You would have thought by looking at her wet face, ears and legs that she had  ran a mini-marathon but from the location I last saw her ... she had moved 10' max. That was much better than having to walk through more tall wet grass looking for her. She was near the path waiting for us.

Notice how short the grass is in the middle of the field compared to the lower part behind the house that has a lot of winter fertilizer from the hounds.

Like every morning when we take the 'alternate' route, they scan the backyard from the property line pole all the way to the carport. No squirrel was seen this morning but I did hear that same animal conversation in the middle of the night, outside my window.

A couple of days ago when I saw forecasts of 30% to 80% change of rain for the next 4 days I put the car cover on the Z4 .... so it hasn't rained. It does not take that long to take it off or put it on, so driving it is just a few minutes away, when I want to.

Heidi's inner weather app has told her it's has to be mid-summer weather so she has gone back to her Phase II Hibernation ... I had to check a few times between meals if she was breathing because she was in that deep of a sleep. I am not sure when her next session of high activity will be ... but this is the normal life of a basset hound in the summer.

I could feel some afternoon plans forming in my brain cells this morning during and after our walk. They were plans from grocery shopping to a possible drive around the local countryside with my camera in hand. Yet that is one thing about being retired, plans can change in an instant and this afternoon they did.

After a nice phone conversation with a friend out west, it was time for lunch and I had a craving for small burritos/tacos on small corn tortillas. They are pretty basic but somewhat addicting, consisting of refried beans, chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro, topped off with some salsa. They are so small you cannot wrap them like a burrito but fold them like a taco.

Small but evidently powerful ... I cannot think of any other reason that soon after I cleaned up the kitchen after that lunch I was down for the 10 count as they say. I staggered (not really) to bed for what I thought was a short siesta. A little over 3 hours later I found out those plans I had were no longer tentative but cancelled ones. All of the hounds were still asleep.

Grabbing some cold water to drink, trying to sort out my brain cells, Sadie and Heidi migrated to the door one by one. Heidi came outside just to relieve herself, looking like she might spend some time outside with us but looked almost as tired as I felt. She turned and headed for the door to go back inside.

By the time I had let her inside, Sadie had taken off into the field thinking we had started our afternoon walk.

Stella was still back inside laying on the dog bed in the corner of the bedroom, filled with cool air. When she came outside she seemed just as dazed and confused as Heidi and I was, not sure what she wanted to do nor what we were going to do.

As I walked over to the shaded area of the Mahogany trees I yelled Sadie's name since I saw her nowhere in the field as far as I could see. Was the tall grass hiding her or was she in the woods? Stella was checking out something with her nose ... were one the neighbors cooking dinner. Her nose can pick up a meal a mile away.

Out of nowhere as I was looking out into the field, Sadie came sprinting down the path into the yard but slightly confused when she didn't see me standing there. I was hiding between the two tree trucks where the squirrel had escaped yesterday morning.

It was hot but that did not mean we couldn't take the afternoon walk now. I walked back inside to trade the camera for the retractable leash in case I needed to help Stella stay in the same direction as Sadie and I. Heidi had decided she had seen enough and had no plans of returning outside ... she was done for the day.

Long naps put me in a daze afterwards. It might seem like a wasted day but evidently 8 nights of "west coast baseball" played a toll on my sleeping habits. With games starting at 10:15pm local time I was already near the time I had been going to bed lately while getting up earlier than normal. Summers bring a change in sleep times.

I must admit the thought of blogging here or not did cross my mind. I have never been able to figure out that question or feeling. To me it's strange as I go back and forth in my head on whether to continue blogging while I've been blogging every afternoon now for 3 days in a row.

Since the rain never showed up again today ... I think I need a sundown drive in the Z4 to clear my head.

