Take Your Pup To Work!

Woo everypup and everycat. It's me - Dave. Did you all know Friday was Take Your Dog To Work Day? Mom didn't know, but it worked out OK anyway since I always go to work with her. She was making a new Huffle Duffel and I was right there to help.

It's for our pal Joe Stains. Or his mom. Yeah, that's it - for his mom. She wanted it to be in the Arizona Diamondbacks' colors, so Mom printed out their logo and was pulling fabric together for it.

You need help with reds?

I thought she was OK seeing red (so to speak) ... but she said they can be tricky. I love to get involved and help; it's my job! I plunged right in and helped pick out a bunch of the "right" reds, then showed Mom my fav.

I like this one best!

I was a big help and Mom had everything set to go in no time. As a reward, I got to play with Squishy Duck.

Looks good; Squishy Duck and I will be right here if you need anything else.

Before I knew it, she had the Huffle Duffel all done!

Hmm... looks good, but...

I still don't see how Joey Stains is going to fit in there, to sneak into a D-backs' game!

Good luck, Joe! Mom said you'll have your bag in a day or two!

Luv,

Dave,

Guide Dog for the Color Blind

Tag, We're It!

Tail wags, pups and kittens, it's me - Stormy! We were tagged in the same tag game by our friends in the OP Pack and by "The Beasts" (Royal, Brock, Alki and Iggy)! Let's get to it, shall we?

Here's the scoop: Open your photos folder and select the 6th folder. Then select the 6th photo in that folder and post that photo along with the story behind it on your blog. Then tag five friends! Cool. Except that for some reason our sixth folder only had four photos in it... so we skipped ahead to the seventh. Here it is:

Yes, that's me, ripping through the yard with a toy in my mouth! Ha rooo! We originally posted it to the blog in October of 2006. As I recall, Ammy used the photo to illustrate that a real Siberian pounces on a toy, shakes it, and runs around with it. A real Siberian does not retrieve. Not that I'm pointing the paw at anypup in particular. But that's the story behind the photo.

We'd like to tag the following bloggers: Tia, Sitka, and Cornelia Marie, Frankie, Maddie and Domi, Angus Mhor, the Basset Babes Martha and Bailey and Angel, Isabella and Sadie over at the Beaded Tail. If any of you have already been tagged, our apologies! Try the seventh folder. Ha roo roo roo!

Speaking of our friends at the Beaded Tail, did you know they did some modeling with one of our mom's bags? Ha roo, what a great job! Also... they presented us with this very cool award:

Thank you so much, friends! We feel very honored! And think you are "Uber Amazing" yourselves!

Have a great day! Stay cool and stay hydrated!

Tail wags,

Storms

(Not-So) Serene Scenery Sunday

Hi everypuppy and everycat! It's me - Amber, resident meteorologist here at Ao4 HQs. I asked Stormy if I could post this week's scenery pictures, and she said, "Well, OK, but not if they're of those blasted small 's' storms that came through here Wednesday night!" So I said, "Oh.... " and did my Malamute ears and acted sad and she caved and said I could post them! Thanks, Stormy! Let's get right to them!

Here's what the sky to the west looked like at about 1830 (that's 6:30 p.m.):

Mom and I shot that off our upper deck. That brought some pretty wild weather in and took our electricity away for a while. Not nice! About an hour and a half later, this is what the skies looked like toward the west:

That's a panoramic shot; you can click any of these for a bigger view on our FlickR page.

The rain let up for a while, so Mom and I went out to see what was cooking up. Here's an artsy shot of me, studying the western skies from the front yard:

Then we looked north, and this is what we saw:

We walked down the street a bit, then turned toward the northeast and saw this incredible sight:

We really like that shot! Except for the photo with me in it, we did no special effects at all on these pictures - the colors are true! It's it incredible!!??

We walked back to the house after that, and headed out on the deck. Here's another look to the southwest:

That looked like another line heading our way, so we took one more picture and headed inside. Here's a look:

You can almost feel it about to hit, can't you? Well, it did, and it was quite the wild ride. That was at about 2015; it hit fast, it hit hard, but really didn't last long. By shortly after 2100, this is what the skies looked like:

I'll bet you feel serene now.... don't you!?!?

This has been your Ao4 Meteorology Moment. :)

Love,

Ammy

In the Garden - Good News, Bad News, Other News

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats, it's me, Zim! Two sets of good news/bad news from the garden here at Ao4 HQs this week!

The good news is the upside-down tomato plants are getting mighty big.

Me inspecting the upside-down tomatoes

The bad news is that there is only one tomato.

Is that all there is?

The other good news is that everyone's favorite mosquito-eating machine, Bart the Bat, is back!

Good eeeeevening!

Bart lives under our upper deck, keeps an eye on things on the lower deck for us, and eats tons of mosquitoes. You can read about him here, and that links to previous posts. OH, and Mom even named a bag after him!

Anyway... the bad news is... Bart's been eyeing the lone tomato...

The lone tomato

...and I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to get to it before Mom and Dad!

In other news, here's something fun for all of you to try! Not that I have or anything... but it sounds fun! If your Mom is - hypothetically, you know - standing up on her tip-toes on a chair, trying to take a picture of a ... oh, I don't know... of a bat, let's say... creep up behind her and stick your cold, cold nose on her ankle. See if you get the squeals I got. I mean would get, you know... if I would try something like that. Not that I did or anything.

Ha roo roo roo.

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Ha roo and "meow", everypuppy and everycat! It's me, Stormy! We got a wonderful surprise in the mail this week and wanted to share some photos of this great event with you! A box from that fantastic feline, Huffle Mawson! She sent us some Happy Hearts Cookies!!! Can you believe it?!!? She's as sweet as she is beautiful!!! Let's get to the photos - and the crunching!

There was a very cool calendar magnet for our magic cold box. Mom put it right on the front, so she can remember that it's ALWAYS time for Happy Hearts! There was also a lovely card; here is Ammy, reading it to all of us:

Amber, reading the card to all of us, "It's from HUFFLE, the sweetest kitty I know!"

There was a HUGE supply of our favorite flavors of Happy Hearts - Sweet Potato and the Blueberry/Banana ones! And check out this big party cookie!!!

Me and Zim, checking out the HUGE cookie!

Isn't that the biggest cookie you've EVER seen in your LIFE?!?! And it's got a Huffle kitty on it!

As if that's not exciting enough, there was a cookie for each of us, with our names on them! Mom let us eat them just this morning, right out of the coldest part of the magic cold box, just like we like them!

Here I am, checking it out:

Stormy cookie and Stormy-girl!

And here I am, chomping down!

Check my pupils. Yes, they're THAT good!

Ammy was mighty excited, so she's a little blurry in this picture:

The Jaws of Steel, ready to strike!

She was willing to let Mom give her another one, so she could get a better picture. For some reason, Mom didn't buy into it. Good try, though, Ammy!

Zim was also a bit active for his photo:

Zim, ready to launch. Or is that "lunch"? Ha roo roo roo!

(Pun provided by Amber)

He, too, was willing to do a reshoot, but it was a no-go. I've got to get those two redheads to work on their Harp Seal Look; that could have done it.

And yes, the LabraDave got one, too. Of course, he was more than willing to pose with his cookie prior to eating it.

Dave, admiring his Happy Heart cookie

They truly are a thing of beauty; who can blame him?! Here he is again:

Trust me when I say, they're not only beautiful, they are REALLY incredibly YUMMY!

Hey... aren't those pix of me kind of blurry? I think we should get another cookie out and re-take those! Where's Mom? I've got to go do my Harp Seal Look and see about a re-shoot. I hope everyone out there has a great day.

Thank you, Huffle!!! You're so wonderful! And thank you to Maya Marie, Missy and Bella's mom - your cookies are the BEST!!!

Tail wags,

Storms

Dakota of the OP Pack

Our hearts and prayers go out to our dear friends at The Chronicle of Woos, who had to say good-bye to their sweet Princess Dakota. If you haven't already done so, please stop by their blog and let them know you're thinking about them.

"...The only thing worse than the pain of losing a loved one is the pain of never loving or being loved in the first place. In a way, the pain of grief is a gift to us because it is evidence of the presence of love..."

To the OP Pack Mom and Dad, and to Thunder and Phantom - thank you for letting us get to know Dakota. This sweet, beautiful girl touched a lot of lives and hearts, as do the rest of you.

Rest in peace, Dakota. And know that you will always be very well-loved.

The Ao4 and our parents.

Wordless Wednesday

Love and luv (especially to Dakota and her family),

Ammy (in the background) and Dave

Red Sky at Night...

...redhead's delight!

Hee hee hee! Hi everypuppy and everycat. It's me - Ammy! I wasn't sure what I was going to blog about today but then last night we had a really pretty view of the sunset from right here at Ao4 Headquarters, so I just thought I'd show you real quick, then go get cool.

Here it is - isn't it gorgeous?

From Army of Four Digest

It's been around 100 degrees here lately, with high humidity - making our "real feel" temps in the 110s. I'll be in my carrier if anypup needs me.

"Hey... what's up there?!!?

Did someone hang something on my carrier!?!"

(Somewhere, off camera in Ao4 HQs)

"Ha roo roo roo, I think she saw it, Dave!"

"Ha woo. That was a good one, wasn't it, Zim?!"

"Hee hee hee! 'Chien bizzarre'. Hee hee hee! Oh, you GUYS!"

I hope all of you are finding ways to keep busy and entertain yourselves during this hot spell!

Love,

Ammy

At Long Last!

Woo, everypuppy and everycat! It's me, Dave! For the first time in a long time, guess what I was allowed to do!?!?

That's right - play fetch with Mom in the back yard!!! For the first time since my dental surgery, the weather was cooperative enough for us to get out and play! I had moved up to Squishy Duck and other soft toys, and am progressing into Kongs and the like. Mom said we could give playing in the back yard a go. (I play a little rougher out there!) It was already pretty hot out, but Mom had an idea. She said we could play with a Chilly Bone!

Me and the Chilly Bone

It's a canvas toy (I usually don't get to play with those!) that you soak in water and stick in the Magic Cold Box! It's really cool! Get it? (Ha woo, I've got to tell that one to Ammy!)

I loved chasing after it and bringing it back! It was cold and felt really good in my mouth! I even did a little chomping on it and didn't hurt it - or myself!

But mostly I loved running with it in my mouth.

For Summertime fun, I give the Chilly Bone a big paws up! Woo!

Luv,

Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and kits-cats. Zimmie here with Serene Scenery Sunday. Today's photos center around our garden - how about we get started?

After some of the wild, wild weather we've had lately, this skyline made everyone around here feel peaceful!

If that won't enlarge by clicking, please try clicking here.

Guess what's still alive and kicking out there? The volunteer pansy!

Mom said it's doing better than if she had actually planted it on purpose. Pansies make her very serene. To see more pix of this one, please feel free to visit our FlickR album.

Our honeysuckle has also been blooming and smells incredible! Here's a look at a couple of those blooms.

There was a funny story about our great-sisters continually trying to munch on some honeysuckle along one of their walking routes. Mom finally had to ask the vets if there was anything harmful; they said there wasn't, but they couldn't understand WHY they'd try to eat it. Isn't it clear? They were Siberian Huskies. Ha roo roo roo! Enough said.

We are very excited that our Sunburst Hypericum is starting to bloom already! There are two "flowers" on the bushes; here's a look at one bloom:

Pretty cool, isn't it? And here's a look at the other bloom!

Mom loves these and says they're like a whole bush of marigolds. Whatever. I like it when they get bees all over them and the whole bushes are buzzing!

And lastly, here's a shot of me enjoying life, relaxing on the deck, contemplating life.

Take time to take it all in, pups and kit-cats. Find your inner serenity!

Before I close, on behalf of the Ao4, I'd like to wish all dads - and especially ours! - a very happy Father's Day! Do something serene today!

Play bows,

Zim

Working On the Weekend

Ha roo, pups and cool cats. Zim here. Everybody got big plans for the weekend? Me? I'll be working. Yep. As a member of the Working Group, I have to stay busy at all times. Busy, busy, busy! One of my many, many tasks around here is guarding the stairs down to the downstairs. You've seen me working there before; this weekend, I'm hard at it again.

Remember I'm a Siberian Husky, and we're in the Working Group. I'm bred for this kind of thing and am a highly trained professional. This isn't something you can just jump into!

From Army of Four Digest

Halt. Who goes there?

I'm going to need a nap before too long.

Have a great weekend, and don't work too hard.

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Tail wags, all - it's Stormy here with Photo Finish Friday. This week, I have a collection of photos of all four of us that Mom has taken over the past week or so that didn't quite fit in anywhere else. Let's get started!

Here's one of Ammy from the evening of the full moon:

Ammy and the Full Moon

As she's our resident meteorologist, you'd expect her to be interested in the phases of the moon. She's got some moon jokes, too - naturally. Check them out at this link. They're good, but silly. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Mom was cleaning behind Zim's chair yesterday. You've all seen how he loves to lounge back there! So what's a guy to do if he doesn't have access to his normal cute pose place?

Zim with a substitute chair

Exactly.

Next, I know you all think Dave is all about being next to Mom, snuggling with Mom, not letting Mom out of his reach. Well, if Mom's not available, Dad will do. Here is Dave and Dad's feety-feet.

Dave

Mom really likes that picture of Dave and did some special effects on it. I'll put it at the end of this post.

You may be thinking, "Hey, Storm! You showed us pix of everysibe else! How about one of you?" Funny you should ask. Mom was trying to get me to pose just the other night. Here you go:

Me. "Talk to the paw, Mom!"

Ha roo roo roo!

Oh, before I forget! We have a tomato update!

That's right! Our upside down tomato plants are starting to put out flowers and one tiiiiiiiny tomato! It won't be long now before we're swimming in tomatoes!

And lastly, as promised.... here's the Deeve:

From Army of Four Digest

Kind of cool, isn't it?

Tail wags!

Storms

My Still Really Cool Polar Bear Blanket

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! It's me, Zim! Does anyone remember a few years ago - I showed you my really cool polar bear blanket? Well, Mom's making some deco-changes in the bedroom and kept looking at my really cool polar bear blanket, muttering stuff about it being really worn out and needed replaced and junk like that! Not my really cool polar bear blanket!!! It's MINE! Check it out!

Isn't it really cool? And it's right by the windows, so I have a great view of the back yard.

Me, checking for Oswald

And the blue is cool and brings out the blue in my left eye.

Don't you think? And it's got POLAR BEARS on it.

Seriously, you pups and kits don't think Mom should replace it, do you?

Me and my still really cool polar bear blanket

Play bows,

Zim