Adventures in CiCo Park Part 2

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats!  It's me - Zim!  Ready to get back to CiCo Park?  Today's pix are some action shots and cool poses - just perfect for Photo Finish Friday!  Ready to go?  Let's hike!

One of the things I really like about CiCo is there is a mix of surfaces.  In the pic above, I'm on asphalt. There are also sidewalks, some pea-gravel paths and then, of course, I can go off-roading!  That's where I can really get some good snoofing in!

Snoofing

Doesn't that look inviting!?!  Let's crank it up and go into a snoofing action shot!

Super snoofing!

I had some reflective moments in the park, too.  Here are some pensive poses:

Mom calls these the "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" series.  Funny, Mom.

"It is the east, and that Juliet babe is the sun!"

I'm fairly sure that's how the rest of the quote goes.

Here's a cool Guard Dog pose my shadow and I did together:

"Hark!  Err... I mean 'Halt!'  Who goes there?
We need to ditch the Shakespeare talk, Mom."

Standing tall, don't you think?

Let's get back to exploring.

That's what I'm talking about!

Thanks for coming to the park with me.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!  Tune back in tomorrow for the third installment!

Play bows,
Zim

Adventures in CiCo Park Part 1

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  Mom and I took a great trip over to our local park - CiCo Park - the other day.  Today, I thought I'd start showing you some of the cool things I discovered there - we had the BEST time, so this could take a couple days!  Today's post will be about some of the interesting things I saw.  Ready to get going?

"Let's go!"

The first thing that intrigued both me and Mom was this:

Doesn't it look all kinds of interesting?  I could explore in there for a long, long time!  We had the whole park ahead of us, though, so we kept going after a bit of snoofing around.

Mom spotted a burst of berry red in some bushes.  She tried to get a good shot, but there wasn't enough contrast.  I did what I could to help the situation:

"No need to thank me, Mom!"

Before too long, I came across what I thought was a sliding board!  I love sliding boards!

"Cool!  Look, Mom!  A sliding board!"

Mom said it wasn't a sliding board, that I'd get a major league owie if I tried it out, and that it was part of something called a par-course.  I'm all for exercise and trying new things, but I decided to skip that.

Speaking of skipping things... here's something very new in the park:

Isn't that nice?  Mom always comes with plenty of bags in her pockets, but it's nice that it's there if you need it.  Oh.  Why did I mention "skipping"?  Because guess what I found not 5 feet away from the bag dispense-o-matic?  Yep.  How much easier could they make it?  And yet ...

OK.  Let's move on.

We came to another station of the par-course next:

"Oh, yeah.  Yeah, I know what this one's for!"

I fell back on my military training.  Now that I've said that, do you know what this station is all about?

"Let me get into position!  Spot me, Mom, OK?"

Exactly.  It's a Chin Up Bar.  They have a bar for us medium-sized guys and a shorter bar for smaller pups and kit-cats.  Everyone needs exercise!

I banged out about 50 chin ups, then we got hiking again.  I made a really cool discovery just moments later!

"Look, Mom!  A stick!"

I have no idea what to do with sticks.  It did make me think of our buddy Goose, though, and brought a big smile to my face, as you can see.  He is like the King of Sticks.

Let's stop here for today!  Tomorrow I'll post some cool action shots, OK?

Thanks for coming to the park with us!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Luv,
Dave

KP Duty

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Drill SGT Zim!  Mom whipped up a fresh batch of my Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats the other day.  I thought the very least I could do was assign myself to KP Duty.  I know - work, work, work!  I can't help it - it's who I am.

I hung out with her for the whole process!  From choosing just the right cans, to slicing it all up, to loading it into the Stinky Goodness Machine.  And then the part where she really needed my help - clean up!

"Are those scraps?"

Yep.  That cutting board was in dire need of a thorough cleaning!

I had Mom set it on the floor for me, then I got busy.

"I've got this, Mom!"

Every morsel must be removed!

Spit polish, KP-style!

I'd like to thank whoever put the rubbery things on the sides of the cutting board so it doesn't slip around on the floor while I work.  Safety first!

It's important to check the floor, in case any spilled over:

When everything was good to go, I told Mom she could just put the cutting board right back into the cupboard.  For some odd reason, she put it in the dishwasher anyway.  I don't quite understand that.

It was a great KP Duty shift.  Now I think  a little nap  Guard Duty is in order.

Play bows,
Zim

Exploring at Tuttle Creek

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim.  Before I get to today's post, in the spirit of our pal Wriggley's Black Lab Friday post, I'd like to take a moment to wish my fellow Siberian Huskies a most wondrous Siber Monday.  Joy to all of you!  Ha roo roo roo!

OK, on to my latest adventure!  If you read the title of my post, you'll have figured out where I got to go yesterday - to Tuttle Creek Dam/Lake/Reservoir/Ocean!  It was great - windy and chilly and all kinds of great places to go exploring!  Here's a shot of me, starting out:

That photo actually freaked Mom out a bit.  My camouflage leash is too well-camouflaged with the parking lot for Mom to rest easy.  I mean - she was there and everything, but it still freaked her out to think of me unleashed.  See why I have to take her on extra adventures?  She needs to relax.

We did a bunch of walking around, then just stopped to stare out at the water a bit:

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the chin rests they have there?  Here's a close up:

Check it out from the other side:

Just the perfect height for us medium-sized puppers!  To whoever thought of putting them in - thank you!  What a lovely touch!

We had the place all to ourselves and had a great time exploring.

"Ha roo, down there?!?!"

Oh!  Guess what else we saw?!?  Mom actually remembered the camera ... and ... take a look!

Well, OK, it's not an eagle.  It WAS a really cool hawk, though.  Oh.  And had Mom remembered the camera AND to charge the batteries, we would have had a nice clear shot of him to share with you.  Maybe next time, huh, Mom?!?

One more thing today.  As many of you have heard by now, my bestest friend Huffle Mawson, Explorer Cat has passed away.  She was the coolest, sweetest, most adventurous kit-cat pal a guy could ask for.  I'm going to miss her tons - and yet I know her spirit is still with us.  I knew it even more, as did Mom, when we downloaded our pix from yesterday's adventure at Tuttle Creek.

Zimmle Mawson, Explorer Pup

Check my shadow.  Mom and I both promise there was no PhotoShop hocus-pocus involved.  Is there any doubt my bestest kit-cat pal's spirit was exploring right there with us?

Have a beautiful day, everyone!  And happy Siber Monday to all!

Play bows,

Zim

Serene (whew) Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  You know, some of you have asked how we decide who posts what around here and all.  Usually Dave and I have it all sorted out way ahead of time and have the idea and pix all set to go.  And ... err ... then there are times like last night ...

We were just hanging out, watching some great football games.  Dave was doing what Dave loves to do:

"Mom.  Hi, Mom."

... and me?  I had this restless feeling.  I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"There was something I was supposed to do ..."

I asked Dave if he knew.  He's always a great help.  He went through my whole check-list of what I was supposed to take care of:

"Did you help Mom plug in the outside Christmas lights?
Did you help her with the dishes?
Hmm... we took her and Dad for an after-dinner walk ...
Did you dig in your bed and throw the quilt on the floor?
Did you 'ha roo' at Dad and get him to chase you?
Did you do zoomies?
Do you have your outline for tomorrow's post?"

Oh, yikes!  That's when it hit me!

"Oh, no!  'Serene Scenery Sunday'!"

It's this long weekend!  It threw me off!  

Dave said I shouldn't worry about it - that except for the last pic above, we looked mighty serene ... or at least he does ... so we could use those to show how relaxed we are in the evenings after we've had all of our walks for the day.  It's true.  We stay active during the day, and while Mom and Dad wind down and watch TV after dinner, we just like to hang out and enjoy everyone's company.  Nothing beats time together!

I have a few other pix I've been meaning to share, so let me toss these in.  Guess what Mom and I saw while we were out on one of our adventures?!?  A hawk!  He was in the grass by the sidewalk, having a snack.  We saw him from the car.  We see hawks a lot, but not that close!  Mom stopped the car, but was afraid if we got out to get a photo of him, he'd fly off.  Besides - guess who didn't have the camera?  Mom improvised, and shot this out the sunroof with the iPhone:

"Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?"
Job 39:26

Isn't that cool?!!?  So strong and powerful!  The hawk took off when she saw or heard us - but I think that worked to our advantage, don't you?!!?

The sunset on Thanksgiving was a beautiful one!  It was very serene indeed, to look at it and to count all of our blessings:



It would have been even more serene if Mom had left this on the table unattended while she went out to photograph the sunset:

Mom's homemade Sweet Potato Pie

Not that I or Dave would help ourselves to something that wasn't ours.  (Not any more, anyway!)

We hope you have a wonderful Sunday - remember to keep it serene!

Play bows,

Zim

Week In Review

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with a little look back at some miscellaneous stuff from our week.  Let's get to it!

