Who We Are

Monday, March 31, 2014

Team Meeting

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim, here with Cam and Mags.  We were just having our Monday morning Team Meeting.

IMG_5437CamMagZim

We call it "planning"; Mom calls it "scheming".  Whatever!

Hope you're laying in some fun plans for the week!

Play bows,
Zim

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Kitty Cats!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  I know we usually do Serene Scenery Sunday, but I ran into an old friend and made a new friend yesterday, so I thought I'd tell you about it!  It all started when I took Mom outside early in the afternoon ...

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"Mom!  Up in the cul-de-sac!  Check it out!"

Can you see them?  It's my friend Fluffy Black Cat and a cat I haven't met before!

I sent them a silent message:

IMG_5502ZimCats
"Ha roo, kit-cat friends!"

That's FBC on the left.  (Sadly, she's been mostly shaved.  Don't get me and Mom started about that.)  They saw me, and FBC  must have said something to the new kit-cat about me because she started coming down the hill to meet me!

IMG_5499Cats
"That's Zim; he's my friend."
"Mrrrr-ow?"

Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

We communed at a distance (no photos; Mom wanted "control" of the situation - HA!), then my new friend went off to do kit-cat things. We ran into each other again on our evening walk, but before I show you the photos, let me explain why they will look a bit "off". Take a look out back with me:

IMG_5504ZimView
"Wowzers!"

Can you see the smoke over the hills? Here's the view off our deck:

IMG_5505SmokeOverTheHills

Yes! It's prairie and field burning time! A sure sign of Spring! (They burn to maintain the integrity of the prairie! Please click here if you'd like to learn more about the controlled burn practices and how important it is to our Flint Hills area!)  So anyway ...

After dinner, we all went on our after-dinner walk.  It was fairly uneventful until ...

IMG_5507MaggieCat
"Look, you guys!  Peeking out from behind that trailer!"

Maggie was in the lead, so she saw her first!  It was my friend from earlier!

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"Mrrr-ow?  Zim?  Is that you?"

She and I had a nice, silent exchange and were really having a nice moment, when "something" freaked her out, and she darted into the street!

IMG_5508CatZim
"Not in front of the vehicle!!!  NO!!! Careful, little kit-cat!"

Whew!  Fortunately, she waited until the SUV passed by.  Do you know what made her dash off?  Umm...

IMG_5510CamCat
"And just STAY AWAY, kit-cat!"

Umm... yeah.  It was an "all family" walk.  Cam can't help herself.  It's the Siberian prey drive thing.  As most of you know, I stood in the Play Drive line instead of the Prey Drive line when God was giving out Siberian traits.  Cam got in the line most Sibes get in.  And Maggie?  Well ...

IMG_5509MaggieCat
"Is that something I can play with?"

I'm trying to bring her over to the Camp Zimmie side, but it's hard to go against instincts.

Have a wonderful Sunday - I hope you get to share time with some special friends!

Play bows,
Zim

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Who, Us?

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I'm just up here on the stair landing with Maggie.  Behaving like proper young ladies.

Really.

IMG_5358CamMagStairs
"Who, us?"
"Yeah.  Who, us?!?"

Someone needs to work on her Innocent Look a bit this weekend.

~ Cammie!

Friday, March 28, 2014

Photo Finish Friday: Putty In My Paws

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  I've found that I can tool my mom out of just about anything when I sit and do a little head tilt like this:

IMG_4948MaggieHeadTilt
Slight head tilt

So, for Photo Finish Friday, let me ask you: what do you think will happen when I spring this on her?

IMG_4949MaggieHeadTilt
Head tilt overdrive

Putty in my paws, readers.  She is putty in my paws.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Security Detail

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  As many of you know, I am now the Head of Security here at Ao4 Headquarters.  When Mom said she was going to head out to Tuttle Creek State Park to do some birding yesterday, I knew it was my duty to go with her!

It was a breezy day. Well, OK. We had wind gusts of 50 miles per hour. That could be more than breezy. In this photo, you can see some of the leaves blowing all around:

IMG_5374CamBlowingLeaves

The dock we usually stand on was soaking wet from the waves splashing up, so we opted to not stand on it. It could be slippery - safety first!

We drove over to another area of the park. Here I am, after getting out of the car:

IMG_5152CamCar

Can you see the wind blowing my leash around? And in this next shot, you can see it fluffing up my furs!

