This Is Not A Trick ...

... but it goes WAY beyond being a treat!

Hello, everyone! It's me, Cammie. I have very exciting news to share with you! I went to the Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center (AKA, the vet's!) yesterday for my Chemo treatment. Mom gave them the green light to also x-ray me and do an ultrasound, so it took a bit longer than normal. When she came to get me, two of my vets and my senior student came out with me. Here we are:

Dr. Mauro (from Internal Medicine), Dr. Coffee (Oncology), and Hailey, my senior student!
And ME!

Do you see my beautiful bandana?  Let's get a closer look at home:

My new bandana!!!!!!

How about a quick pose?

Me in my new Wildcat Warrior bandana!

That's right, everyone!  With thanks to God, our "regular" vet at KSU (early detection!), the surgical team, and the whole Oncology department, I am a CANCER SURVIVOR!!!!!  I had my last Chemo treatment, and my x-rays and ultrasound looked clear!  We can't thank all of you who have been praying for me enough.  This bandana, and what it signifies, is the best "treat" ever!!!

Now ... please stay safe tonight -- no bolting out of the door and no eating chocolates or sweets containing xylitol!  Mags and I will be behind a closed door, watching the World Series in the bedroom.

Mags the Impaler and me -- Countess Cam-ula!

Have a safe and happy Howl-o-ween!

Cammie!

After Walk Playtime

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Saturday morning, Maggie and I took Mom and Dad on a lovely walk!

"Hey, Cam!  Is this a blast, or what?!?"
"This is wonderful!"

It really was wonderful; our temps had dropped into the low 20s and Maggie and I just loved it!  We may have been happier about it than Mom and Dad, but I'm sure they were happy that we were happy.  Or something like that.

After our walk, Maggie and I played with our Pickles, and then ... well, why don't I just show you with a short video?!?

To view on YouTube, please click here.

I'll be at the Oncologist's today. I think Mom should show this to her when she asks how I've been feeling - don't you?

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags, here with a few shots from this morning's beautiful Fall walk.

Do you feel more serene now? We sure do!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Interesting Discoveries!

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cam.  Mom is still processing her million photos from last weekend's trip, so Maggie and I thought we'd show you some of the interesting discoveries we made on our walk the other morning.  Ready to go?

I chose to walk down parts of the Hudson Trail.  There's always something interesting there, like ...

"CAM!  Check this out!"
"Oooh!  I smell squirrels!  And bunnies!  And ... there's some pee-mail ..."

It was great! So many smells! What a wonderful time of year!

We walked a little further, then ...

"Nothing off to the left, Cam."
"Wait!  I see something over here!"

We walked Mom over to the side of the trail, and sure enough - another interesting discovery!  The same little person I saw sitting on a chair by the trail over a week ago was still there!

"What the -"
"Aren't you lonely out here?  And bored?  Where are your people?"

Mom said it was something called a "scarecrow" - or at least a mini version of one.  Maggie offered to pick it up and carry it home with us, but Mom suggested she leave it there.  I'm sure she was just trying to offer comfort to a lonely scarecrow!

"It didn't look very scary to me!"
"Maybe crows scare easily?"

You just never know what you'll find along the trail!

Have a great weekend!

Cammie!

Posing Here And There

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Yesterday, Cam and I took Mom on a great walk!  We did lots of posing here and there along the way, so we thought we'd take you with us and show you.  Ready?  Let's go!

Our first pose was at a shopping center.  We sat and looked at the camera real nice -

Cam and me!

Pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Did I mention Mom had some treats?  That could have something to do with it.

When we got to our favorite meadow, Mom tried for something a bit more scenic:

"Maggie?"
"What.  Ever."
"Mags!  She might have more cookies!"

"I think she used them all up at the shopping center, Cam."
"Really?"
"Girls?"

"You don't really HAVE any more treats.  Do you .... Mom?"
"Umm..."
"Mom?"

She didn't.  There's a good chance I jumped Cam after that, letting Mom know that it was time to move along.

How about a little Fall color, Kansas-style?

They made Mom forget all about posing for a while.

Before we knew it, we were almost at Cam's chosen destination!

"Almost there, Mags!"
"I can smell the salt air already!"

That's right - Cam decided we should walk to the Kansas Ocean!  Isn't that great?!?!

"Coming up on the Trans-oceanic Bridge, Mags!"
"Looks like high tide!"

We walked a bit further along the boardwalk ...

"What a great day to be at the KSO!"
"Amen, Mags!"

... then Mom had us stop and pose again:

"Smile, girls!"
"Ha roo!"
"Hello!"

I wasn't really winking - the sun was in my eyes!  We forgot to pack our beach gear.

Thanks for coming with us!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Grazin' In The Grass Is A Gas

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Yesterday morning, I took Dad on a nice, long walk, then walked again with Cam and Mom.  After that, I ran and played in the backyard with Mom for a bit.  On our way back into the house, Mom stopped to photograph some of the Maiden Grasses on one of the side tiers.  She was really taking her sweet time, trying to get "the shot".  I thought I should help out!

Me, striking a pose!

I thought I'd add a little interest, you know?  Oh.  Did I mention that rock ledge is about 4 or 5 feet high?  I think that's why Mom didn't ask me to jump up there in the first place.  No problem - I climbed up from the side.  Hard for Mom to do, as it's a super-steep hill, but no challenge for me!

"Yeah, no problem, Mom!  Here -- get my blue-eyed side!"

She was worried I'd try to jump down from up there.

"Seriously?"

