Who We Are

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter

DSCN1123Easter2011
(We're recycling the card Mom made 2 years ago...)

From all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters, we wish you a most joyous Easter!
"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6
Indeed, He has risen!
Happy Easter!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Duck Whisperer

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  You know, with all the coming and going and moving furniture around and everything this past week, it was important for me to get Mom out of the house for some good old-fashioned adventure!  What better way for her to recharge her batteries than with some trips to the Kansas Ocean - am I right here?  Of course.  I thought I'd share some pix from our first trip out there today.

When we first got there, I had a good look around.

IMG_1212cps Zim
"Mom!  There are all kinds of cool ducks and birds out there!"

Mom couldn't see them.  I had to work my magic and lure them a bit closer!  When I did, we saw ...

IMG_1214cps Redhead Ducks and a Bufflehead
Redhead Ducks and a Bufflehead Duck!

I know. We'd never heard of Buffleheads, either.  Here's a closer look:

IMG_1215cps Bufflehead Duck
Bufflehead

Look at who was fishing over by the bank!

IMG_1226cps Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron!

Yep!  A Great Blue!  If you look by the bank, just to the upper-left of Mom's watermark, you can see a Killdeer, too!

Here's another shot of the Great Blue!

IMG_1233cps Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron with a Northern Shoveler and a Blue Winged Teal!

Here they are again:

IMG_1234cps Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron with a Northern Shoveler and Blue Winged Teals

We had never seen Blue Winged Teals in real life, either!  What a great day!

Here's a female Northern Shoveler:

IMG_1242cps Northern Shoveler
Female Northern Shoveler

Isn't she pretty?  Here's her counterpart, the male:

IMG_1243cps Northern Shoveler
Male Northern Shoveler

Here's another look at some of the Teals:

IMG_1245cps Blue Winged Teals
Blue Winged Teals

I thought they were cool - but you all know my favorite duck, right?  The Redhead!

IMG_1203cps Redheads!
Redheads rock!

I'd like to think that given how close he swam to me, that we made a connection!  You know, one redhead to another.  Sort of a "birds of a feather" thing.  Ha roo roo roo.

The ducks eventually went fishing on the farther side of the ocean, so I thanked everyone for swimming over and wished them all good hunting.  

IMG_1209cps Zim
"Come on, Mom, let's see what's shaking over by the transoceanic bridge!"

We did a little more exploring, then headed back to Ao4 HQs.  We went back to the ocean the next day and saw more duck friends.  Pix from that trip coming soon!

Play bows,
Zim

Friday, March 29, 2013

Photo Finish Friday: New Furniture

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  As Dave and I have been telling you, we got a shipment of new furniture in here at Ao4 HQs.  Oh, no, it didn't all come at the same time or even on the same day - that would be too easy!  Anyway, the last of it arrived yesterday.  I thought I'd share my reaction to some of it with you today for Photo Finish Friday.  Ready?

Yesterday's shipment was a mattress to go on Mom and Dad's new bed frame.  The guys who delivered it seemed to have some sort of aversion to Siberian Huskies, like the other furniture guys.

IMG_3993z Zim
"Can you believe that?"

I mean, seriously:  no hugs for Dave, no ear scratchies for me, no exclamations of "Oh, they're so handsome!"... nothing!  It was enough to make my brown  eyes  eye blue.  (And of course, Dave's blue eyes got even bluer!)  After the guys left, Mom gave me some chin scratchies and sweet talk -

IMG_3994z Zim
My schmoopiest schmoopy look

- and that certainly helped.  THEN she said she needed my help putting the bedding on the new bed, and that really did the trick!

IMG_3997z Zim
"Ha roo!"

I'm sure she said she needed my help.  Either that, or she asked me to stay in the living room and not to help.  One of the two.  And really, how could she NOT want my help?!?

IMG_3999z Zim
"CHASE ME, Mom!"

Who would want to take 5 minutes to make a bed alone?  With my help, it takes a good 15 to 20 and is tons more fun!

The new bed is higher than our old one and the mattress is lots different.

IMG_4001z Zim
"WHOA!  This feels way different!"

It may take me a while to get used to it.

One benefit I've discovered is the higher the perch, the better the view!

IMG_4002z Zim
"Wow.  I can see everything out back from here!"

It's a crazy-good view from up there now.

IMG_4004z Zim
"Hey!  Hey, Schnauzers!  I see what you're doing out there!"

Pretty cool.  I think it's a keeper.

Play bows,
Zim

Thursday, March 28, 2013

But ... We're Siberian Huskies!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Remember Tuesday I told you we were having furniture delivered?  It finally got here yesterday.  Hmm.  Anyway, Dave and I were right there to supervise everything.  We put Mom on a leash so she wouldn't run out the door they kept leaving open.

IMG_3967z Zim
"Ha roo!  I'm Zim!

One of the delivery men mentioned he's afraid of dogs.  Actually, more like "terrified" rather than "afraid".  Mom suggested to me that I get into a down/stay.

IMG_3971z Zim
"What does him being afraid of dogs have to do with me?  I'm a Siberian Husky!"

He was especially afraid of "the big one".  I think he meant Dave, not Mom - just for the record.

IMG_3973zd Zim and Dave
"Hey, Mister!  How 'bout a hug?"
"Maybe he's Hug-a-phobic, DaveDave."

Dave was pretty upset about the whole thing.  I mean - someone coming into our house and not wanting a hug?  It was pretty upsetting for him.

IMG_3974dz Dave and Zim
"He's come mighty close to hurting my feelings, Zim."
"Try not to take it personally, Dave.  He has mistaken us for dogs."

Oh, yeah.  All of our beds from the bedroom were piled up there in the living room to get them out of the way.  One of our friends suggested that I should pounce on it - sounded like a great idea to me!

IMG_3979z Zim
"Ha roo!  I'm the King of the Bed Pile!"

Not as fun as a really cool snow fort, but it was a good substitute.  And it helped pass the time.

This is the activity Dave chose:

IMG_3981d Dave
"Zzz... hugs... snuggling... tummy rubs... zzz..."

I guess Dave IS pretty scary.  Ha roo roo roo!  

When the guys were leaving, Mom asked the one guy if we had changed his mind about dogs.  Or about Siberian Huskies.  He said we were really impressive and well-behaved ... but "no".  Oh, well.  We did try.  And I still don't get what we have to do with being afraid of dogs!  We're Siberian Huskies!

In other news, did you see the full moon last night?  Dave took Mom for a walk right around moon-rise and helped her take these pix:

IMG_1178FullMoon2

IMG_1188 full moon

I think I feel some howling coming on.  Ha rooooOOOoooooOOOO!  Catch you guys later!

Play bows,
Zim

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

There's Snow Out There!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Our roads are nice and clear after our weekend snowstorm, so I helped Mom run an errand yesterday afternoon.

IMG_3931z Zim
"Oooh!  Look across the Flint Hills!  Someone's getting more snow!"

Can you see it out there?  We turned the corner and had a better view:

IMG_3930e Flint Hills

Yep.  Some lucky folks out that way were getting more snow!  I suggested we drive out that way so we could enjoy it, too!

IMG_3932z Zim
"No, Mom... turn RIGHT!  Mom?  Mom?!?  Mom, you're going the wrong way!"

I don't want to say anything, but someone around here needs to listen to her navigator a bit more closely!

In other news, this is what it looked like when our snow started the other day:

IMG_3925dz Dave and Zim
"I think the Yorkie puppy's been here, Zim!"
"Oh, yeah.  That's his mark, alright!"

Have a great day, everyone.  We're having furniture delivered, so I'm off to supervise the whole thing!

Play bows,
Zim

Monday, March 25, 2013

A Tale of Two Siberians

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  As you all know, it's now Springtime in Kansas.  Here is a picture of me and Zim out enjoying an afternoon walk a few days ago:

IMG_3900dz Dave and Zim
"Beautiful day, isn't it, Zim?"
"Oh, yeah, Dave.  Hey... I think I see a kit-cat friend!"

This being Kansas, we had a snowstorm over the weekend, temps dropped into the 20s, and there is tons of wind.  Overnight last night, we got another "dusting".  That being said, one of us would now prefer to do this:

IMG_3856d Dave
"Mmm... fluffy, warm, flannel quilt... zzzz..."

IMG_3855d Dave
"Who's with me on this?"

I'm not the only one!

IMG_3852d Dave
"Mmmmm ... Mom!  Hi, Mom!"

I might, however, be the only one on four legs around here who feels this way!

IMG_3920z Zim
"Hey, Mom.  Whatcha doing?  Ready to go on an adventure!??!"

I can't help it.  I'm from Texas.  The warm part of Texas.  Woo.

Luv,
Dave

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Are you ready to kick back and relax?  To let the serenity of some gorgeous Kansas scenery wash over you?  Ready to enter the Zen of Zim Zone?  Then let's head back to Tuttle Creek State Park and look at those photos I mentioned yesterday!

As I said, when Mom and I first got to the State Park, we had a good look around.  We checked the water in front of our parking area, then went down to the look out to see if anything was happening down there.

IMG_3921z Zim

We walked down to the water's edge, but didn't see any animals to commune with.  It sure was pretty down there, though.  Here's a look up at some of the pond areas:

IMG_0959cps Tranquility

I've heard there are beaver dams up there!  I'll have to explore that area some more and maybe make some new friends.  Oh.  Speaking of new friends - here's my pelican friend!

IMG_0989cps American White Pelican
American White Pelican

Isn't he a handsome bird?!?

We also saw this gathering of Cormorants out on a tree sticking up out of the water:

IMG_0995cps Cormorants
Cormorants and Canada Geese

Some Canada Geese were out there with them - and a bunch of assorted ducks in the distance.  Is it me, or are the Cormorants a bit scary-looking?  Let's get back to Mr. Pelican!

IMG_1007cps American White Pelican
"Honk, Zim!"

He was checking me out there!  We made a lot of eye contact, but I made sure to look away so he wouldn't feel threatened or anything.

This hawk was keeping watch over everyone from his perch way up high:

IMG_1011cps Hawk

There's a chance that's a juvenile Bald Eagle, but Mom isn't real sure.  Feel free to weigh in on that if you feel strongly either way.

As I mentioned yesterday, my pelican friend swam up one of the narrow parts of the water, following me and Mom.  Here's a shot of him swimming in that area:

IMG_1021cps American White Pelican

When Mom and I got over by our car to drive out to another area of the park, this is what he did:

IMG_1027cps American White Pelican

Yep.  He flew back over to where he was when we first saw him.  I thought it was really cool that he came over to us; I love making new friends!

OK - so speaking of new friends, we drove over to another area of the River Pond and I saw a bunch of gooses!  It was really cool.  Mom said we could walk out just a little bit onto this little dock - so I asked the gooses to meet me out there!

IMG_1039cps Zim
"Ha roo, gooses!  I'm Zim.  Meet me by the dock?!?"

They came swimming over to meet me.  I especially liked this guy:

IMG_1048cps Canada Goose
Canada Goose

You can see by the water that it was mighty cold and windy!  The gooses didn't mind, though - and neither did I!

Mom took a bunch of pix of the gooses; if you'd like to see more of them and more of all the birdies we saw, please click here.  Anyway, Mom spotted some ducks way out beyond my new goose friends and was trying to get some pictures of them.  I thought I'd see what I could do to help out ...

IMG_1053cps Zim
"Hey, gooses.  See those ducks over there?  Are they friends of yours?
Can you invite them to come a little closer?
My mom would like to get some photos!"

IMG_1058cps Canada Goose
"Those guys, eh?  Sure.  I'll go get them, Zim."

Good to his word, my new goose friend swam over then brought some of those ducks back with him.  Mom was pretty excited.

IMG_1074cps Northern Shovelers
Northern Shovelers

We just had the best time, seeing all the beauty of the River Pond area at the park, making new friends, and just spending time together.  I hope our photos helped you feel a bit more serene today!

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Play bows,
Zim