Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  I went through our camera roll to find the most serene pix I could -- basically, trying to post the best of the rest from 2017, before we launch into the new year!  Anyway, here we go, in no particular order!

This is one of the most serene, in my humble opinion:

"Let's go, let's go, let's GO!"

Backing up a bit, before the snow and super-cold temps hit ... here is a shot of Cam and me in our back yard:

"That was fun, huh, Cam?"
"Oh, yeah!"

We get some playtime in before Mom tries to get us to pose.  It just seems to work better that way.

Here we are on another day, looking serious:

Me and Cam

Mom really likes that one.

Here we are, posing on the limestone chunks by the trailhead on a recent walk:

Cam and me

I think I was enjoying the sunshine on my face; maybe just thinking profound thoughts.  I'm not sure which.

Back to the back yard!

Mom is learning a new-to-her photo processing program and played around with this photo a lot.  First up, cropped a bit and in living color ...

Me and Cam, posing like champs

... and then in black and white:

That's what Cam and I would look like if we were gray and white Siberians instead of red and whites!

I liked this pose we struck just seconds later:

Me and Cam

I can't remember what we were looking at.  Not at Mom, that's for certain.

Ready for the big finish, capping off 2017?

Cam and me!

Every now and then we humor Mom and look and her and smile!

Happy New Year's Eve Day - please be safe tonight!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

It's All So Mysterious!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags!  So ... the other day, Cam, Mom, and I were in the living room playing with toys.  I had already finished playing with mine and Cam wasn't willing to give hers to me yet, so I decided to snuggle with Mom.  Like so:

"❤️ Mmm.... Maggie!!! ❤️"
"Isn't Cam done with her Pickle yet?  Oh.  And ❤️ Mom."

It was quite nice. Anyway, the phone rang or something, and Mom had to get up and leave the room.  She left her iPad on the floor.

A couple days later, she was going through photos on said iPad and came across the following:

"Ho dee doh dee doh ..."

"Hey, is that thing on?"

Were they selfies? Or did Cam take them of me? We were the only two in the room. What a mystery.

Oh. This photo was on the camera roll, too:

"Ode to my Blue Ball ...
This ball is lovely, blue, and tough
Not like my Sneaky Snake and other stuff.
Not quite as strong as my GoughNuts
but it's a 'leave down' toy, no ifs, ands, or buts."

Pretty sure Mom took that one - maybe later that day, maybe a day later.  You'll have to guess who it is.  Oh.  Still working on that poem, by the way.  I mean, the mystery writer is.  You know.

Yep.  We've got a couple mysteries on our hands!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

The Look

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  Right before Christmas, I had one of those all-day vet appointments. Mom stayed with me, so it wasn't all that bad.  We got to take potty breaks and hang out together for most of the time.  At one point, we even went back to our vehicle and did a little tailgating!

In case anyone was wondering ...

"I see you have crackers ..."

... that's my "I-certainly-hope-you're-planning-to-share-those-crackers Look".

Cammie!

PS:  Yes, it worked!  Was there ever any doubt?

Throwback Thursday: Q-Town Or Bust

Hello, everyone! It's me, Cammie! We've been meaning to fill you in on a recent trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge for a couple of weeks now, but Christmas took over - rightfully so! Let's set the time-machine back a couple weeks, before the bitterly cold temps and snow set in, and take a trip down to "Q-town" to do a little birding! Ready? Let's get into the Husky Recreational Vehicle (HR-V) and get buckled in!

"All set?"
"C'mon, folks!  Buckle up -- click it or ticket!"

On the way down, we take one or sometimes two breaks.  Here I am at a favorite rest stop along I70:

"Very nice facilities!"

They have sidewalks all over a pretty big area, trash cans, picnic tables, and clean facilities for bipeds.  It's a win for everyone!

The first birdie Mom saw was this hawk:

Harlan's Red-Tailed Hawk

The Harlan's Red-Tailed Hawk is much darker than the regular Red-Tails we see.  Isn't he pretty?!?

And the very next birdie was actually a pair of eagles!

Pretty sure this is Mrs. Bald Eagle

And this would be Mister Bald Eagle

Female Bald Eagles are larger than the males - and the one on the short, thick branch looked bigger to us!  They were perched in that tree together for quite a while!  

Further into the refuge, we saw this lovely foursome:

Ruddy Ducks

They were like the Fab Four of the duck world:  George, Ringo, Paul, and John.  Well ... only they are female ducks.  Anyway ...

Some shorebirds were still in the area!

Greater Yellowlegs

As Mom was creeping along trying to get a good shot of him, she thought she saw something hiding in the rocks along the shore of the Big Salt Marsh (BSM).  She waited ... and then:

"Whoa!  Hello."

It was a Snow Goose!  Up close and personal!  There were thousands of them across the BSM, but this guy clearly wanted some alone time.  Mom tried her best not to disturb.

Speaking of across the BSM, the last of the cranes were still there!