IMG_5150CamWind
"Wheee!  Feel the breeze, Mom!"

So far, it had been pretty much of a blowout as far as seeing birds went. We walked over to where the River Pond meets the Big Blue River and had a look around.

IMG_5378CamRiver
"Looks safe.  We can go down to the water's edge."

IMG_5142CamWarning
"Hmm.  'Warning.  Submerged da--' Oh, my!  They don't have to swear about it!"

Just kidding.  And a good warning!  I made sure Mom didn't jump into the water and swim downstream.

We walked along the shore for a while ...

IMG_5136CamRiverPond

We did see some Common Mergansers way off in the distance. Here's the best shot Mom could get:

IMG_5122CommonMergansers
Common Mergansers
The one with the cool hairdo is the female

She said it was hard holding the camera still in that wind.

Here I am looking around at the River Pond:

IMG_5123CamRiverPond
Me doing a safety check

Not much bird action out there, either, so we got into the car again and drove to yet another area.  We drove slowly along the windy roads of the park for a bit, and then --

IMG_5101CamCar
"WAIT!  I see something!"

Check it out:

IMG_5093CanadaGeese
Gooses!

Is it just me, or is that guy giving us a dirty look?  And his friend over on the right sure has his feathers ruffled!  Ha roowooroo.  Just kidding - it was the wind again.

I'm not just Head of Security, I'm a birder, too!  We eventually saw some more different birdies, but it was hard for Mom to get good shots of them.  We had fun anyway!

Thanks for coming to the state park with us!  If you'd like to see the rest of our photos, please click here.

Cammie!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wordless Wednesday

IMG_5286MaggiePortrait2

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Say It With Photos

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  Big news once again here at Ao4 Headquarters.  Let's take a look, shall we?

It all started out on the deck Sunday...

IMG_5301ZimDeck
"Check it out, girls!  Our snow is gone!"

IMG_5303ZimCamDeck
"It was here just yesterday ..."
"Oh, Zimmie!  It's all gone!"

IMG_5305MagZimCamDeck
"All of it, you guys?!?"
"I think so, Mag-a-roo."
"All of it, little one."

IMG_5307MagSnow
"Wait!  I found some!"

IMG_5308MagZimCamDeck
"See, Zimmie?!!?"
"It's a tiny bit ... but we need more!"
"Sigh."

And so, imagine our delight when we went outside the very next morning - yesterday - to discover this:

IMG_5321ZimSnow
"Now we're talkin'!"

IMG_5322CamSnow
"Mom?  You don't look too happy about this..."

Cam was right - Mom didn't seem as happy about the snow as we were.  Dad must have been thrilled, though - he cancelled his plans to go golfing and stayed home to enjoy it with us.

Within a couple hours, we had a nice coating!  Here's Mags:

IMG_5331MaggieSnow
Maggie, looking for the best place for us to build a really cool snow fort

And by late morning, even our roads and sidewalks were covered!

IMG_5333MaggieSnow
"...And since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow -- sing it with me, Mom! -- let it  snow!!!"

Isn't that great?!?  Sure, it's supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow, but we'll make the most of it while we have it!  Who wants to come over and build a really cool snow fort with us?!?

Play bows,
Zim

Monday, March 24, 2014

Birding

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.

IMG_4764CamDeck
"Hello!"

I've become quite the bird aficionado since arriving at Ao4 Headquarters, and have begun helping Mom spot some birdies.  Check this out!

IMG_4765CamDeck
"Cardinal!"

IMG_4772MaleCardinal
"You rang?"

My work here is done.

IMG_4784CammieDeck
"Zzz..."

I'm a member of the Working Breed group and I'm here to help.

Cammie!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  I must admit, my sisters and I were going to post something else altogether for this week's Serene Scenery Sunday post ...

IMG_5186TeamMeeting
"I know, you guys!  We could post those ... oh.  Hi, Mom."

... but then something wonderful happened overnight!  Check it out, folks!

IMG_5261ZimCamSnow
"How great is this, Cam?!?"
"This is WONDERFUL, Zimmie!"

Snow!  Lovely, cold, fluffy SNOW!

IMG_5262ZimCamSnow
"And it's 20 degrees!  Isn't this great?!?"
"Kansas seems to be just as wonderful as Missouri, Zimmie!"

Hard to believe, but Cam hasn't been in the family a year yet.  In many ways, it seems like she's always been a part of our family!

Anyway, the sidewalks and road were clear, so Mom could walk without slipping, and the grass was covered in a perfect blanket of snow!

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"This is so perfectly peaceful!"

One of my sisters by my side, Mom not slipping, frigid temps, and snow!  What more could a guy ask for?!?

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"Oooh!  Zimmie!  Check this out!"
"Great find, Cam-a-roo!"

OH, yeah!  Something to snarf up!

I hope you have a wonderfully serene Sunday!  And for those of you east of us, suffering from 60-degree days like we were, fear not!  A lovely cold blast is on its way!

Play bows,
Zim

PS:  For those who might be wondering, Maggie was off on a super-long walk with Dad, in an attempt to tire her out a bit.  Or at least take the edge off.  According to Mom, that helps add to the whole "serene" thing.  Don't worry, we'll go on a few "whole family" walks later today!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Sneaking Up

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie.  Do any of you have unruly toys?  I mean ...

IMG_4959Maggie
Me and my pickle

I can keep most of mine under control.

Whether I'm outside ...

IMG_4685Maggie
Me and my squeaky football

... or kicking back on one of our Wash'n Zip beds:

IMG_4868Maggie
Me and my KONG

I've got a pretty good handle on my toys. Most of my toys. This one ...

IMG_4685MagKong
"Hmm..."

... is a little tricky.

IMG_4686MaggieKong
Me sneaking up on my KONG bone, commando-style

I'll let you know how it goes!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Friday, March 21, 2014

Photo Finish Friday - Walk and Discover!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  For Photo Finish Friday, I thought I'd show you some pictures Mom took on a long walk us girls took the other day!  We walked and walked - and made a VERY interesting discovery along the way!  Ready to get going?

Here Maggie and I are, going up one of the big streets by our house:

IMG_5104MagCamWalk
"Oh, is this fun!"
"Isn't it?!?"

Maggie has walked this way before, but not on this side of the street, so it was very exciting! When we got to the bridge across Little Kitten Creek, I checked it out:

IMG_5107CamLittleKittenCreek
"Hello down there?!?"

There were no little kittens, for those of you who might be wondering.

We turned in by some townhouses:

IMG_5111MagWestbank
"Look, Cam!  We've walked all the way to the West Bank! 
 Perhaps I could bring peace to the region!"

Maggie is an expert in International Relations, but I had to explain to her that we weren't exactly in that West Bank.  Though I must say, we were charged by an unleashed dog, so maybe she was on to something.  Rather than enter into negotiations, however, Mom decided we'd turn around and go back up that big street.  We were fine with that.

IMG_5112MagCamWalk
"Why do people think Kansas is flat?"
"I don't know!  Mom says our part of Kansas is all up hill."

We waited patiently to cross at the light:

IMG_5113MagCamCross

I checked for messages while Maggie posed.

We walked past the Fire House we can see from Ao4 Headquarters:

IMG_5116MagCamFireHouse
"Ha roo, fire people!"
"I wonder if they have a Dalmatian?"

Then took a path Mags had never taken before:

IMG_5117MagCamWalk
"Oooh, woods!  Where are we, Cam?"
"You'll figure it out in a minute, Maggie!"

When we got back out into the open, Maggie knew exactly where we were:

IMG_5122CamMagKSO
"Check it out, Maggie!"
"Yea!  The Kansas Ocean!"

It was when we started up the hill to our water tower that I made the important discovery!

IMG_5132MagCamCapsule
"Look, Maggie!  Look!"
"I know!  Dirt and sticks and all kinds of cool stuff!"

Hmm.  Well, she was right about the dirt and sticks and stuff, but that's not what I meant!  Look right in front of me!  Can you tell what it is?!!?

IMG_5133CamMagCapsule
"I can't wait to tell Zimmie!"
"Look!  A stick!"

You know what I discovered, don't you?!?

IMG_5140CamMagWalk
"It's a space capsule, Mags!  A space capsule!"
"That might be even better than the stick I found!"

Zimmie was impressed with my discovery; Mom was impressed with the braiding job we did with our leashes.  What a great walk!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Cammie!