We've shown you some of the yummy-looking meals that our mom makes - but I don't think we've ever shared any of the ones Dad's been in charge of!  Last Saturday night, he did dinner for him and Mom!  Check it out:

... and as they say, be sure to check between the uprights of the beer bottles.  Ha roo roo roo!  Photo bomb!  (And no, sadly, Dave and I do not get pizza.)

Dave made an interesting discovery in the neighborhood, up at the top of one of our hills:

"Zim!  You need to check this out!"

"Wowzers!"

We aren't sure what's going on up there, but if anyone can get to the bottom of things, it's me and Dave!  We'll keep you posted!

Sometimes, Mom doesn't quite "get" my mind-meld messages about my need to go on an adventure, so I have to step it up a bit.  Here I am, at the door to the garage, sending the strongest message I can:

Mood piece: An Adventurer and His Need To Explore

Yep.  That can bring Mom pretty close to tears (she knows how important my adventures are to me!), and before I know it, I'm all buckled in and am doing this:

"OH, yeah!"

That's what I'm talking about!

I did a lot of supervisory work this week, too; the outdoor Christmas decorations are going up and I had to inspect everything and make sure it was all displayed properly!  It's my duty as a Drill Sergeant, you know!

"Yep!  Good to go!"

That's our new lawn flag.  It has the Nativity Scene and some cool animals on it!  I'll get another shot of it for you later; it's been breezy this week!

Dave and Mom did a bunch of this over the course of the past week ...

"Mom?  Hi, Mom!  Mom."

... and we all did a whole bunch of this together:

Dave and me, on Morning Patrol

All in all, a rather fun-filled week, I'd say!  I hope yours was just as wonderful!

Play bows,
Zim

Photo Finish Friday: A Boy and His Moose

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  I just had a blast playing in the front yard the other day - so I wanted to share some pix with you for Photo Finish Friday!  Ready to have a look!??!

At first, I thought Mom was just taking me out for a potty run and a quick photo shoot or something.  Then I thought, hey, what's that behind Mom's back?  And guess who it was?!?!

"Y'ello!"
"HEY!  It's Squee Key Moose!"

He leapt out at me from way up high - and I caught him!

"Catch me, Davy!"
"Gotcha, Squee Key!!!"

He knew I'd catch him if he fell - friends are like that!  Woo!

We ran around the yard a little bit ...

... then settled in to do some chomping and squeaking.

"Who, me?"

There have been some guys over working on Fluffy Black Cat's driveway for quite a while now - and one of them called over to Mom about how handsome me and Zim are.  Mom thanked him and offered to let him meet me.  I love meeting people!  He gave me some really nice ear rubbies and said how well-behaved I am, and complimented me on my moose.  (I brought Squee Kee over with me - he doesn't get out much, so I thought he'd like meeting someone, too.)  I got to meet the other guy, too.  Mom didn't take any pix because it didn't seem like the right thing to do.

We got back to business after our meet-n-greet - and played some tug!

"Got your moose, Davy!"
"Tug!  Tug!  He's mine, Mom!"
"SSSSSQUEEEEEEEEAK!!!!"

We had a blast!

"Ha woo!  Got your foot, Mom!"
"Davy?  Davy, can I have my foot back?"
"SSSSSQUEEEEEEAK!"

Squee Key had her foot, too.  Ha woo.

Happy Photo Finish Friday, everyone!  And remember - a great way to get rid of any extra calories from yesterday is to play with your puppies or kitties -- and to go on nice, long family walks!  (...Especially since a cold front moved in and it's in the 20s out there now!  Hint, hint.)

Luv,
Dave

Thanksgiving 2012

From all of us here at Army of Four Headquarters, we would like to wish you a happy Thanksgiving!

Please take time today to remember that many members of our military are not home celebrating with their families.  Please say a prayer for them.

Photo courtesy of the US Army

And remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving.  It's not about "Black Friday", it's not about turkey or football, it's not really about sharing a meal with ... well ... just watch this very short yet wonderful video!

Thank you, Citizen Link and Stuart Shepherd! 

Here at Ao4 HQs, we have much to be thankful for - and do give thanks to God for every gift, every blessing, large and small.  Right now, Dave and I are thankful for the start of another day together!

"It's going to be a great one, isn't it, Zim?!!?"
"You betcha, Davy!"

Happy Thanksgiving, wonderful readers!  We count each of you in with our many blessings!

Luv and play bows,

Dave, Zim, and our bipeds