Sandhill Cranes

It was at the end of their migration season, so Mom and Dad were really happy to still be able to see and hear them!

No trip to Quivira is complete without a Great Blue Heron:

"Shall we gather at the river---I mean marsh..."

And it was really the Day of the Harriers!  Mom saw this beauty in flight:

Northern Harrier

And watched this one fight off yet another Harrier and this gull:

Northern Harrier and Ring-Billed Gull 

The Harrier's leg was out like that the whole time -- if you go to our album on FlickR, you will see the series.  We hope she's OK!

"I hope she's OK!  Hey, Dad.  Want me to drive?"

Maggie's always so empathetic -- and likes to help when she can.  

We also saw one of the smaller marshes filled up with geese:

Greater White-Fronted Geese - and a couple Canada Geese in there, too

It was another very enjoyable trip!  We hope you enjoyed coming along!  Time to head back home!

"Sure, Mags.  Just lay right here with me."
"Thanks, Cam."

If you'd like to see the rest of Mom's photos from that day, please visit our album on FlickR!

Thanks for coming along!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cam

Boxing Day!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  This is the joyous day so many of us have been waiting for -- BOXING DAY!!!  Sadly, I did not get a new box for Christmas this year, but I'd like to share a few pix with you from the Ao4 archives.

I did a little PhotoShop text-work on one of my favorites from a couple years ago:

Me and Cam boxing!

Really. It was one of the few ways to get Cam to do some boxing with me!

Here's a shot of me in one of my very favorite boxes:

"I'll get you next time, Red Baron!"

And here I am in one of my very first boxes!!!

"Greetings!"

Pretty good form for a 3 1/2 months old, don't you think?

Anyway, to the Boxers out there, to my fellow kit-cats (I mean ... well ... I'm an honorary kit-cat), and everyone who enjoys a good box ---- HAPPY BOXING DAY!!!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Christmas 2017

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:9-14

"From all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters ..."
"... we wish you a Merry Christmas!"

May God's love surround each and every one of you as we celebrate the birth of His son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

And now ... we all know what time it is, right?

"Time to rip apart the Santa hats, right?"

"I don't know ... I'm kinda digging this jaunty, one-eared thing we've got going on ..."

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Cam and Mags

and our mom and dad

I'm Dreaming Of A ...

Hello, everyone! It's me, Cammie! You know how the song goes -- "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!"

"Hey, Cam!  I think we can stop dreaming and start frolicking!"
"Let's sing a different song!"

That's right!  The clouds Maggie showed you yesterday did indeed bring us some snow!!!

"Let's do that '...dashing through the snow' one!"
"Ooh, yeah!  Good choice.  Only I'm changing the words!"

OK - ready to sing along?  To the tune of Jingle Bells!  And ... go!

"Dashing through the snow, we're a couple of pumped up pups..."
"Kansas is not flat; it's a bunch of downs and ups!..."

"Tags on huskies ring, making spirits bright..."
"What fun it is to walk and sing our made up song to---"

"WAIT!  What are these?  Reindeer prints?!?"
"Coyotes, I think."

"Maybe they'll join us in song - they're good singers!"
"Jingle bells, jingle bells ..."

Anyway, we're so thrilled to have snow!  And since it was about 16 degrees when we walked (-8.9C) and has "warmed up" to 20, I don't think it's going anywhere anytime real soon!  Isn't that wonderful?!?  A white Christmas!!!

Cammie!

Walk-Mania!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Today, Cam and I thought we'd take a break from  having to wear Santa Hats  the hustle and bustle of Christmas to share excerpts from some of our recent walks with you!  Ready to take a look?  Let's go!

We've had some really beautiful light in the mornings.

Me and Cam in "The Golden Hour"

One morning, we had actually had some rain finally, and the lighting was super-beautiful!

"We sure needed that rain, huh, Cam?"
"Look for a rainbow, Maggie!"

I think we're still in a drought, but 3/100ths of an inch is better than nothing.

A couple mornings, we had some really cool fog!

"Be on the lookout for werewolves, Cam!"
"And vampires, Maggie!"

And sure enough, before we'd gone much further ...

"BOOM!"
"Help!  A werewolf's got me!!!"

Cam was just kidding - she knew it was me!

In the afternoons, we've been walking the Hudson Trail quite a bit!

Me, Cam, Hudson Trail

One day, we even hiked a part of it we haven't been on in quite a while:

Me and Cam enjoying sights and smells we hadn't taken in for a bit

And one afternoon, we even walked all the way to Cam's favorite hill!

"Yay!  It's your hill!"
"I love this hill!"

And lastly, this morning, we saw a really cool sky!

"Cam!  Check out that sky!"
"I hope it means what I think it does!"

That sky, those clouds, just MIGHT indicate that there is some SNOW on its way tonight!  Wouldn't that be wonderful!?!?  We're crossing our paws for a white Christmas!!!

Thanks for walking with us!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher