Haik-Woo #41

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  I've been working hard lately...

Me.  Dave.  Working.

Oh, it might not look like it there, but I have been hard at it.  At the writing game!  Long-time readers of the Ao4 Digest may remember that I have quite the poetic streak and invented my own form of poetry - the Haik-Woo.  After a long dry spell, I've written a new Haik-Woo to share with you.  First, a little background...

Many of you are familiar with the Japanese haiku:  three lines, 17 syllables total of non-rhyming verse -- 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the middle, and 5 in the last.  Haik-Woo is similar, only the last word of that third line has to be my favorite word - "woo".  It's very challenging to get your point across descriptively yet briefly.  And that's why Haik-Woo is quite the art form.

This new Haik-Woo is dedicated to my kid brother, Zim.  He's been through a lot lately and is on a new prescription diet.  That's pretty tough to handle, but it really helps that Mom makes him his special Frozen Treats and Zim's Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats.  Without further ado, I give you Haik-Woo #41:

I did a special reading for Zim the other day.  This was his reaction:

"That's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard!"

He's got a great appreciation for poetry.

Stinky Goodness treats for everyone!

Luv,
Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with Serene Scenery Sunday!  Are you ready to find your inner Zen of Zim Zone?  Then how about you come along with me to Tuttle Creek Dam/Ocean to do a little bird watching?

That's right - Mom and I headed to Tuttle again this week to do some eagle watching.  We had just the best time, taking in all the sights and sounds!  I find it very peaceful there, so I thought I'd share some of our pix with you today.  Let's have a look around, OK?

Me, ocean-side

As you can see, the ocean was starting to melt. We thought it would be the perfect day to see those elusive eagles, what with the better fishing opportunities! I was the first one to see a birdie, and focused in on him. Mom saw what I was staring at, zoomed in with the camera and got this:

Oops. So it's not an eagle; it's a crow. It was still cool and he had found something to munch on out there. Good for him!  Crows have to eat, too!

I spotted more birdies way out on the ocean, swooping in, doing a little fishing! Let's have a look at them!

Hmm. Also not eagles; they're gulls. And where do gulls hang out? Right - at the OCEAN. I just thought it was good to have confirmation that this really IS an ocean and not just some man-made reservoir. Err... because SEAgulls wouldn't hang out at one of those. Right? Of course!

We bird-watched down there at the shoreline for quite some time, then Mom said we needed to hike back up the path and head home. Hikes are soothing, too, so no loss of serenity there. Here I am, almost at the top:

It was nice to see our car ready and waiting for us.

I hope you're in your Zen of Zim Zone now.  Happy Serene Scenery Sunday!

Play bows,
Zim

Kit-Cat-Saturday

Tail wags, dear readers!  It's me, Stormy.  Do you remember a couple weeks ago, when Zim dedicated a Serene Scenery Sunday to our kit-cat friends?  You may have noticed that the Callie-Co Kitty is trusting us more and more.

Zim and Callie from a couple weeks ago

She always talks to us when we go out, meowing greetings and news of the neighborhood to us.  Mom has even petted her - but only when we're not there for some reason.*  We love to hang out with her, just enjoying her company.  She seems to enjoy ours as well.  She was out in our side yard yesterday, and I got to spend some time with her!

Here we are, delighting in seeing each other:

"Callie-Co!"
"Meow, Storms!"

Don't be fooled by the scary look on her face. She was in mid-meow.  In fact, if you'd like to see a video of the two of us and hear her talking, please click here.  (We're having problems embedding videos for some reason; sorry for the inconvenience!)

After she filled me in on everything that's been going on, we both posed for portraits.  Here are two of Callie:

Callie-Co Kitty

Callie - not looking at the camera.  ☺

Isn't she a lovely kitty? While Mom was taking her picture, I did some exploring under the pines. That would explain how my portrait came out:

Personally Siberianly speaking, I like the touch of snow on my head!

After we had visited for a bit, Mom said it was time for us to head inside. I wished Callie a good afternoon, then went in to find Zim and fill him in on everything.

"Stay safe, Cal.  I'll give Zim your best!"

Do you have special friends in the neighborhood?  I love spending time with our kit-cat pals!  Enjoy your weekend!

Tail wags,
Storms

*Note from the mom of the Ao4:  We don't know to whom Callie-Co belongs; she does not wear a collar.  Because of that, we don't know if she has been properly immunized or what disease or parasites she might be carrying.  Unless I discover that she indeed is under a veterinarian's care and in good health, I will not let her meet nose-to-nose with Zim or Stormy, our kitty-lovers.

