Photo Finish Friday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with Photo Finish Friday.  This week, Mom did some special effects stuff on some of our photos, so I thought we'd take a look at those.

Here's a lovely watercolor of Zim driving past the Kansas Ocean:

Zim in watercolors

I should say he was being driven past the KSO.  Zim's not allowed to drive.  Not even when he's on lead.  And here in Kansas, we have our steering wheels on the left side of the car.

Moving right along ...

Squee-Key Moose and I were clowning around for this next shot:

Me and Squee-Kee Moose in cartoon mode

Some of you have asked why I don't go on every adventure Zim goes on.  It's because I'm 14-1/2 years old and even though I still love going on multiple walks every day, sometimes I prefer to skip the afternoon adventure and spend special time with Mom and Squee-Kee instead.  I love doing that - and Zim loves his special adventure time - so it works out great for all of us!

Speaking of whom ... here's Zim giving Mom the "should we go on an adventure or should I find a way to entertain myself" look!

"Look into my eyes ... deeper ... deeper ..."

Ha woo.  He's so good at tooling Mom.

Oh - here's a pic for you from last night without any special effects -

The Blue Moon!

I know what that makes me want to do!

"WooOOooOOOooo....!!!"

I don't howl at every full moon.  Just ... once in a blue moon.  Ha woo!

Have a great weekend!

Luv,

Dave

Thoughts on a Thursday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  I was just thinking ... if that stint up at the new Fire House doesn't pan out, what about being a State Trooper?  Flashback to a Wordless Wednesday from March -- remember how cool the State Trooper vehicle was?!!?  Well - here.  Let me re-post it:

If you look closely, you can see Dave's reflection right after the word "trooper"!
(Mine is behind the writing.)

Yeah!  Remember?!?  And we all know who'd look cool riding shotgun in that baby, don't we?!?

Well, guess what?  Our state got some really super-cool retro cars in and ... well ... check this out!!!

For sure.  If I can't ride around in the fire engine, I'm going to look into this!  I'll keep you posted!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Luv,
Dave

Vacuumus Interruptus

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  So there I was yesterday, doing important things in the living room ...

"Dave, really!  You should lay on this during TV time and let Mom have the quilt beside it!"

... when I sensed a disturbance in the room.  Closer and closer it came, until ...

"Oh.  Hey, Mom.  What's shakin'?"

She asked me ... to move.

"You're kidding, right?"

Apparently, she wasn't.  She must not have realized how important my meeting with Dave was or I'm sure she wouldn't have interrupted us!

Play bows,
Zim

Happy Monday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  Look at that!  It's Monday out there!!!  I smell a week full of new adventures!

"Funny... Mom and I smell cinnamon buns..."
"That's the smell of adventure, Dave!"

Apparently adventure and cinnamon buns smell a lot alike!  I hope your week is filled with both!

Play bows,

Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with the serenest of the serene photos from this week!  How about we start with a sunset?

Sunset over the Flint Hills

I feel relaxed already; how about you?

Oh.  That's me.  And my mom.  Being VERY serene.  Woo.

Out in the gardens, there are still some nice things going on.  The Day Lilies are trying to make a come-back.  Either the heat or the drought or something did a number on them this year, but check these guys out:

Still giving it a go!

The Rose of Sharon bushes are also still blooming:

AND our lavender plants are going strong!

OK, maybe not so much "going strong" as "have survived the hottest part of the Summer".  It's been such a rough growing season that Mom is just thrilled with anything that has survived - especially the new plants like the lavender!

Here's another very serene photo from earlier this week:

My kid brother Zim, going on a car ride

He hasn't even left the garage yet, but check out that look on his face!  He LOVES car rides!

And now for one last photo for today - this is something that has everyone and everything feeling WAY BEYOND serene.  Are you ready?

RAIN!!!

That's right - RAIN!!!  Pouring down rain!  It was raining like cats and dogs and puppies!  Bucketful after bucketful!!!  As many of you know we have been in "exceptional drought" conditions - and over the course of the last couple days, we probably saw 4 glorious inches of RAIN!!!  Maybe more!!!  Needless to say, it's brought great happiness and serenity to the area!

I hope you found lots of things that made you feel serene this week!

Luv,
Dave

What is a Sitzbank?

Or should I say, "Was ist ein Sitzbank?"

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Over here.

Yep.  On Guard Duty.  On the sitzbank.

I was wondering what to post today, then I remembered a comment from our friend Frankie the other day.  He asked what the name "sitzbank" means.  What a great question.

"This is a sitzbank!"

See this piece of furniture I'm laying on?  This is the sitzbank. 

