High Winds Energize Stella

First of all I hope all of my readers from the state of Mississippi made it through "tornado alley" yesterday without any damages to your home. I cannot imagine sitting through those type of winds. We have had tornadoes pass through this area but in all directions around us, in past years. Yet at 5am this morning I was bolted awake with a loud sound as if my driveway was filled with idling cars, trucks and motorcycles. No it wasn't a dream. I got up to check outside from every side of the house. I was hearing sounds from my house I have never heard before.

So when Stella and I stepped outside this morning around 10am the winds were howling but with the new app suggested by Maricacb a few weeks ago showed me they were only 19mph from the west and we might have a burst up to 38mph at times.

From the first step she took in the field, Stella was energized. She hopped her first few steps and then took off trotting out in front of me. I continue to give her the joint supplements so it's possible she was just feeling really good this morning. She ran a few different times during the walk.

While putting on my down parka I had decided I would take the Nikon D3200 this morning but by the time I headed outside I had changed my mind. I have fallen in love with the Canon G9 X Mark II after all the frustration I had setting up the manual settings. A reminder, that is manual settings but still shoots pictures with auto focus.

It did not take long to get use to taking  a picture by looking at the monitor in back of the camera instead of through a viewfinder. The much smaller size still gave me room to use it with a light pair of North Face gloves on. I'll post a review of that camera sometime today. I have it written but want to review it and add anything new I have found the past month.

As you can see Stella was pretty far out in front. She wasn't exploring scent this morning nor was she searching out and eating deer scat. She seemed to be leaning into the wind as she walked and trotted, which was coming from her left side.

This is looking back in the direction of the high cold winds. It's the Southwest and the normal direction that gives me most of my winds, big or small.  Like I have said a few times before, from my past, I am always concerned about those three Sycamore trees on the left side of the house.  In 2008 with straight line winds I had two Sycamore trees that size pulled out of the ground and blown down parallel to the house, covering the front yard.

This isn't a real good picture but I was trying to capture the blowing grass to show how strong the wind was. In between photos, the grass was almost bent over ground level before rising up to the level you see in the picture.

I barely caught Stella trotting. She did a lot of that this morning.

Again, I barely caught her ... I turned and she was almost past me.

You can see by her ears the wind is even stronger as we were at the back of the field. With all of that open space, the wind was howling, and very loud.

At times I will find those grocery store plastic bags blowing in the yard or this field. I always grab them, put them in my pocket and throw them in the recycling bin when I get home. This looked a little different from a shopping bag. I caught glimpses of a bright reflection as the wind moved it.

It looks like someone lost their Valentine balloon.

When I downloaded this picture it sure did bring back memories of a picture I took of Bertha in 2002. I was able to get that date from Bertha's picture file information. 17 years ago already, hard to believe how fast time passes.

I think Stella was as anxious as I was to get back home. It was freezing cold and we would be walking directly into the wind all the way home.

This picture may give you a better idea just how strong the wind was this morning.

Yet, she strolled through the walk as usual with the breeze blowing her ears.

I like to see her hopping and running by herself. In fact she tried to get me to play, which I did, but was unable to capture that with the camera. Did the high winds really have that kind of effect on Stella?

After our walk I did walk around the yard to see if there were any large tree limbs blown down last night. There was really not many more than from normal wind activity and none of the limbs were very large.

It was good to see all my roof shingles were still in place. Of course if had some wind damage I could file an insurance claim, pay my deductible and get a new roof put on. If nothing happened last night, it looks like I will be paying the full price for that roof when I decide to replace it.

It was just a fast trip outside after lunch. Still very windy and cold and neither hound was excited about staying outside. By the time I returned from the mailbox, they were heading for the door.

Heidi spent her afternoon rotating from this position on the couch, then running across the living room and jumping up in the big leather chair where one of her many blankets are located. That spot is only for sleeping, which she does quite well.

By late afternoon Stella was at the door wanting out, so I decided why not ... let's take a walk.

As you can see it was still quite windy.

With an early announcement of the new China Trade Deal, it will be interesting to see this spring how many of the fields in this area plant soybeans instead of corn. There are some amazing annual sales numbers for soybeans, corn and wheat if that deal goes through. I have no doubt it will. It's good to hear just how much it will help the farmers. I'll keep an eye out for which fields plant soybeans. They normally rotate between soybeans and corn each year but I have a feeling most of the fields will be soybeans.

My little Apple app 'Reminder' told me this morning it was time to download my annual credit reports from the three reporting agencies. I have all three of them scattered throughout the year, every four months. Today was time for the TransUnion report. It was good to see nothing out of the ordinary had taken place as well as seeing what few monthly payments I make were being recorded accurately. I use Annual Credit Report.