Photo Finish Friday

♫ I'm On the (pause) ♪Top of the World, lookin' (pause) ♪down on creation... 

Ooops.  Sorry.  Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave. You caught me in a Carpenters' moment there.  Umm... where was I?  Oh, yeah.  On the Top of the World!  Or at least at the Top of the World!  For Photo Finish Friday!

Remember Zim told you yesterday we had a really cool adventure somewhere we haven't been in a long time?  That's where we went - to the Top of the World!  It was windy and sunny and we had a great time!

Here we are, at the end of this really cool path we went down:

Me and Zim

We had never walked down that one before. We were on something called "the edge of a cliff" and for some reason, that made Mom a bit nervous. Not me and Zim, though! It was really cool!  And see where the sort of gravel stuff stops?  So does the path - and it drops WAY down, STRAIGHT down.  Zim and I wanted to spend a lot of time looking down there, but Mom didn't think that was a great idea.  Go figure.

Mom took more shots of us once we had turned around.  I'm not sure why she wasn't comfortable walking the two of us guys along the edge of a cliff and taking photos.  Again - go figure!

Here's Zim in his stalking posture. There was a really cool hawk hunting in the skies overhead, so Zim thought we should look like we were hunting, too!

As you might be able to tell, it was still sort of a steep hill down to that road.  For whatever reason, Mom thought it would be a better idea if we stayed up on the path.  Or at least if one of us would.  I decided that would be me.  Woo.

Since it's Photo Finish Friday, here is a cool Lomo camera effect shot of me on the path:

As Mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind, I'd like to point out that really cool bright red barn off in the distance.  Doesn't that add a nice splash of color?

Here's another shot of the mighty hunter Zimmie:

The mighty hunter Zim!

After we were done walking on that path, we did a little road work. Here we are, striking a pose:

Aren't our shadows nice and crisp? It was really sunny. Windy, too, but you can't tell from the pix.  Mom borrowed Dad's new Flip camera and shot a couple high def vids, though; sort of a test drive.  If you'd like to see them, you can click here and here.

I hope you enjoyed Photo Finish Friday!

Luv,
Dave

Catch-Up Thursday!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  Things got kind of busy around here today, so instead of posting what Dave and I were going to post today, I thought I'd do a little catching up by answering a few of the questions some of our readers have asked!

Actually, most of the questions have been about our collars! Many of you have noticed that we're no longer wearing the cool camo collars and leashes that our mom made us. What happened?!? Are the collars you're wearing now new?!

We love the cool camo collars and leashes that Mom made. Unfortunately, the collars were starting to fray, so Mom doesn't think they're Sibe-safe.  Until she makes us new ones, the camo is out.  In the meantime, we're wearing really cool Lupine collars.  We got these a number of years ago and they're in great shape, so we're happy to wear them.  We usually use our regular, heavy-duty leashes but sometimes use the ones that match our Lupine collars.  You could see Dave's real well in his recent post about going to the Kansas Ocean.

Others of you have noticed that Dave had a cool bandana on the other day (see this pic) and that I'm sporting a really cool Buff around my neck.

Me in my really cool Buff

I started wearing mine for one reason or another, then when Mom wanted to take it off of me to wash it I didn't want her to! I mean ... I LIKE it! And she had to agree that I look cool in it. I wore another Buff while my red one was in the wash - now it's back on. And it's mine. Mom just ordered a purple-ish one for Dave; it came today and he looks really cool, too. I'll get Mom to take a pic of him later!  Stormy would rather not wear one, so Mom's OK with that.

That's all the questions I can remember for now.  Dave and I will post pix of yesterday's really cool adventure tomorrow.  We got to go somewhere we haven't been in a long time! And oh, yeah...

... we had a really great time!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Tail wags,
Storms

Paid Political Advertisement

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me - Dave - here with a paid political advertisement!  Isn't that how they say it?  I'm new to this kind of thing.

Are there elections taking place soon where you live?   We have some local things going on here, apparently.  No, none of us are on the ballot, but here's something pretty cool to woo about.

"Woooo!"

Oh. Am I blocking the screen? Sorry. Try this on for size:

"How's this?  Can you see the TV OK?"

Woo! Do those really cool actors look familiar?  Yeah!  It's Zim and me!

It's not really a TV ad, Mom just put it there, via PhotoShop Elements. We should be on TV, though, don't you think? Check out our cool ad:

We're "pulling" for Wynn.  You know.  Because we're Siberian Huskies.  Pulling is what we do.  Get it?  Ha woo.

I hope Wynn wins.  There could be extra treats in it for us.

Luv,
Dave

PS:  Wynn Butler for Manhattan City Commission, Our Dad, Campaign Manager, this has been a paid political advertisement.  Sort of.  I mean... Zim and I got treats... so does that count?  Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats and Pumpkin Oat Cookies for all.  I wonder if that's how I'm supposed to word this.  I should have checked with Stormy...

Words of Wisdom for Monday

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats. It's me, Zim - and yeah, it's Monday.

Try to keep your chin up.

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Sidewalk Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with the sidewalk version of Serene Scenery Sunday!  Sometimes the coolest stuff we see is right here on our own front sidewalk!  I have two collages to show you, then some pix Mom took while standing on the sidewalk... so they kind of count.

This collage is pix of the three of us on a walk out front.  Mom used the Lomo Camera effect to add a little pizzazz.

The top row is me, then Stormy; the middle is Davy; the bottom row is Stormy, then me! We had a lot of fun on that walk, as I recall. Come to think of it... what walk isn't fun?! Ha roo roo roo!

This next collage is all about our shadows:

It stars me and Storm. And our shadows.  I like that center one best!

The next shots, as I said, Mom took out on our sidewalk -- so they sort of fit in.  They don't include the sidewalk, however - just the opposite.  How about a look up at the full moon from this past week?

This shot is from the night prior to the full moon:

The neighbors' trees were sort of in the way, but Mom thought it worked out really well that way. Once it rose a bit, here's how the moon looked:

If I felt any more serene, I'd have to tilt my snooter back and let out a howl!

The night of the full moon itself, Mom took these next two pix:

The utility pole was sort of like the neighbors' trees - in the way, but adding a little interest.

Depending on how tight in she was able to get, she either got a bright, glowing moon, or a sort of ... cheddar-looking one. Mmm... cheddar.  Either way you look at it, it makes me want to say, "Ah rooooooooo!!!"

Have a serene Sunday!

Play bows,
Zim

This One's Still Here!

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me - Dave.  What did you think of those scary pictures Zim posted yesterday!??!  I have to tell you, I was pretty shocked when he told me about the frogs taking the Tuttle Creek Dam/Ocean!  My first thought was about the Kansas Ocea well, OK, Storm said I should always be honest, so honestly my first thought was how come I didn't get to go to the Tuttle Creek Dam/Ocean? But my second thought was what about the Kansas Ocean?!?  Did the frogs take that one, too?!!?  I had to go check it out!

Oh, I know what you're thinking!  "Dave.  Your mom was just out with Zim.  How did you get her to take you somewhere, too?"  This is how it's done:

"Woo is me."

Stormy hasn't just taught me to be honest, she taught me how to do the Sad Eyes Look. Pretty effective, don't you think?

Yeah, so it just took a few seconds of doing that ... and before I knew it, we were headed to the Kansas Ocean. Here's what we found:

"Whew! This one's still here!"

No frogs or fog anywhere! In fact, it was a gorgeous, clear day at the Kansas Ocean!

"Smell that salt air!"

Well, not exactly salt air. We have fresh-water oceans here in Kansas.  And very blue skies, once the fog clears out.

After we walked around for a while, Mom asked me to pose for some pictures. Here's a pretty cool portrait shot, with the ocean in the background:

Mom also asked me to do a "sit and look cute" pose, like she asked Zimmie. Here's what I came up with:

Me and my shadow!

Stormy was real proud of both of us for not cooperating!

Oh - and don't think Storm was left out of the adventures!  Right after Mom and I got back from the Kansas Ocean, Storm gave her the Harp Seal Look, so she got to go out exploring, too.  That's when she discovered the ocean in our front yard!

Have a great weekend!  I hope yours is filled with fun adventures!

Luv,
Dave

Photo Finish Friday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim - here with Photo Finish Friday!  As Stormy mentioned yesterday, our temps have risen, my really cool snow forts have melted, and so Mom thought a new adventure would cheer me up.  We decided to head to that Tuttle Creek Dam/Ocean to see if we could find any eagles!  I thought our photos were worthy of posting for PFF!  Let's go!

When we got there, I had some bad news for Mom.

"I think someone took the ocean!"

Not only did we not see any eagles, we couldn't even see the ocean!  We went over to the lookout area to see if we could see it over there.

