The Tuck

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Mom snapped this picture of me helping out in the kitchen the other night:

"What?"

Seriously.  A lot of my kit-cat friends lay like this - to include my mentor Mr. Teddy Westlife!  (He really needs to start blogging again, by the way.  Ahem!)  Anyway, no one questions them when they do the paw-tuck!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
Honorary Kit-Cat

Flower (And Flowers To Be) Friday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Once again this week, we are teaming up with our sweet friend Dory (and her handsome brothers) for Flower Friday.  Lots of our things aren't in bloom yet, but we'll have a look at some of those, too, OK?  Let's head out to our backyard gardens!

The last of our lilacs to bloom are our Miss Kim Lilacs, and they are in full swing.

Me and the Miss Kim Lilacs

They're just inside the front gate, so when we come into the yard from up top, we walk right past them and enjoy their beauty and fragrance.  Here's a closeup:

Miss Kim Lilacs

I wish you could smell them!

Let's walk further down our path!

The debris on the path is from all the storms -- it's stuff that grows on our Ash Trees. We call it "Lab Granola" because my great-brother Davy used to try to eat it all the time! (Speaking of whom, for those of you who are new to our blog, Dave really was a Siberian, but he was as laid-back as a Lab and had a penchant for fetching and actually bringing it back!  He was wonderful and I loved him from the minute I met him!)

Anyway - let's pause here. This is our Bee Garden:

"No bees yet!"

Those taller things are Russian Sage. They will be covered with purple flowers later. The shorter things are Liriope, and they'll eventually have flowers, too.  Bees LOVE both of those and will be all over them.  Oh!  And in the back, by those rocks?  That's the Beth Lilac we showed you on Sunday!  There is plenty of room for it to grow and grow!  The bees will love that, too!  There is also some sedum in there, too, but they are small and you can't really ... see-dem right now.  Ha roo woo roo!

Moving right along ...

Mom got that sedum from a neighbor-friend last Fall, rooted it, and planted different ones all over the place.  She put several up here behind me -

Me in front of the Friendship Garden

We're now calling that the "Friendship Garden" because lots of the plants in there were started as cutting given to us by friends. That big bush in the corner is the prime example - it's our Skidmore Lilac!  Once upon a time, it was as tiny as our Beth Lilac!

Oh!  And see the tiers behind me there, outside the fence?  The second tier up is where our Butterfly Garden is located!  Not only is our Pincushion Flower blooming up there, but our Purple Salvia is as well!

Mom will try to get a better shot of them from up above later!

Let's move down the hill! Here is the Wildflower Garden Mom and Dad worked so very hard to put in last Summer/Fall!

"This is a great place to sit and relax!"

No, nothing is blooming yet, but it's still relaxing to sit there and think about everything that WILL be in bloom!

I hope you enjoyed our Flower (And Flowers To Be) Friday!

Cammie!

Thankful Thursday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  We had a few days of mighty stormy weather, but we are very thankful that there haven't been reports of serious injuries, the worst of it missed us, and that we live on a hill.  (There has been a lot of flooding.)  In between the storms, we actually have had some very nice weather, so after Mom and Dad cleaned all the debris off the deck, we had some time to go out there and relax.

"Let's PLAY!"
"You're on!" 

"Gonna get you, Mags!"
"Not if I get you first!  BOOM!"

Such a great way to unwind!

In other news ... Maggie made an interesting discovery!

"Nah, I'm good.  Just needed a sip.  Thanks, Mom!"
"I had a sip earlier."

Did you know that if you take a sip from Mom's water glass and she sees you do it, she'll offer you the whole thing afterwards?  She's so generous!

Have a great day, everyone!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

The Serious Look

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Maggie and I took Mom on a really nice walk this morning.  We hiked and trotted part of the Hudson Trail, then came up the hill that's capped off with our water tower.  The skies were really pretty, so Mom asked us to strike a couple quick poses for her.

Here's how things went:

"Ah!  What a great walk!"
"Cam!  We should do our Serious Look!"

"How's this?"
"Better."

"Not bad, everybody, huh?"
"... and people think I'M the silly one around here?!?"

What can I say?  I can't be the serious one all the time!

Cammie!

Stormy Weather

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  As some of you may know, Springtime in Kansas means keep your eye on the weather (especially if you're a weather geek like our mom), and yesterday, we were in the watch area for a big storm.

Shortly after dinner, this one rolled in:

Off our deck, facing west

It dropped a tornado near Salina, KS, but fortunately for us, it skirted around just to our west.

The next cell that popped up spawned another tornado - this time just to our west (at Milford Lake) and was tracking our way. Our tornado sirens started going off, and Mom and Dad were following the storm closely on radar and on the radio. When it got closer, we headed downstairs to our "safe room". Here's a look at us down there:

"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"

It seemed like the right way to ride out the storm.

Have I mentioned that our "safe room" is also our Library? It's dug into the side of our hill, under our garage - so it has a concrete ceiling. There's a door that closes us off from the rest of the house and a window, but it's made of glass blocks and is as strong as cinderblocks. Pretty awesome. Might as well be comfortable while we wait for the "all clear", right?