Oh... err... yeah.  It's furniture...

...which technically (in this house) means I'm not allowed on it.  (Dave and I are only allowed on the bed.)  (Technically.)

 "Sitzbank" is German for "bench", and since Mom and Dad bought it in Germany ... they still call it the sitzbank.  It's a basic hinged-seat bench, with storage underneath the seat.

Mom covered some seat cushions for it a couple years ago ...

... making it nice and comfy.

Err ... not that I'd know ... since I'm not allowed up there.

And that's the story of the sitzbank, Frankie!  Thanks for asking.  And remember - no dogs allowed on the sitzbank!

"What?!?"

What?!?  I'm not a dog; I am a Siberian Husky.

Play bows,

Zim

Another Job Idea!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  As many of you know, I decided to get a job this Summer giving tours of the Kansas Ocean.  (Click here for a reminder.)  As crazy as this may sound, I didn't get many tourists coming in - perhaps it was due to the drought and the hot, hot temperatures.  The Kansas Ocean wasn't looking its best this year.  Whatever the case, I've decided it's time to move on and look for another job.

"What to do, what to do..."

I left the trolley behind (can you see it down there, behind me?) and started looking around.  The answer was right in front of me!

"Our new fire station!  This would be perfect!"

Our city just built two new fire stations - Fire House #3 is across town and Fire House #5 is right here in our neighborhood!  I'm sure they could use someone like me around here - don't you think?

"I wonder if I should go drop off my resumé?"

I wish I had met the Dalmatian when I went to the city Fire Department Headquarters back in April; I'm sure he or she would have put a good word in for me.

"This would be so cool!"

Can't you just see me riding around on a fire engine?  I wonder if I could ride shotgun in that big pumper truck?  This is a great idea!

The station is up and running, and I understand they're having an Open House in a week or two.  I should swing by then and offer up my services!

"This is one of the best plans I've ever come up with!"

We got back into our car and headed home. Dave's going to help me punch up my resumé a little bit before the Open House.  This is really going to be cool!

Play bows,

Zim

About Those Sitzbank Cushions...

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Hmm.  Yeah.  About those sitzbank cushions on yesterday's post.  I think it's entirely possible that one of those big wind gusts we get here in Kansas came through the front door, swept up the sitzbank cushions, then landed them by the door on its way out.  Yep.  Entirely possible.

"Who, me?"

What?  You think I had something to do with that?  Well, perhaps I did.  And perhaps when I give someone the following look later today, she'll take me on an adventure:

I have now perfected the Harp Seal Look

Yep.  Lots of possibilities out there.  Right, guys?

Front to back:
"Ha roo roo roo!"
"Good boy, Zimmie!"
"Ha woo!"

Us guys are of one mind on this!

Play bows,

Zim

Note from the mom of the Ao4:  Sigh...

Wordless Wednesday

Luv,
Dave

(...and exhausted play bows from Zim...)

What's Behind Door Number One?!?

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  When we go on walks or go outside to do our business, we normally go out through the garage.  It's really exciting to see what's going to be out there!

"I can't wait to see what's out there!"

It's like the surprise behind Door Number One on that Let's Make a Deal show.  Is that even still on?  Anyway ... as soon as we get out there, we look all around:

"Nothing going on to the south..."
"Nothing to the north..."

Then we checked the cul-de-sac, straight ahead to the east:

"BINGO!"
"I thought his name was Barkley..."

It was our neighbor pup Barkley!  He was up there doing some training with his biped.

"Good job, Barkley!"
"For such a young guy, he's pretty smart!"

From what we saw, every time Barkley barks at something -- us, in this case -- his biped gives him a treat.  That's pretty cool.  I wonder how he came up with that one?  Very clever.

Can you see the house that was burned on the 4th of July?  They're tearing it down now.  Here are some close-ups of the work going on up there:

Tearing it down and building it back up.  It's our hope that our city or at least our neighbors will understand the danger involved with fireworks - and will exercise more common sense in the future.  Woo.

That's what was behind Door Number One this morning.  There are more surprises to come all day long!

Luv,
Dave

Adventure "How To"

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with a quick "how to" for you today!  Some of you might be wondering how I manage to get to go on all those cool adventures Mom takes me on, so I thought I'd put a short tutorial together for you.  Let's get started!

First, lay around and act bored.

"I'm sooooo bored..."

(I got bonus points there for bunching my quilt up, throwing it off my bed, and using it as a pillow -- but I'm a professional.  Work your way up to the extras!)

Once your biped has seen how totally bored you are, look him or her straight in the eye and assure him/her that you can handle things yourself.

"Oh, don't worry about me!  I can find my own entertainment!"

It helps tremendously to get a little sparkle of mischief in your eyes - and, of course, being a Siberian Husky works to your benefit.  I'm pretty sure in the breed standard they mention something about keeping us gainfully occupied -- or else.  Ha roo roo roo.

Before too long - pretty much the time it might take my mom to find her glasses, grab her purse, and get my leash - you will be asked if you'd like to go somewhere.  Act surprised!!!  Don't let your biped know that you've planned this -- it's important that he or she thinks it was his/her own idea!

"Who, me?!?  Why, yes... yes, I would like to go have some fun!  What a great idea!"

And then ... you will end up somewhere like this:

"Wowzers!  Tuttle Creek Dam/Lake/Reservoir/Ocean!  I haven't been here in ages!"

Yep!  The wildflower I showed you at the end of yesterday's post was from a trip out to Tuttle Creek Dam!  I hadn't been there in a long time and it was just great to go have a look around!

The water sure is low.  I hope we get some rain before too long.  It almost looks like rain out over the water, doesn't it?  But no.  Nothing.

We walked around a bit, watched some people fishing, then just gazed out at the water.

"This is great, isn't it, Mom?"

Trust me, your biped will enjoy it every bit as much as you do!

And that, my friends, is how to get out on a cool adventure!  I hope you'll give my tutorial a try.  Let me know how it goes for you - and hey!  Maybe we'll run into each other while we're out exploring!

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  Zim and I are just back from a walk and thought we'd show you a few of the things that made us feel mighty peaceful this week.

"C'mon, Zim!"

Zim was snoofing some of the cool air coming in from the north - can you tell?  Many thanks to our friends up in Nebraska for sharing it with us.  Anyway - let's start with a look around our gardens.

Some of the echinacea is still blooming!  Representing the different varieties is the Tomato Soup Echinacea:

Tomato Soup Echinacea

We LOVE that burst of color!

Mom's pots of Coleus plants are looking mighty good, too.  Here's a look at one of those:

Can you see the other varieties behind this one?  Mom forgot to shoot them.  Hmm.  Moving right along ...

We have Purple Emperor Sedum planted in about 3 or 4 locations in the back gardens.  The amount of sunlight each plant gets greatly affects the color!  Check out these next few photos!

This group up by the top gate gets the least amount of sunlight:

Purple Emperor Sedum

There's a little purple in there, but not a lot.  The blooms will be purple eventually.  We hope.

The Purple Emperor Sedum that are in the more "open" parts of the garden, along the retaining walls, get lots of sun!  Check out their color:

Purple Emperor Sedum

Woo!  These are on the top tier.  They are much brighter and bolder, aren't they?  Mom moved them from a shadier spot last year and they seem quite happy here!

Down on the next tier we have a couple groupings of the same sedum:

Yet another Purple Emperor Sedum (background)
and a Blue Dune Grass

That group is more of a deep purple!

Pretty fun, don't you think?  One plant type, three different looks - all because of the sun!

Speaking of purple stuff, remember the Starburst Ice Plant we showed you at the beginning of the Summer?   Mom planted it in May and it did just great for a while.  They are supposed to like lots of sun and wind and heat ... but apparently they got too much of a good thing (because if there's anything we can offer stuff in our gardens it's sun, wind and heat!) and pretty much got zapped out.  Sure, there's the drought ... but Mom watered religiously!  Anyway - here's why it pays to be persistent -- they're making a comeback!

They don't look great, but they look TONS better than they did!  Yeah!  Go Ice Plants!!!!

Just over from those is one of my favorite grasses - the Zebra Grass!

Zebra Grass - about 4 feet tall

Most of the ornamental grasses are doing OK in the drought - but the tops are kind of sizzled.  Or is that frizzled?  Whatever.

Here's something else that made me feel super serene this week:

Me and Squee-Kee Moose

Yep.  Nothing like hanging out with a friend!  I love spending time with Mom and Squee-Kee Moose.  Zim?  He'd rather go out on an adventure - and he got to do lots of that this week, too.  He'll tell you about his adventure from yesterday soon, but in the meantime, he found one of our very favorite wildflowers out where he was!  Show everyone, Zim!

"It's right here!  And it's my very favorite!"

It's Snow on the Mountain!  Maybe before too long, we'll have that snow!  Woo!

I hope you feel a little more serene now!  Whether it's strolling through your garden, spending time with a friend, or exploring everything out on an adventure, make sure you take some time to do whatever brings you that inner tranquility!

Luv,

Dave