"I can't see it over here, either!  I think ... I think it's gone!"

Strange, don't you think? At first, I thought Mom said some frogs took it, but apparently she said "fog" and that the ocean really was out there!

Me.  Looking for the ocean.

Have I mentioned how nice it was of them to put chin rests in here?

"This could take a while."

And then ... out of the fog ... I could just make out the castle turret that sits on the shore.  Check it out:



Pretty cool, don't you think?

We gave up on trying to see the ocean or any eagles. Mom asked me to pose by the sign for the dam. She wanted me to sit and look "cute", but I decided to stand and give her my serious look.

Don't I look tough?  Yeah.  I thought so, too.

Hope you enjoyed Photo Finish Friday!  Have a great weekend!

Play bows,
Zim

Another Ocean!??!

Tail wags, dear readers!  It's me, Stormy.  We've been having some incredibly warm weather the past few days!  This makes the bipeds happy for some reason - and I must say, it has its pluses for us, too.

Davy, for instance, loves to lay on the deck, bask in the sun, and have his tummy rubbed -- as you saw yesterday.  Oddly, we don't get to do that when it's 20 below.

Zim's a tad upset about his really cool snow forts suddenly disappearing, but Mom has made it up to him by taking him on some cool adventures.  He'll post about those soon!

And me?  I have to say, even though I do love a nice snow, the ice underneath everything was making it hard for me to get around.  But now look!

"Grass!  I can stand on GRASS!"

Almost all of the ice is gone! I can walk without slipping again! And look a bit closer, just past the ice!!! I might have discovered a new ocean! Right here in our own front yard!

"Could this be yet another new ocean?!?"

Waterfront property! How exciting! I hope the city appraisers don't catch wind of this and raise our taxes. Ha roo roo roo!

Tail wags,
Storms

Wordless Wednesday

Luv,
Dave

Spa Time

Tail wags, dear readers.  It's me - Stormy.  So there I was, just walking through the living room ... when I saw this!

"Hey!  What are you doing to my puppy?!?"

Oh, yeah.  More of that "spa treatment" for Zim's ZRD.  Dave told you about that a bit ago.  The pup must actually like that.  Me?  I'd never put up with having a compress on my face like that, but apparently it doesn't bother Zim too much.

Check out this video to see how much he fights it.  (We uploaded the vid through Blogger and it won't play.  Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Yeah.  Or maybe not quite fights it.

"Zzzz........"

He is making great progress, and we're extremely thankful for that!

I better go check on Dave and make sure he's not moping about not getting spa treatment.

Tail wags,
Storms

A Valentine!?! For ME?!?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim!  Happy Valentine's Day to each and every one of you!

Did all of you see the Thundering Herd's blog post last Thursday?  They wrote an excellent commentary about the sled dog massacre that so many of us read in horror.  They made a GREAT case for retired sled dogs being rehomed and living wonderful lives.  And they posted a picture of one such pup ... Holly.  Sigh.  Holly with the shiny silvery fur and the foxy face and those deep chocolate eyes that a guy could just get lost in!  Anyway... I left a little comment on their post just asking if she's as gorgeous in person Siberian as she is in her photos ... and the next thing I knew ... well ... it went something like this:

There I was, just catching up on some work in the living room...

"Oh, yeah!  I've got you guys this time!!!"

...when I heard the email chime ring. I thought I'd see what had come in, so I hit the little switch at the bottom of my Mom's iPad ...

"Lemme just hit this button..."

...and look what came up!!! A Valentine! For ME! And it's from ... HOLLY!!!

Check it out:

A Valentine for me, from Holly!

And see down there in the lower right-hand corner?

"She signed it 'Love, Holly'!"

She says, "Love, Holly." Sigh! I couldn't help myself - I just had to lick her right on that beautiful black gumdrop nose!

SLURP!

I could just flip for her!

"I  ❤ NorthWapiti's Holland Lake"

Can you blame me?  She's run the Iditarod and everything!  And now she's living in a wonderful home with three other Sibes - Rubi, Denali, Sprite.  She does some recreational scootering and sledding, likes all dogs and people, and is going to be trained as a therapy pup!  (Long-time readers - remember our cool Steelers scarves?  Her mom sent us those!)  I could go on and on - she's just so dreamy!  AND she's my Valentine!

I wonder if she'd like to share my sunbeam with me?

"Sigh...."

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Especially to Holly!

Play bows,
Zim