Somewhat tired but all is good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Stella Was On Her Own Today

For various reasons I decided today, on all walks, Stella would be on her own. She could go at her own pace, in any direction she wanted and that Sadie nor I would be a factor in anything she did. I was guessing we would find her by the woods behind the neighbors house or possibly heading north to the woods. Either way we would be able to find her. So why the freedom??

The thought did occur to me that letting her go where she wanted might be a way to get it out of her system, realizing that might take a week and close to 14 trips of freedom. More than likely the decision was based on me. I was finally getting tired of saying "come on" to a very stubborn bloodhound. Yep, that was the real reason.

She walked the return path leading Sadie and I ... her normal routine. Like always she had other plans past this point of the walk.

The first one I have seen this year.

I am almost at the first turn when I see that Sadie likes today's policy just as much as Stella ... I turned and headed east.

With perfect weather lately, the local farmers have been working non-stop. They put in a lot of hours in a work day.

I took one last look to check on Stella's location and sure enough, she is migrating toward the neighbors. Would I find her in their woods or their backyard by the time Sadie and I got back?

That ATV path from last summer has almost disappeared in the tall grass. It would be coming right at the camera if you could see it.

It was perfect weather to walk this morning. Sadie was covering a lot of ground in a short period of time. Stella was completely out of view, at least mine without my glasses. I never wear glasses on the walks, with or without a camera.

I thought I saw movement up ahead a long way away. My 200mm zoom barely picked up Stella. She is more in the middle of the north part of the field than close to the highway.

Sadie continued to chase invisible birds and acted confused she either didn't see them or get them airborne.

We were not walking fast but I was keeping an eye on Stella. It would be easy to catch her being this close to her. Sadie had already started running that direction to let her know it was time to turn for home ... plus she wanted to find out exactly what held Stella's interest over there.

Without me saying a word, she did look in our direction, then turned around and walked around the corner of those woods.

Once Sadie touched her nose, Stella started her slow walk toward the yard. As you can see from this angle of the field we had quite a climb on a short steep hill.

Last night past midnight the field filled up with different sounds of different animals. I wish I knew what they were, possibly deer was one of them but then a reply that sounded like nothing I had ever heard since moving here 20 years ago. As I was shutting the door and turning off the computer the conversation was so loud that I thought someone might have pulled off the highway into the driveway and was talking loudly ... but it was all animals making the noise.

The sounded very close to the house, just outside the bedroom window ... maybe it was cats and not deer ... Sadie seemed to have found the spot they were sitting. Still not sure.

Both checking out that spot before they head for the house. Slight overcast today with scattered thunderstorms but the percentages are pretty low for this area.

Unless I can decide just to choose the best photos, these posts will have over 35 each post if I wait to the end of the day to post something.

We took our afternoon walk a little earlier today, around 3:15pm due to the cooler temps. As I had my head down setting my Garmin VivaSmart watch to track time and distance, Sadie took off sprint toward the trees. I barely saw the squirrel scampering up the tree trunk.

Not catching the squirrel did not decrease Sadie's enthusiasm for her walk, she did what she always does in the field ... track scent with a little aerobic jogging added to her workout.

Stella had 'free range' this afternoon also. She didn't see what the difference was nor why it was such a big deal. She followed the path at a very slow pace with just a few stops on the way to check something out. Overall, she did well without any verbal herding on my part.

We barely caught a plane coming out of the clouds on it's decent into the Indy airport 70 some miles north of us.

With it looking like rain most of the afternoon, that never arrived, we didn't really do to much. The hounds slept, I did some of the household chores and ended the afternoon up with a couple of half loads of laundry. No water issues this time either.

After reading the book yesterday putting me in the mode to read more, I have a few on my bookshelf bought years ago but never read or finished after I started them. Temps are border line for the air conditioner but it seems to like running today after it was 12 noon.

Heidi is in a huge sleep mode, only getting up to eat and the short 2 minute trip outside after her noon meal. I guess her inner clock is telling her it's in the 80s again today.

Nothing more to report from the front lines here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.