About That Portrait ...

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  As Cammie mentioned yesterday, there was a reason I held still while Mom did some portrait work - I wanted a decent shot of myself to use for something special!  I was pleased with the one Cam showed you and got right to work with it.

First, I rewarded Mom for doing a good job - then told her what I wanted to do with the portrait.

"And then, Mom ... whisper, whisper, whisper!"

I hope she's good at keeping secrets!

After we printed it up, I got Mom to write out a check to support Sarge's Animal Rescue, then we sealed both up in an envelope.

"Shouldn't we have used one of our Ronald Reagan stamps?  I think that would have been more apropos!"

Yes.  It's a little something for Typhoon of The Thundering Herd.

"Have you heard about the fund-raiser The Herd is doing?"

Have you heard about the fund raiser they're doing for Sarge's Animal Rescue Foundation?  Please click here to learn all about it; I know they'd appreciate any help you can give.

"Oooh.  Someone left a message here.  I think it was Barkly."

So ... yes.  My support is going to Typhoon.  Why him?  Well, he's energetic, is into body-slamming wrestling matches, zoomies, and singing.  He always seems to be in "trouble" -- whatever that is.  All I know is he sounds like MY kind of Siberian!

I'm very new to this whole Valentine thing, but I gave it my best shot.  I hope it's not too much, too over the top, too ... schmaltzy.  I almost didn't do it, but Cam said she didn't think I had gone too far, and Mom and Dad approved ... so I sent it.

Is the suspense too much?  OK - I'll show it to you now, but you have to promise not to say anything to Typhoon until he sees it.  OK?  It's a SECRET!!!  Promise?  OK, here it is:

You don't think it's too much, do you?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

PS:  Learn how to support the Thundering Herd's fund-raiser by clicking here!

Photo Finish Friday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  The other day, Maggie started to tell you about our playtime out on the deck.  I thought I'd show you the rest of the story for Photo Finish Friday!  Now... where were we?

"The camera, Cam!  She's got the camera pointed right AT you!"
"Whew!!!  Close call, Mags!  Thanks!"

Oh, right.  We were working a little Camera Avoidance maneuver.  We did a mighty fine job of it, if I do say so myself.  BUT ... being the nice girls that we are, we decided to be a tad more cooperative.  Mags went down to the lower deck and I struck a pose:

Me!  Cam.

Well, no, I wasn't going to look at my mom, but at least I was facing the camera!

Here's a shot of Maggie on the lower deck:

Mags!

Same thing with her.  Facing Mom, but not looking at her.

And ...

Me.

Mags

We're Siberian Huskies.  If we don't want to look at the camera, we aren't GOING to look at the camera!  It's in the rule book.

Mags came back up the steps, then we ran down them together.

Me and Mags

We love doing things together like that.

Oh.  And so then ... we let Mom get a couple nice portrait shots in.  Here's the one of sweet Maggie:

Maggie.

She cooperated because she wanted a nice photo to use for something special.  I promised her I wouldn't say what it was for yet.  I think she's going to tell you tomorrow, but I'm not sure.  All I know is I promised to let her be the one to tell.

Here's how my portrait came out:

"My lips are sealed."

Yeah, yeah.  I looked at the camera for my final portrait.  I couldn't help it.  I knew Mom would be pleased enough to go inside and get us treats.  (And I was right!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cammie!

What A Day!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags!  Cam and I had a wonderful day yesterday - a long walk at Tuttle Creek State Park, lots of zoomies, playtime in the yard with Mom (I played Siberian Rules Fetch!), lots more zoomies, relaxing on the deck - it was a day full of activity!  It was GREAT -- except for the whole "over 70 degrees" thing.  That was a bit much.  Oddly enough, Mom and Dad remained seriously thrilled with the weather.  Cam and I are happier today, as our temps have begun to plummet and there's snow in the forecast!

I did think you might enjoy seeing some of the photos from our walk!  Our route started on Eagle Pass Trail.  Here we are, heading out:

Me and Cam on Eagle Pass Trail!

You may notice I've already turned on my Turbo Boosters! I was so totally ready to GO! I love that trail!

Along the way, we saw not one but TWO Bald Eagle couples! Mom's photos of the first couple were much sharper. Here are a few for your viewing enjoyment:

The Bald Eagles in conference

I'm not sure I like the way this one was looking at my mom

Bald Eagle doing his serious look!

