Rain & Organization

We were up early as usual but it wasn't because of thunder or lightning it was just normal routine. Stella starts whining right before sunrise, at least that is the sound I wake up to. That wakes up Walter who sleeps next to Stella on the floor on the side of the bed. Once Walter wakes up he trots over to Heidi's bed and pushes his flat nose up against hers, so she is now awake. They all know that breakfast kibble will be served within minutes of reaching the kitchen. Once they noticed the sky full of rolling storm clouds they were not sure they would make their trip out to the yard right after breakfast. I've been waiting for rain, those weeds will be easier to pull out of the ground now instead of using chemicals to kill them.

High humidity is not normal around here most of the time but I could feel the thick air. One weather app said it was a 81% and the other 72%. No matter which was correct, it was muggy. I could tell that any outdoor activity wouldn't last long so I had time to do what I have been wanting to do for quite a while. Take stacks of paperwork off my desk, sort and file or shred. Last year before moving I cleaned out my files filling THREE 32gal trashcans and taking them to the recycling center. So my files now are only one plastic container and are also scanned digitally.

Still I spent all morning on the computer while the hounds slept next to my desk. So the organizing didn't start until a little after 1pm. The rain poured straight down with little wind so I could keep all the windows open as the temperature dropped to 66°. After it stopped the winds picked up from the south and really cooled things off. I think we might make up the deficit we had for annual rainfall at this time of year.

There have always been great sky shows and all three of my DSLR's were sitting on the counter waiting for action. I didn't see a lot of flooding today so the ground is still absorbing all that is catches.

That rain you see is probably between 6-8 miles away.

Walter had his first chance at "problem solving" this morning. He is housebroken and goes outside after each meal. This morning the winds were strong and it felt like rain was within minutes away. Could he go out in the yard, do what he needed to do before it starts to rain??? That was his question of the day. No photos to prove it, but he decided he had to go no matter what ... so he trotted out in the yard and made it back inside just as the first drops were hitting the patio.

Of course the best view of the rain where you can still stay dry is looking out the living room window. With the window open and a screen that Stella had not tried to climb through, they could get a good accurate smell of the rain hitting the yard of rocks.

I think the loud clap of thunder startled him a little bit.  LOL

By mid-afternoon the skies were trying to turn blue and clear but was having a pretty rough time of it.

There really are times that Walter is actually chewing one of his toys instead of Stella's ears, jowls or legs. She never cared about chewing toys the past few years until he showed up. Now she wants every toy that he has.

By 4pm when I sat down to check out the first official baseball game of the year on ESPN, Walter let me know he had not been getting enough attention today. He spent about a minute telling me all about it with his growling and half barking.

I didn't feel like cooking dinner last night and when that happens most likely I'll call for pizza delivery. At least I have ordered smaller pizzas now than past years. That's a medium from Papa John's.

For the first time I tried their Jalapeno Poppers ... very good and well worth the $4 order. That had just the right amount of "hot" ... they didn't drive you to your knees, blind you or make you sweat under your eyes, but they did have a nice 'bite' to them. Highly recommended.

I didn't watch much of the baseball game and ended up flipping through channels ... and of course nothing interests me. I'll post this then head back to the couch to restart reading Going Back To Bisbee. I have added a few more blogs to the list on the sidebar for you to check out. I have been told by a few past readers they won't read until I go back to WordPress ... not going to happen. LOL

It's wet and not wild, here in the "Wild West" tonight.

Monsoons Are Here

Today proved not only are the monsoons here but the tv forecast last night was correct ... it was going to rain today and it was going to rain hard, still might as I write this. She said we are a little over 2" below what we normally have this time of year but rain is in the forecast for the next 7 days. Between these first two photos, one was taken yesterday afternoon and one this afternoon before I sat down to write this. Those winds and rain have lowered the temps to the 70's so the ac was turned off and the windows were open all day while I read a book.

Walter shows no signs of being afraid of thunder or the hard rain. Stella still gets a little restless if the thunder is really loud but overall she has really improved with the storm anxiety she came with five years ago. Nothing bothers Heidi and she will sleep through most thunderstorms.

The thunder was rolling yesterday afternoon as we were out on the patio. They didn't know whether to go out into the yard or stay under cover. They ended up picking their own spots on the patio and staying there. The wind was cool and fairly strong. Do you need to wear a mask if you are out and it's raining? I'm not sure if that is a serious question or not ... or a joke. I just received word or a link that my previous home state of Indiana is making it a statewide mandatory to wear a mask.

Not until July 27th ... why not immediately or at least as soon as tomorrow morning. Some people here in Arizona are waiting for our governor to make the same decision but I must admit, it's a pretty fierce issue on that. Many feel you can't make them wear a mask and they are not doing it. If the cases are low in their area if any at all ... do they need to?

Stella is walking less and less and when we do walk early in the morning she has started to cut through a parking lot instead of walking to the end and around the vet building, making the walk shorter. Is it her hips or is it too hot even when it's early enough that the temperature is in the low 70's. I might have to buy my first harness for Walter if he starts walking with us because he is just too strong for a dog collar. I doubt he can walk the same distance as Stella and I walk.

This is him yesterday hearing the loud rolling thunder.

We've been lazy lately. Haven't done much but stay at home, read books, check the internet, a siesta here and there and nothing much more than that. Major League Baseball starts tomorrow so I'll tune into the two games on tv but I am not sure how interested I will be. So far I have not had enough interest to  watch the exhibition games they have shown on tv. It's weird watching games with no people in the stands and fake fan noise.

Walter was almost asleep, when he heard something that I did not even hear.

This is normal procedure when one of them finishes drinking water. Both are sloppy drinkers and from Stella's hanging drools or Walters soaked chin, they each have plenty to clean off the other.

Walter stood there and looked around the corner for his doberman friend next door but he didn't show up today. That is a true look of disappointing I see.

Just like that he walked back into the computer room and went to sleep for his mid-morning nap.

He hasn't figured out this "rain stuff" yet but today he thought it tasted pretty good after his first swig of rain water that settled on the patio. Luckily, unlike Stella, he walked AROUND the puddle and not THROUGH the puddle.

Heidi slept through all the thunder and all the hard rain. A cool breeze through that southern bedroom window is the perfect place to sleep.

A book a friend recommended caught my interest after it arrived from Amazon ... I couldn't put it down and finished it today around 3:30pm.

Below are some photos I pulled out of the "Favorites" file

Stella - October 2018

Winston - November 2015

Sadie and Stella - January 2018

Heidi - October 2019

It could be "movie night" tonight, since I have a few ideas which ones to pull off the shelf. It's pretty slow in the "Wild West" lately.

Walter's First Week Here

He was so shy when I first saw him. He barely moved laying flat on the floor. By the time we finished the hour and fifteen minute drive home, he walked in the front door like he had lived here his whole 9 week old life. He did not sniff the area as much as a bloodhound or basset hound puppy would and almost instantly made a left turn to head down the hallway to the bedroom where Heidi was sleeping. She didn't realize just how much her world would change, when he tapped his flat nose against hers, waking her up.

Stella was more than curious who this creature might be and proceeded to identify what this ball of fat was moving all over the floor and under her legs. It did not take long for her to approve of him and they have been almost inseparable since that first 15 minute introduction.

Everywhere Stella went, Walter followed.

He showed no hesitation drinking out of the water bowl shared by Heidi and Stella. I knew then he was going to be able to hold his own in the house with two larger hounds.

While Stella tried to escape from him there was only one thing that stopped Walter in his tracks. He caught his reflection in the oven door window. He didn't move then started a small growl as if he was about to attack that other small dog he was looking at.

Once he realized that Stella wasn't around, he took off for the living room to see if she would play.

Remember the last time Stella played was with Sadie and that had to be almost three years ago. Plus I had not had a puppy this young since I had bought Sadie in 2008. I accepted the fact before I bought Walter that I'd be getting up in the middle of the night to let him out. (that proved to be wrong) I was getting up a few times in the night to let Heidi out so that would not be a big deal.

Stella was pretty tolerant of his sharp puppy teeth, pulling her tail or her jowls. Her ears took a beating by him hanging from them, really ... all 16 pounds of him would hang in mid air by her ears if she was standing. This was not the reason I bought Walter but it was good to see that Stella was wanting to play.

By the next day it was like they were lifelong friends.

We get up at sunrise, they have breakfast while I fix coffee then head to the computer. From that first morning Walter has always played or tormented Stella until around 7am where he either goes outside by himself to soak up some sun or falls asleep in the doorway of the computer room partially on the tiled floor.

I wondered at the time if he would grow into all those wrinkles. I honestly didn't know since he is my first english bulldog.

Anything within reach he drags out and into the computer room behind my chair. As the days passed I started taking stuff off the bottom shelves of everything and moving it to higher ground.

When the Arizona mandate told us to "social distance" ... they all seemed to figure out what they were talking about. Nothing like some early morning sunbathing before it gets really hot in April.

One morning I didn't hear Walter playing inside, no barking or growling at himself. I walked to the patio and looked around the corner to see this. He doesn't fit on that block anymore but it use to be one of his favorite places to sit in the sun those first few weeks.

He is growling at his bone here but still enjoying some of that SE Arizona sunshine.

He was introduced to his first pizza that first week. He caught on very quickly what was going on but I didn't give him any of the crust like I normally give Heidi and Stella.

Heidi gradually warmed up to him and actually let him sleep with her on her bed for a couple of nights. He later decided my sleeping bag was more comfortable. He basically acted like this house was his house with very little adjustment to his new home.

I thought I'd cover more time in this post but I had already downloaded 28 photos and the date was only a week after he came home. I might have to do more of a highlight of photos for the rest of his time here to catch up to current time. 

He has been a surprise puppy to train. He does not have to go outside to pee in the middle of the night but will first thing in the morning. He knows and follows Stella outside right after their breakfast and lunch. He comes and goes as he pleases because I leave the backdoor open until it gets really hot outside. When the door is closed he has always gone to the door to be let outside. I wish puppies would stay that same 8-10 week old size.

He has raised the level of energy around here but will take time to rest. Quite a different breed from a basset hound or a bloodhound ... a lot of snorting and snoring. LOL