A Tale of My Tail

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  There's something I need to tell you.  It's about my tail.

My tail ...

... is in jail.

"My tail is in jail."

Will someone post bail?

Ha roo  roo roo!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with Photo Finish Friday!  Last night after we had our Supper-Dupper, Mom took me and Zim on only a very short walk.  When we got home, we each got a treat:

A Stinky Goodness Treat for Zim and a Pumpkin Oat Cookie for me!

Mom thought maybe we should just chill out in the living room for a while and play with toys.  I chose Purple Panda!  Zim was still trying to decide what to bring in - oh, hey.  Want to know why we only got a very short walk?

"Hey, Zim!  Show everybody why Mom didn't walk us very far!"

Since it's Photo Finish Friday and all ...

"I can't even look!"

Yeah.  So top to bottom:  time of day (p.m.), indoor temp, and outdoor temp.  107.8℉ translates to 42.1℃ for those of you who live in places where they do C.  It was cooling off, but still too hot for us.  Spending some quality time with Purple Panda seemed like a good idea.

Me and Purple Panda

And if you can see his left ear, I have no idea how that happened!

We decided to pose for a couple pix:

Our serious side

OK, it was supposed to be our serious side, but Purple couldn't stop smiling - so I decided to join him!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Luv,
Dave

How To Stay Busy ...

... when it's over 100℉ (over 38℃) outside!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats - it's me, Zim!  You might be wondering just how Davy and I are staying busy while we go through these hot, hot days we call "Summer" here in Kansas.  I start my day nice and early, just like always!  I like to get Mom up at about 3 or 4 to go look at the stars and enjoy a little fresh air.  Mom rewards me with a little snack afterwards, so I'm sure she's all in favor of it.  Anyway... I like to get Dad out for a nice, long walk by about 0530; while we're gone, Davy takes Mom for a shorter one.  Perhaps coffee on the deck afterwards (our deck is shady in the morning), then breakfast, and another walk with the Deeve and Mom.  After that ...

ZOOOOOMMMM!!!

Yep.  As a 12 1/2 year old, that early morning exercise still does one thing for me -- gives me MORE ENERGY!!!  Ha roo!  I had a GREAT round of zoomies this morning!

"What a blast!"

After zoomies ...

"Zzzz..."

... I took up Guard Duty by the front door.

"What?"

Oh.  Yeah.  Well, it's just a coincidence that there's a cool air vent right there!  I was hard at work --really!

That kept me busy until about 0930.  Now to dream up some cool adventures for the rest of the day ...

Stay cool everyone!  And stay entertained!

Play bows,

Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows and luv,
Zim and Dave

ToesDay

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim!  So there I was, just relaxing on the Sitzbank like  I'm allowed to  err... like I like to do, studying my feet, trying to come up with a post for today.

"What to post... what to post..."

Then I thought ... I'm almost in the same pose as I was a few evenings ago, only using a different prop to enhance my pose.  Check it out:

Siberian Husky - the missing link between dogs and cats

Cool, huh?  And is it any wonder my bestest friend Huffle Mawson made me an honorary kitty cat?

Then I thought about our friends over at Random Felines, and how I just LOVE their Toesday posts.  So, yeah!  Let's focus in on mine while I ... oh ... oh ... oh!

Oops.

Sorry.  I fell.  Not to worry.  We can still do Toesday!  Check 'em out:

I know.  Mighty cute feety-feet, don't you think?

Promise not to touch them? 


Promise?!?!

OK ... you can get a little closer:

OK.  Good enough.  Please stop looking.  I know some of you want to tickle my snowshoes -- now stop it!!!  It's in the Siberian Husky Rule Book - "Let no biped touch your feet without putting up a struggle."  Seriously.  That's one of the reasons Stormy always suspected that Dave was really a Lab in a Sibe suit - he LOVES having his paws held and tickled and touched!  Crazy!  Oh, sure, if Mom or one of our vets insists, I'm OK with it:

Mom has a hard & fast rule that we have to let her touch our feety-feet

... but I sure don't seek out paw-touching like Dave!

In case you're wondering what he's got his toes wrapped around, here's a pic of him from yesterday:

"Am I back in Texas?  Woo is me.  Hold my paw, Mom!"

He doesn't look thrilled, does he?  Quarter 'til six in the evening, and our shaded thermometer read 103℉.  (39.4℃ for our international friends.)  We've been spending the heat of the day hovering over A/C vents, getting walks in EARLY or waiting until it cools off a bit.  Obviously, 1745 hours isn't quite late enough.

Anyway ... that's what I've got for you today - Toesday.  Oh, and sure, stare at Dave's if you must, dream about reaching through the computer screen to play with them, but stop looking at my feety-feet!!!  Ha roo!

Play bows,

Zim

Shotgun Duties

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  As many of you know, I just love going on car rides.  When I don't get to drive, I am the ace navigator.  But when you ride shotgun, navigating isn't your only duty!    Check out these pix of me in action:

"Red light!"

"Green light!"

I don't know how Mom manages to drive anywhere without me!

Play bows,

Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with millions of pix today (OK, maybe not that many, but you may want to pull up a water bowl and get comfy...) to help you reach the Zen of Zim Zone.  Ready to have a look around?

Remember the rock-filled bed by our driveway?  You know - where Mom was going to put the 14" grass that was really going to be 14'?  Yeah.  Anyway, the Purple Love Grasses are doing pretty well and the sedum is going crazy like we hoped it would!

Variegated Sedum - Sedum Lineare 'Variegatum'

The Dragon's Blood Sedum is by the other rocks in the background; I'll show you some of our other Dragon's Blood Sedum in a minute!

Over here, on the side by Fluffy Black Cat's house (by where we fixed the retaining wall up a bit), the Liriope are doing great!

The darker ones are Big Blue Liriope and the sort of chartruese ones are Pee Dee Golds.  One of the Pee Dees is starting to bloom!

Liriope Muscari 'Pee Dee Gold Ingot'

It's their first year here, so Mom's all kinds of excited.

Just toward the back of this garden, Mom has more "first time here" plants.  She put in some Blue Queen Salvia -- and one of them is starting to bloom, too!!!

Salvia nemorosa 'Blaukonigin'

They'll hopefully get nice and full eventually - but for now, Mom is happy that they're alive and thrilled that one is blooming!

What else is back here?

Me - inspecting the gardens!

Oh!  See that tier down there?  There's a huge Austrian Pine down there and there used to be 1/2 a million Texas Quince.  Not DWARF Texas Quince, either.  Huge, invasive ones.  Well, thanks to Dad's muscles, some shovels, a pick-axe and who knows what else, there is now only one well-trimmed Texas Quince down there now.  Mom put in some more of the Big Blue Liriope, a couple Russian Sage plants, and some pots filled with Coleus.  She spent a lot of time in there this week, weeding and trying to pull more Texas Quince (not the dwarf kind) suckers out.  Here's a look at that tier:

Just down one tier from there is where Mom planted a bunch of Maiden Grasses that Dad dug up and split for her - and that's where some of the Echinacea are.  Here's a look at one!

Echinacea purpurea ‘PowWow Wild Berry’

Pretty cool.  Those made Mom feel all kinds of good inside!  She feels really blessed to have something so beautiful growing in her garden!

While we're out back, let's have a look at the sunset!

19 JUNE 2012 sunset over the Flint Hills 

Looks toasty, doesn't it?  I hope everyone is remembering to stay cool and stay hydrated!

Let's get back to inspecting the gardens; how about we go over on the other side of the house?

King of the Mountain!

Yep.  We have big retaining walls over there, too.  Behind me, you can see some of the Maiden Grasses Mom and Dad put in last year.  They've really filled out nicely!

Along one side of the stairs is where Mom put some of the Dragon's Blood Sedum in last year.  Here's a look:

Sedum 'Dragon's Blood Red'

It's normally a bit redder-looking, but the sun was right smack on it, washing it out.  We'll try to get a better shot this week.

As I mentioned last week, Mom is growing some lavender for the first time this year, too.  One variety is in bloom!  (Sort of.)

Lavandula angustifolia

I know.  It's not much, but it's giving Mom hope.  And is teaching her patience!

Mom and I went for a ride this week and shot some pix of barns.  Here's Mom's favorite barn:

We've posted pix of it before, but it's worth seeing again, don't you think?  Plus Mom's photo skills are improving!

Here's another barn just down the road from that one:

I think if barns could tell stories, that one would have a lot to say!

I hope having a look around our garden and our little corner of Kansas helped you feel serene!

Keep cool, everyone!

Play bows,

Zim

Saturday Smiles

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  I thought I'd give you some smiles today.  For many of us, it's been a rough week, and I thought we could all use it.  Before I actually show you my smile, I need to do something.

"I'm thinking about our sweet friend Sadie..."

Yes.  That's who you think it is walking down the street with me - it's Mr. Squee-Kee Moose.  He's a real fun guy.  I thought I'd give him a smile by taking him on a little stroll.  It made Mom smile - and the neighbors who saw us, too.  Woo.

Once we got back home, I started up the driveway, then decided Mr. Moose and I should spend some quality time in the yard.

"Let's go over where it's shady, Squee-Kee!"

Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking?  Check that picture above.  Mr. Squee-Kee Moose isn't casting a shadow.  You don't think he's a vampire, do you?  Or would that be a vamoose?  Only if he bites his victim and leaves in a hurry, right?  Ha woo.  "Vamoose".  I've got to remember to tell that one to Zimmie.

"You're not too hot, are you, buddy?"

Squee-Kee isn't used to the heat, so I wanted to make sure we weren't over-doing!  He squeaked, which I took to mean he was OK.

Now ... how about a smile?

Squee-Kee is smiling, too.  Can you tell?

Mom even did a special effects thingie on a photo of us guys:

I like it, but I think you can see Mr. Squee-Kee Moose's smile better in the picture right before this one!

Have a great Saturday.  And please remember to take time to fit some smiles into your plans!

Luv,
Dave

Photo Finish Friday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave!  I thought I'd show you some highlights from the week for Photo Finish Friday.  Sound good?  Let's take a look at some of the more outstanding events Zim and I shared!

First - did Zim mention that after my nap the other day, Mom cracked open a cold, juicy watermelon!?!?

"Sure... leave the room.  You can trust us, Mom.  Really."
"Zim.  Dad's standing right THERE!"

We waited very patiently and politely until Mom cut us each a little bite.  For the record, I'm not sure if Dad sat first before he got his taste.  Hmm...

We also did a lot of this, early in the day, over the course of the week:

Me and my kid brother Zimmie

Notice I'm not wearing the harness?  We had a deluge the other night and Mom took it off so it wouldn't get soaking wet.  I'm doing so well in just my collar, that we're giving it a go.  (Shh!  Don't tell my vet!!!)

We also did plenty of one of my favorite things:

Yep - watched TV together!  I forget what was on...

The early mornings are still cool enough for coffee on the deck!

"Zim, there's a grey and white cat walking through our yard..."

"Yeah... that's White Socks.  I told him he could hang out here.
Hey, White Socks!" 

Mom didn't get a picture of White Socks.  He's even more elusive than The Limestone Cat.  She just wasn't fast enough on the draw.

Zim decided he and I should go to Stonehenge for the big Summer Solstice thing.

"Look, Zim!  There it is!  Stonehenge!"

According to some of the news reports we saw/read, some people claim it was raining at Stonehenge.

"Clearly those bipeds didn't go to the REAL Stonehenge, Dave!"

They need Zim as their navigator!!!

Those are a lot of the highlights from our week, as captured by Mom's iPhone.  Oh ... one more thing ...  did I mention she cracked open an icy cold watermelon for us?!?

"Hi, Mom.  How's tricks?  Don't you need to do something in the other room?"
"Hi, Dad.  Whatcha watching'?..."

Do we look any more trustworthy via special effects?  Ha woo.

I hope you had as much fun this week as we did!

Luv,
Dave

Me?!!?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats, it's me - Zim!  So there I was, guarding the dining room yesterday afternoon...

"I'm sooooo bored..."

...when Mom saw me.  Dave was getting some much needed rest in the other room and she didn't want me to wake him up.  Something about me finding my own entertainment not being quite restful to everyone else in the house.  I have no idea what she means by that.  Anyway, she seemed to understand just what I needed and whispered those words I love to hear ... "Psst!  Zim!"

"Me?!!?"

When she does that "Psst!" thing, I just know she's being sneaky and that it means something fun!  I dashed over and followed her into the garage.

"Car ride?!?  Can I drive?"

She said she'd drive but that I could navigate.  Cool!  I navigated us straight over here:

"This is what I'm talking about!"

Can you tell where we went?!?  Look in the background -- it's the transoceanic bridge!  That's right -- since I was navigating, I directed Mom over to the Kansas Ocean!

"Ahh!  Feel that breeze!"

It was a tad breezy, as you can tell from my fur, and it just felt GREAT!!!

Mom did a special effects thing on her iPhone:

Pretty cool, huh?  I felt very retro.

I was surprised there weren't any tourists visiting - you'd think now that it's Summer, everyone would head to the Kansas Ocean!

All the more for me to enjoy, I guess!

When I got home and cooled down a bit, Dave and I helped Mom slice up a watermelon.  Mmm!  Nothing beats icy cold watermelon after a trip to the ocean!  I sure wish all of you could have joined us!

Play bows,
Zim