Cam and I stayed on the trail with Dad while Mom moved a little closer for some of the photos.  She didn't go near their nest, as that's a big "no-no" (apparently there are no-nos for bipeds, not just for us!), but these guys were further away, so Mom thought it would be OK to go a little bit off-trail.

Everything was fine until they gave her this look:

Both Bald Eagles, looking right at my mom

She decided she'd best get back on the trail and start moving away.  Good decision, Mom!

Further down the trail, we saw a younger couple, too!  It was a great Eagle-spotting day!

At the end of the trail, we decided to walk through the campgrounds a bit, then took a road that loops back around Willow Lake.  We walked with Dad for a bit so Mom could get some shots of tiny birds.

Cam, me, and Dad.  Dad's the tall one.

We love the trail, but by heading back this way we (a) get a longer walk and (b) see different things.   It's a win-win!

Cam and me, enjoying the walk!

When we were almost back to the SUV, I stopped and struck a pose on a big rock!

Me!  Polargold's Margaret Thatcher!

A most excellent walk on a most excellent day!  If you'd like to see more photos from our walk, please click here!  I hope you packed as much fun into your day as we did!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

No Birds Means ...

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags!  Yesterday ended up being bright and sunny - just like we thought it would be!  Our high temp was right around 70, which seemed to please Mom and Dad. Cam and I were along for the ride -- I mean YES, we'd have preferred a blizzard, but we were happy enough with what we had.

In the afternoon, Mom thought we girls should go out on the deck and do some bird watching.  Sounded good to me!  Unfortunately, there were absolutely NO birds around.  What did that mean to me and Cam, you might be wondering.  It meant Mom eventually swapped out her big, honkin' camera lens for a much smaller one ... and it was portrait time.  Did she consult with us first?  Did she ask if there was anything else on our schedule?  Did she have treats?  I thought I'd share the results with you and you can answer those questions for yourself.

Here's a portrait of the two of us:

"Hey, girls!?!  Girls!  Cam!  Mags?"
"Don't look at her, Mags."
"No problem, Cam."

Mom thought maybe one at a time would work out better.  I was looking in her general direction, so she started with me.

"Ooh!  What's this!?"

Is it my fault something caught my eye right when she took the shot?  Besides, Cam was watching.  Oh.  And so Mom saw her and thought she'd fire off a couple frames of her looking our way.  Sounds good, don't you think?

"Hey!  Look!  Yuntao just pulled up."

Gotta keep an eye on the neighbors - am I right?  Besides, we like him.  He always says hello to us and calls us by name.  Very polite.  (And I'm not just saying that because his wife makes incredibly tasty Chinese foods that she has brought Mom and Dad.)

Anyway - where was I?  Oh, right.  So Mom told me to go get by Cam and she'd try us together again.  Fine by me.

"Hi, Peeps."
"Is this close enough, Mom?"

Mom went down the steps, like she was going to go down to the lower deck.  Cammie was watching her.  When she got to the landing, she turned real fast and fired off a shot!  Fortunately ...

Super Puppy to the rescue!

... I jumped into the frame JUST.  IN.  TIME!  Whew.  Close call.

"What a close call, huh, Cam?!?"
"What was I thinking?!?  She almost got me looking right at her!"

Anyway, we sure had fun out there!  We eventually went down on the lower deck and played with our toys and chased each other and stuff.  I think there's more of that on today's agenda.  Oh. And I think Mom's going to leave the camera in the house this time.  

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Morning Walk

Hello, everyone!  It's me - Cammie.  Many of you are staring a big snowstorm in the face right now, and wow, do Maggie and I wish we were right there with you!  I mean how great is a huge blizzard!?!  But alas, we have sunshine and will be in the 60s today (around 15 degrees Centigrade, for our international readers).  Kansas is a strange, strange place.

Anyway, we thought you might want to come along with us on our morning walk.  It was still in the 30s then, so it was pretty nice out.  Here we are, heading out!

Maggie and me, heading up our street

I took the lead. I heard Mom and Dad talking about which route we were going to take and I wanted my preferences known. I won.

Here we are on the path by our water tower:

"Ooh!  I smell coyotes!"
"Me, too.  This is from yesterday, though.  Old news."

We were checking for messages. Nothing too exciting going on, but ...

"Hey!  Some pup up there is barking at us!  Hello!!?!!"

Mags was interested in the little fluffy pup who was calling out to us.  I was on a mission, though.

"Wait, Cam!  I'm coming!"
"Come on, Mags!  Places to go, smells to sniff!"

We saw a gorgeous hawk near the Kansas Ocean.  A Red Tailed Hawk.  He was pretty much there because Mom didn't have her camera - just the iPhone.  You'll have to take my word for it.  (Mom took a not very good photo of him a couple weeks ago.  You can see it by clicking here, if you'd like.)

Here we are coming down the home stretch:

"Almost home, Cam!"
"And you know what that means!"

Do you all know what it means, too?  That's right!

"Cookie, please!"
"Yeah, Mom.  Time for a treat!"

Have to have a nice reward for our workout - right?!?

Thanks for coming with us! All of you deserve treats, too!

Cammie!

PS:  For those of you in the path of the snow storm - be safe!  And enjoy the snow for us!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  I was thinking about what to post while we were out on our morning walk ...

"Here's what I'm thinking, Mags..."

Maggie and I decided to show you some of the photos Mom took out at the lake yesterday -- even though we (get this!) didn't get to go with her. Hmm. Anyway - here are our favorite photos from the shoot:

The rare one-legged Great Blue Heron
(Just kidding.  He was doing a Flamingo imitation.)

Canada Goose coming in for a landing.
Look out below!!!

A well-camouflaged Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Bald Eagle - watching Mom

A Gadwall trying out for the Ice Capades

A Gadwall taking off from a thawed part of the river

And one more Bald Eagle!

I hope you enjoyed the photos and feel nice and serene now. I sure do.

"Good job, Cam!  BOOM!"
"Urnnfff!"

Apparently, so does Mags. If you'd like to see the rest of Mom's pix from yesterday, please click here.

Have a great Sunday!

Cammie!

Treats!

Hello, everyone.   It's me, Cammie.  Maggie and I just wanted to wish all of you a most wonderful weekend.  We hope it's chock full of all of your favorite things.

"Look at those juicy, cold, wonderful..."
"PEAR SLICES!!!"

Yes.  Like pears.

Cammie!

Photo Finish Friday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags, here with Cam.  It's Photo Finish Friday, so I thought I'd say  it with pictures.

"Ah!  Feel that sunshine!  Isn't this great, Mags?"
"Uh-oh.  I forgot to do Wordless Wednesday.  Maybe today could be Silent Friday."

Yeah!  Silent Friday!  Doesn't that work?  Sounded like a great idea to me.

"Mags!  You can't talk about it and still have it be silent!  Ha roowooroo!"
"Oh, yeah.  Ha roo roo roo!"

Can't blame a Sibe for trying!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Our Morning Walk

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  This morning, we were all getting reading to go on our walk, when I noticed Mom getting the camera ready.  I thought it a bit odd, as the camera and lens weigh about 87 million pounds, so she doesn't often take it on our walks.  Hmm.  UNLESS, I thought ...

"Are we going somewhere special?!?!"

Mom said we were all going to go to the lake (Tuttle Creek State Park) to do a bunch of walking and birding!  What a great plan!

We hiked all the way down the Eagle Nest Trail.  We didn't see any eagles in the nest along the trail, but when we got to the end, we listened ... heard an eagle screaming ... and THEN Dad spotted a Bald Eagle in a nest across the water!  Look!

Bald Eagle!

Us girls stayed nice and calm and quiet while Mom fired off a bunch of shots.

"Don't do it, Mags.  Don't do it."
"I'm just thinking about jumping you, I'm not doing it!"

We took the long way back around to where Dad left the SUV, which was great!  Along the way, we saw lots of pretty, little birds, like this female Cardinal:

It was a GREAT walk - so many cool smells and sounds and sights!!!

Oh.  And shortly after we got in the RAV4, Mom spotted something else!  Dad pulled over so Mom could get out and get this shot:

Bald Eagle!

Needless to say, Mom and Dad had as good of a time as Maggie and I did! I hope you enjoyed our photos!

Cammie!