After the tornadic part of the storm had passed and we were in the "severe thunderstorm" part, we went back upstairs. We had played enough Crazed River Otter Games for the day, so Cam and I moved on to something else.

"I think Mom's got us, Cam!"
"No ... we still have a chance.  I need to think."

It was us against Mom.  She won this time, but we'll get her on the next go-round!

What do you all do when there are big storms outside?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Even though we just did Flower Friday, we thought we'd take you around our gardens and show you a little bit of what's happening.  Ready to take a walk around?

We showed you the Korean Dwarf Lilacs Friday.  They're still in full bloom and Mom can't get enough of them.

"Look, Mags!  A person!"
"Ooh, yeah!"

Between the sunlight and us being more interested in the neighbors than whatever Mom is saying, she has a hard time getting "good" shots of us in front of them. She snapped that one quickly, as evidenced by the fact that we look like we're sitting on a slope. Moving right along ...

Mom went shopping Friday and brought these guys home:

Plants in Mom's HR-V

From what I gather, we've got a few Gerbera Daisies, a variegated Vinca, a couple Purple Fountain Grasses, Butterfly Weed and Milkweed for our butterfly/wildflower garden, a couple varieties of Coleus, a dark, lacy Sweet Potato Vine, and some tall, spiky thing.  Except for the Butterfly Weed and Milkweed, they are all annuals here.  As mentioned yesterday, Mom spent yesterday morning pulling weeds and planting the new things!

Here's where the Gerbera Daisies ended up:

Gerbera Daisies in the mailbox planter, with the Clematis 

A bunch of the other things went into the planters and some pots on the back deck:

They'll help fill things in a bit.  Our sage is still growing from a couple years ago, and so is some mint.  Check out this cool bud on the sage plant:

Maggie thinks it looks like something out of a science fiction movie!  She was very interested in it.  Do you know who else was interested in it?  This guy:

A Woodhouse Toad!

He jumped out and surprised Mom!  We don't know how he would have gotten onto the upper deck!  He hung out there all afternoon, then Dad caught him and took him down into the yard.  Something about us girls and temptation.  Hmm.

Speaking of temptation - here's one of the Purple Fountain Grasses:

Apparently, it will be much taller than the railing there before too long.  Oh.  The "temptation" part?  Let me just say that is a mighty tasty ornamental grass and that I couldn't help it.

Remember our Beth Lily of the Valley?  This is a Beth Lilac bush:

Beth Lilac

Mom planted it two years ago from a tiny cutting.  It's nice and healthy, and in a year or four, it will have lovely white lilacs on it!!!

Here is one of the perennials Mom planted last Fall:

Hummingbird Mint

It has really taken off in the past month, so Mom is really excited!  For those who've never heard of Hummingbird Mint, it is also called Agastache; you can learn more about it at this link!  It will attract Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees!

Our Snowball Viburnum has also taken off and is now in full white bloom!  Check it out:

Me and Maggie, posing very nicely!

Here's another look:

Maggie and me!

Lastly, Mom has something of a history of making us and our great-brothers and -sisters pose on the porch.  You probably remember the shots from Christmas - but she does it in the warm months, too.   She put a grouping of the plants she bought in a big planter out there, so ...

"Oh, not this again!"
"Sigh.  I know.  Oooh!  I like me in this pink collar!"

We eventually (OK, a day later) were a bit more cooperative and gave her this shot:

Mags and me, giving it our best shot

Can you see the plants back there?  It's the spiky thing, a Coleus, and a dark Sweet Potato Vine. Mom said they'll all get really huge by the end of the Summer!

I hope you enjoyed the garden tour and feel nice and serene now!  Have a lovely Sunday!

Cammie!

Late

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Usually, we do our post right after we get back from our morning walk, but today we're late.  Why?  Well, after our walk, we all sat on the deck to enjoy the beautiful morning, then "someone" went out and dug in the garden until it was time to clean up then make everyone lunch.  And because of that, we're late.  Right, Mom?

"Yeah.  Right ... Mom?"
"We're going to need our own computer, if you're going to be this way.  And thumbs.  And a cookie or two."

Anyway, that's why we're late!  As a result, we should have nice pictures to show you tomorrow for Serene Scenery Sunday, though!

Have a lovely Saturday!

Cammie!

Flower Friday

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie! Today, we're joining with our dear friend Dory for her weekly Flower Friday post! Let's have a look around our front yard!

Right outside the garage door, we have our Korean Dwarf Lilacs. They are in full bloom right now and smell so good!

"Sit by the lilacs.  Got it, Mom."
"The neighbor's practicing disc golf, Mags!"

For the record, Mom didn't say anything about looking at the camera ... so that's a hit on her, not us!  Anyway, the Korean Dwarf Lilacs aren't as "showy" as some of the other varieties we have, but they sure smell wonderful!

Over in the corner of the front garden is a GREAT bush Mom and Dad dug up and transplanted a couple years ago.  It's our Snowball Viburnum!

"Very nice!  Almost in full bloom!"

When they reach full bloom, they'll be solid white - just like real snowballs!  Isn't that cool?!?  We'll show it to you again, once it's in full bloom!

We have a few different varieties of one of Mom's favorite flowers in the garden - Lily of the Valley.  New to the garden this year is "Beth" Lily of the Valley!

Beth Lily of the Valley

Mom's friend Beth gave them to her as cuttings last fall, so this is their first bloom here!  Aren't they pretty?  Mom loves special plants like that that remind her of friends.

Speaking of which -- here is another grouping of some Lily of the Valley plants:

Me and Cam in front of the Lily of the Valley

Let's go in for a close-up!

Pink Lily of the Valley!

They are very special to us for two reasons, three if you count the fact that Mom just loves them!  (She carried Lily of the Valley in her wedding bouquet.)  One - they're PINK instead of the traditional white.  And two - they were sent to her by Molly's mom way back in 2009!  Actually, they were sent by Molly's sister and brother, Maggie and Mitch, both now angels, to our great-brother Zim!  You can read all about it at this link.    We call them our "M & M Lily of the Valley"; they remind us of Maggie and Mitch, and what special friends they were.  Here's what makes them extra-special this year - they bloomed the very day Molly and her mom and dad said good-bye to Mitch.

Me and Cam in front of the M & M Lily of the Valley

Now that's beautiful!

One odd thing I wanted to show you before I close - the Peonies.  They aren't in bloom yet, but I thought I'd show them to you anyway.  Check this out:

"Wow.  Thrown in jail!"

I'm not sure what they did, but both groupings of our Peonies have been put in jail this year.  I'll check with Cam and see if she knows what happened.  I'll keep you posted.

We hope you enjoyed our version of Flower Friday!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

A Cruel Hoax

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Judging from the comments on yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post, you all know what happened - Mom and Dad took us to the "wash your own pup" place.  Only they didn't tell us that was where we were going, of course.  It went something like this ...

"Where are we going?  ... and why do we have our oldest harnesses on?"

As I've mentioned before, I usually have a sixth sense about this type of thing.

"Relax, Cam!  This is going to be great!  I just KNOW it!"

Oh, my optimistic, little Maggie girl!  Before she knew it ...

"What the ... "

Yep.  A bath and a blow dry.  We don't really mind the whole thing, but Mom and Dad should have told us where we were going!

Anyway, Mom didn't get us as dry as she wanted to at the dog wash place, so we finished the process when we got home.  First up - some Crazed River Otter action out on the sunny deck!

"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"

We liked that part a lot.  Then Mom got to work with towels and our brushes, while the Kansas wind backed her up.

"I kinda like this part!"

"No comment."

"Just kidding!  I do, too!"

In fact, neither one of us really minds any part of the process - except I didn't like being in that room this time.  Mom said what she likes about the place is using the blower; otherwise it would take forever to dry us.

"Why not order your own?"
"Yeah, then no more going to the dog wash!"

Since a ton of our furs actually come out the day AFTER our baths, Mom thought that would be a splendid idea.  She consulted with our breeder and some other Siberian people and primed one on Amazon; it should get here tomorrow!

"I'm so happy!"
"I still get to be vacuumed, too, though - right, Mom?"

Mom said she'll still use the vac on Mags - she just loves that - but is all excited about having her own blower. And we're happy we'll be able to do all of our grooming stuff here at home now!

That being said, she should have told us where we were going, don't you think?  Do you like being groomed like we do?  It feels so good to be all clean and fluffed out!  Mom says our coats are "bunny-fur soft" now!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Attention: Chien Bizarre

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie!  I was just thinking ...

"Ha roo woo roo ..."
"Hey, Cam!  What's so funny?!?"

We have this little, tin sign that hangs in the bedroom ...

"You mean that one back there?"
"That's the one!"

In case you can't read it, it says, "Attention:  Chien bizarre".  It's French for "Warning:  Weird dog".  We've had it a very long time, ever since our great-sisters Jesse and Lucky joined the family in Belgium.  Our great-sister Amber showcased it on the blog once, when Zim and Davy played a little joke on her - you can see that here.

Anyway, I was just thinking that now it hangs over Maggie's crate -- 10 Downing Street - so ...

"Hey, c'mon, now ..."
"Ha roo woo roo -- it's your sign, Mags!"

"Maybe it's YOUR sign!"
"It's hanging over 10 Downing Street, Margaret Thatcher!"

"It was here before I got here!  Gotta be yours, Cam!  Ha roo roo roo!!!"
"Mom?  It's not about me, is it?  ... Mom?"

Oddly enough, Mom didn't have much to say.

"Wait.  You don't think it's about BOTH of us, do you?"
"Umm ..."

Mom assured us that if it was about BOTH of us, it would read "Attention: Chiens bizarres". Whew.

Of course, that brings us right back to which one of us ... NAH!  Besides, we're Siberian Huskies, not "dogs"!!!

Cammie!