Hauwei's Mate X foldable phone is pretty amazing. I am pretty sure, in fact I am positive I will not spend the $2,600 to buy one once it is on the market. It's not only the price but I don't trust Hauwei as a company based on their past. I may be paranoid again but I have no doubt they have inserted tracking chips in their phones for the Chinese government.

Again, it's not that I have anything information they need or want ... it's the principal of them following me by a phone. Sure there are chips made in China for my Apple iPhone but I trust Apple as a company. When they said nothing like that had happened in their China facilities I believed them. Later it was proven to be true by an independent inspector.

The past week Firefox kept crashing during normal internet activity. I would send a report to them each time it happened. By Saturday I was tired of it and went back to Google Chrome after trying Safari on my iMac. Safari was just too slow.

I have started a 30-day journal about my change to the Keto Diet. Each day I am starting each post with total calories - carbs - proteins - fats in grams. I will weigh myself once per week, every Saturday morning. I will post that journal here for anyone interested, on March 24th. I plan to stick to it for 30 days no matter what. So far so good, low carbs and I have not been hungry all day.

This morning was my 2nd day in a row of drinking black coffee, although on my first cup this morning I added a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream. It tasted just like it would if you bought a latte without any sugar, vanilla or cinnamon at a Starbuck's store. One thing I have noticed after my first 24 hours of a strict diet ... I don't feel bloated and my stomach is smaller. After only 24 hours !!!!

After that initial excitement a few weeks ago for the new AAF Football League, I have not tuned in to watch a game. Maybe even as a football addict I need a break from any kind of football to prepare for next season, which starts in August for college.

Manny Machado finally signed for 10-years, $300 MILLION the other day in MLB. Since Bryce Harper is a better player it looks like he may get what he wanted or at least more than Machado signed for. Harper wants to be the first $400 Million professional player in any sport. As a sports fan .... I say that is ridiculous.

The MLB Players Union President is already talking about a players strike when their CBA expires in 2022. The last players strike was in 1994. I wasn't around then since I was floating around on deployment on the USS Vinson, an aircraft carrier. I will say if they do strike in 2022 that will put me one step closer to pulling the plug on tv. I am almost there now.

High winds, sunny skies here today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

dingbat AOC Is At It Again

With a dark and dreary Saturday morning the hounds and I once again started our day off late. I guess it can officially be called our new routine, with everything shifting about an hour later than normal. Late night reading is equating to getting up later. At least it was warm this morning, low 40's and that rain in the forecast never showed up. So much for 100% chances I guess. I forgot until I was a few photos in today, the camera was set on 'automatic' instead of my usual 'manual'.

It was another night of interrupted sleep with some of the strangest dreams. I was happy to finally get up and see things were normal and not weird, if you know what I mean. It was also going to be a test today, a huge test in a way. I was out of granulated sugar. I normally have a couple of teaspoons per my 12oz cup of coffee (2 cups per day). Yet, there was no way I was starting the day off without coffee ... I'd drink it black.

I was needing to make a trip to the grocery story today, so that list was on top of my thoughts as Stella and I walked in the field. For some serious initial weight loss I was thinking of going strictly Keto and stay within their limits for daily carb intake. That is hard with sugar for coffee, a banana, an apple or even a cup of blueberries in a day.

I decided that before I would go to the store I'd look back through the websites I had bookmarked months ago when I was looking into the Keto Diet. The fact of the matter is I need a change in diet ideas even though I eat what most would consider healthy. I can't eat "just a little" carbs because even a little knocks me out for those afternoon siestas. I know those periods of low energy are carb related based on my tests of eating different foods. I don't feel as good as I think I could feel.

So with that in mind, my goal was to get in and out of the Super Walmart grocery section without any pasta nor a new small bag of granulated sugar. No bananas. No Mangoes. White or Sweet Potatoes? No. No yogurt either due it causing indigestion.

Some of my shopping list would be the same as in a steak or two, fresh wild caught salmon, chicken thighs and breasts with the skin. No yogurt this time but the larger container of cottage cheese. Veggies would be about the same as I always buy. So it would be interesting to see if I could make it home with my new shopping list.

Although it was nice and warm and I was pretty sure Stella would not attempt any breakouts from her bedroom 'jail' this morning. I wasn't more than a few miles west of town when rain drops started hitting my windshield. That light rain never stopped. It was doing that when I took my siesta a little past 1:30pm and was still coming down as I wrote this, after 4pm. So the afternoon walk was cancelled.\

I did stop at the library on the way to the store. I picked up two books that looked interesting but after a reading a few pages of each before my siesta, I had a feeling I had made a mistake and I wasn't sure I'd finish either.

Now the book about Steve Job's, that I was reading late into the early morning hours last night, is very interesting. Not so much about him but more about all the high tech development in Silicon Valley, where he grew up. Yes, even as a youngster, he had an amazing mind but I was totally unaware of the massive build up of companies in that area in the early 1970s. Very interesting

That path you see Stella walking on, along the edge of the gully, is made by deer traffic. It will curl to the right, around that bush up ahead. While I walked in new territory with heavy thick grass, I could feel just how wet and saturated the field was.

After I made the final turn home, she was way to the left of me. I had let her do whatever she wanted as I walked along the back edge of the field. She did finally head my direction, turn on the path and head home with me. It was really quiet this morning with no wind, no sounds of birds and warm enough where gloves were not needed. I had a feeling not much was going to happen. Enough stuff to blog about ??? Maybe not.

She strolled at a pretty steady pace once she made the final turn home.

I didn't read a lot of news this morning. I didn't even glance through my Flipboard account for new things to read but I did catch this little gem. While the news was focused on Bernie's socialist background, where he said "breadlines are good" .... our favorite "dingbat AOC" was letting the Democratic establishment know .... drum roll ..... "We're In Charge" ....

I wonder if she realizes just how many journalist jobs she saved these past two months after her arrival in D.C. ?? She will give them enough material these next two years or more, not only will they keep their jobs but I am sure a few new books have been started as an idea.

I want you to know your tax dollars ... yes yours ... are being well spent. She put her staff on a minimum salary of $52,000 per .... even the gofer that delivers that "grande" Starbucks she always has in her hand. Of course $52K per year doesn't go to far living in D.C. She is so stupid that in a way it's scary. Stupid people follow stupid leaders which lead to stupid election winners and stupid decisions.

I know its way to early to pay to any attention to political polls this time of year or so far in advance of the 2020 election but that really is just around the corner. It just drags on because it will be nonstop news coverage of every little thing said or done by whom.

A couple of other tidbits show that this campaign may make this one even uglier than 2016. We have one candidate telling her staff years ago to clean her comb ... hair comb??? Of course. Everybody needs a clean hair comb ... especially after you have used it to eat salad. ????  Really ???? Is that Presidential material ?

I've done a LOT of wild things in my life but I don't recall ever eating my salad with my hair comb. Even when I was drunk and stupid in Encenada or Tijuana, I didn't do anything that gross.

Ms Harris couldn't seem to remember her vicious tweet that people have copied into an image before she deleted it. I didn't and don't have it, but it was racially slanted when she heard Jussie's original story of being attacked at 2am in the Windy City during the Polar Vortex. She looked confused when asked, even glancing back at her staff for an answer, she didn't seem to remember that vicious tweet she had made on her verified account. Is she really Presidential material ?

As you can see by these few examples, the longer the campaign goes the uglier it will get. It will not be about their plans or platforms they are running on. We will hear more about what kind of underwear they are wearing, whether they smoked dope in college, how many private planes they fly or luxury homes they live in. At no time will we hear of any plan on how to pay for these fantasies they are going to run on.

The last time I checked, hospitals and doctors are not free. Someone has to pay.

I am more interested in seeing some big name people from a few years ago be brought before a judge or jury and end up in jail where they belong. We know that will never happen. Not only are we on a different pay scale than they are, but we have different laws than them. They are always covered when the shit hits the fan, we are not.

Is Hillary still drinking and stumbling around the house? I'd like to see her return to the 2020 campaign just for shits and giggles.

I see I'm slowly waking up here in the early evening in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.  :)

It's Friday So Now What?

Today seemed to be identical to Thursday. That happens when you are retired and it happens when you are hermit living outside a small rural town in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. So it's definitely not a bad thing. The hounds don't mind and neither do I. After another late night of reading (~2am) last night while the hounds slept soundly next to me on the couch, we started our Friday about an hour later than normal.

Stella even kept her walk pretty much the same as yesterday, only this time she did not attempt to go down into the gully. With heaps of praise being the focus of my verbal herding, it was one of her best walks in a very long time. She got to do all the exploring she wanted and I didn't feel any frustration like I have with a feeling I was dragging her around the field with words and commands.

I guess it was something I picked up on while reading the book about Hero Dogs. Not only was it good to read that many other people had dog issues just as bad if not worse than Stella's separation anxiety or Sadie's destruction as a puppy, but what they did to either control the problems or train them to be better dogs.

They had trained over 218 dogs to be search and rescue dogs, certified to go worldwide in times of need. Most were labs or golden retrievers with a few border collies but not one was a bloodhound. The breed with the strongest nose of all breeds. I suspect the bloodhound would not pass their agility test that was required. I mean as puppies I have seen the bloodhounds I have had, lose the balance pretty easy and fall over ... just walking, let alone blancing themselves on a moving beam 20' high !!!

Almost all of the dogs they trained over a 24 year period were rescues and it wasn't until the end of the book where the 85-year-old original owner was starting puppy litters to train them in search and rescue at a much earlier age. It's a great story and a good book for any dog lovers out in our blog audience.

With the temps in the 30's it still felt warm this morning, just like Thursday. It will get up to 60° on Saturday but along with that is a 90%-100% chance of thunderstorms. Sounds to me it will be another day of reading books inside, maybe a siesta or a movie. I'm pretty flexible so who knows what might happen.

After our walk this morning, I told Stella "I'm going to the library" and she walked into the bedroom and laid down, waiting for me to close the door. I was tempted to just shut the door to see if she would try to break out but I reverted back to my cord system that I have used every time I leave. She has shown no signs of attempted escapes for the past few months.

The trip to the library was a little disappointing. I can usually find 2-3 new books to read, but not today. I spent extra time looking through the Non-Fiction aisles for other things to read. The books with the "new" label attached to the cover, move fast. If they are there a few days ago, they will not be there today. That is consistent year round, where weather nor time of year does not play a factor.

Yet there is one book that has been sitting on the shelves main display, out in the open for anyone to grab it. Other books written by government people who have retired, part of the deep state, or current political dreamers have come and gone the past few weeks I have made regular trips. This book is still sitting there and I have not seen it move.

Andrew McCabe's new book.  I wonder why?

I ended up checking out a book written in 2018, "The Future of Capitalism" by Paul Collier. With the subtitle "facing the new anxieties", maybe it will give me some reassurance that the idiots of the far-left cannot win in November 2020. Can there be 60 million people stupid enough to think that socialism is better than capitalism?

Since I could not find a second or third book to bring home with me today, I will continue reading the in-depth book about Steve Jobs, written a few years ago, with almost 600 pages of small print.

You can tell that Stella was having fun, prancing through the field back and forth across the path. I could  barely keep up with her this morning after she got past the first turn.

Some of the tv financial experts on the tv business stations are questioning if the "dingbat AOC" is really that stupid when it comes to economics or is she playing with people's heads? I mean some of the things she says makes you wonder since it proves she does not know the difference between "funded" and "tax abatements" ... really hard to believe that she has an Economics degree from an Ivy League school.

I saw this morning where Bernie is refusing the requests of the DNC to run as an Independent. He is filling out the paperwork today to run as a Democrat. It will be interesting to see how all that plays out. I still haven't heard a plan from any one on that side of political fence, about helping the middle class American people. I guess free health care for all, free college for all and open borders are their plans.

For you that are against the wall ... I hate to tell you there is a video online of a wall being completed in New Mexico. The continue to build more walls, not fences, as we speak. Believe me, they do not have to wait on funds to start the wall. It will not matter what the Democratic side of the house issues today. They have been building walls along the border for the past year, will continue to build without delays with funding already on hand.

As far as moving government money around from one department to another. This is NOT a new thing. It isn't a Trump invention either. It has gone on all the time, by different Presidents and is very common in government finance. I know because I spent over 20 years working in government finance and at times pretty high on the food chain.

I've had funding pulled back unexpectedly, I've had new funding dumped on me with instructions to spend it by the end of the fiscal year (September 30th) and as a retiree I sat here watching Obama pull 1.7 BILLION from the Veterans and just so happened to use 1.2 Billion for a new program of his for immigration support in his last year in office. A coincidence in the similar dollar values??? Not a chance. He was the best crook of all.

One thing I did notice during those 20+ years of government accounting, many times there was more than enough funding to get the projects done with a lot more funding sitting on the side in the "just in case" mode. Many times that money was never used or given back to those departments that gave it to you.

Believe me, there are millions and millions of appropriates just sitting around gathering dust and are available, without hurting any department projects. It's not a big deal with Trump moving funding around. Find something else to bitch about.

There really is a small old fence between the field behind the field we walk in. I wonder how long that fencing has been there. Stella was sure deer had been in the area.

The sun was trying it's hardest to shine this morning but it was not going to happen. Five hours later it had given up.

I noticed last night that hair IS growing back on both of her ears where she had scratched them down to bare skin. Like I said the other day, it took only one dose of the Wounded Warrior dog ointment to heal those raw spots.

By the time I returned from the library, Heidi was positive it was time for lunch. She started barking non-stop, then Stella followed up with constant howling. It was only 10am local time, about an hour too early for their lunch. We split the different and they basically got their way. I fed them lunch at 10:30am, justifying by telling myself that this spring it would be 11:30am .... She spent a little time outside but not as long as I would have expected.

She went back to sleeping her afternoon away in the big leather chair while Stella was on the couch. See, nothing changes around here.

I can't think of anything else that will happen important enough to blog about. So once again I will post this as soon as I am finished editing it, instead of waiting until the end of the day.

All is good in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana as we move one day close to Spring !!!