I had more important things to do.  Like snoof through those grasses!  Maybe take a little taste or two.  There are all KINDS of cool things in there!!!

Anyway, Mom was happier with these shots than she was with just the grasses.  Are you this helpful to your bipeds?  I sure hope so.  

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cam and Mags!

Our Latest Adventure - The Landscape Shots

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  As I mentioned yesterday, we're ready to get on to exciting things - OK!?!  How about we start with our latest adventure?!?!  Today, we'll share the iPhone shots -- mostly landscapes, but some of us girls!  Let's go!

We all headed out early Saturday morning:

"Is everyone buckled in?!?"
"Safety first!"

There were storms in the area, but not where we were.  As far as Mom was concerned, it made for interesting skies and great lighting.  Here's a shot she took out the window:

Kansas Farmland

We went through mile after mile of that.  There's a good chance Maggie and I slept most of the way there.

We took a break when we got to the Kansas Wetlands Education Center.

"I wonder if our friend is working today?"
"I hope she comes out to see us!"

We aren't allowed in the building, but there is a very nice lady who works there who likes to come out to see us.  Fortunately, she was there -- and brought her co-worker out to meet us.  It was wonderful!  Maggie and I got all kinds of pets and hugs and stuff.

After they left, I struck a pose for Mom ...

"How's this?"

... while Maggie entertained herself.

"Ooh!  Bird poop!  Oops.  Sorry, Mom."

Anyway ...

After our break, we headed over to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.  Mom even saw birdies on the way there!  Can you see them in this next shot?

She loves these back roads!

Once we got to Quivira NWR, the sun started breaking through in places.  This is an area Mom calls "The Flats" -- can you see why?

The sun beaming down on the flats

Of course, most of that area could be called "flat", but ... whatever.

Here are a couple shots of the small ponds in the marshes; they give you a good feel for how beautiful it is down there:

There are ducks along the water's edge in the photo above!

Mom took 87 million birdie pix with the Canon70D and shot some video with the Canon SX60.  We'll share those later on - she is still going through them and will be for a few days!  For now, let's head back out.

On the way home, Dad remembered to stop at a farm Mom has been eyeing for a while!  Here's a black and white version:

Lots more to come - please stay tuned!

Cammie!

Long Day!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  Sorry we didn't get a post up until now.  I had to be at the vet's at 8 this morning.

Me at the Kansas State University Vet Health Center

I had to be there for an all-day testing.  The good news is Mom stayed with me all day, except for when they had to go do my tests.

We went out a couple times for potty breaks, and one time we ...

"Excuse me, is that a cracker?"

... had some snacks.  Most of my day consisted of this, though:

"Ho hum."

Lots of friendly people gave me hugs and stuff, plus I met some puppies, saw a couple ferrets, a hedgehog, and some kit-cats. So it wasn't totally boring!  Oh.  And the nice people at the Oncology clinic did testing and stuff.  Did I mention I got a cracker?

We didn't get home until almost 5, so it was a long day!  We'll have a more exciting post tomorrow.  For now, I feel a nap coming on!

Cammie!

Snoozy Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  Yesterday, we all went on a big, all-day adventure!  It was really fun and we'll tell you all about it later this coming week.  But for today, we took Mom and Dad on a nice morning walk and now we're doing this.

"Hello."
"Zzz..."

I think the little one might be tired!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Cammie!

We Heard That!

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cam.  The other morning, Maggie and I took Mom for a walk, got a nice drink of water, and settled down for a little morning snooze.  And then ...

"Is that a banana?!?!"
"We love bananas, you know."
"I thought you two were napping ..."

As if we wouldn't hear Mom peeling a banana.  Honestly!

Cammie!

PS:  Of course she shared!  

A Nice Long One!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Yesterday, I took Dad on a nice walk early in the morning, then after breakfast, Cam said she was ready to go on one.  Awesome!  Mom hooked us up and we headed out.

"We should have worn our sunglasses, Mags!"
"It was dark when Dad and I walked."
"Do you two know where you're going?  I can't see."

We went up and down some hills then got to where we could make a decision -- take the trail to the right? Or take the trail to the left?

"What do you think, Cam?"
"Let's go left!"

Left is longer, but Cam knows that. As long as she was good with it, Mom was good with it!

"Great choice!  There's always something interesting down here!"
"Keep your eyes peeled!"

And just like that ...

"SQUIRREL!"
"SQUIRREL!"

Mom had us wait there until the squirrel jumped into a tree. I have no idea why.

"At least we saw one!"
"Right you are, Cam-a-roo!"

THEN ... instead of making a turn that would have been the shorter way home, Cam wanted to go this way:

"Hey!  It's your hill, Cam!"
"It's my very favorite hill to go up!"

Cam loves going up that hill from the other direction!  Here we are at the bottom:

"What do you think, Cam?"
"Let's go left, and head up the steep road!"

Just beyond that white house is the Kansas Ocean, by the way!

Anyway, we turned then headed up the hill like Cam wanted to do.  Mom couldn't believe she chose the route she did, but Cam was doing awesome!  Near the top, Mom got us to stop and pose for a minute:

Cam and me

Truth be told, I think Mom just wanted to stop and catch her breath, but you didn't hear me say that!

A little bit more of a climb, a turn or two, then we were on the downhill side:

"It's all downhill now, Mom!"
"What an awesome walk!  I feel great!"

It was really great!  Cam's route was 1.86 miles and she had plenty of energy the rest of the day!  We're so proud of her!!!  It felt great to get out on a nice, long one!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher