Howl-o-ween

Hi everybody.  It's me, Ragnar.  We weren't really planning to do a Halloween post today - mostly because we didn't want to give our mom any crazy ideas about costumes and all.  But ... insert scary music here ... there we were ... out on our morning walk, when ...

"Ragnar!  Check it out!  A balloon!  By a sewer!"
"Stay away from it, Mags!  That can only mean one thing!"

We all agreed it could only be ... PENNYWISE!!!, the evil clown from Stephen King's It!   It was incredibly scary - but we were both very brave!

We hope you stay brave this Howl-o-ween!  Don't let anything scare you, don't eat any chocolate, and mostly stay safe!  No bolting out of open doors!

Sköl!

Ragnar

You Can Run ...

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  So ... there we were, helping our Mom in the Studio the other day.  Mom tried getting some photos of us doing zoomies  - she is really slacking in the zoomies photos, you know?  It may be because ...

"Can't catch me, Mags!"

I mean - can you tell how fast he is?!?  He knew I was hot on his heels.  He thought he'd be safe in the Library, but ...

"I should be safe in here for a minute ..."
"🎶 Oh ... Ragnar?!? 🎶"

I had him totally trapped!  It was awesome!  You can run, but you can't hide!

We had such a blast.  Anybody else feel like coming over to play?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wait!

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! As you know, I've been learning all kinds of cool stuff here in my new home! The cute poses come pretty naturally and I've been working on getting treats! Um ... I mean I've been working on basic commands. Yeah.  Basic commands.  That's what I meant.  I even know the trick "Gimme 5!" Not bad, huh? On our walks, we work on safety commands, and high on that list is "Wait!" I'm getting really good at it! Here are some pix of Mags and me showing you:

 

"Wait!"
"Got it, Mom!  Wait, Ragnar!"
"OK."

Maggie likes to help me.

"When that red hand over there changes to a white stick figure, we can go."
"Thanks, Mags."

There's also some guy in a box on the pole by us that announces, "Crossing sign is ON for Anderson."  Or something like that.  Mostly, I just wait for Mom to tell me it's OK.

"OK!  Let's go, Raggi!"
"Now, Mom?"
"Good puppies!  Yes!  Let's go!"

I love learning new things - and making Maggie and Mom & Dad happy!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Ragnar

 

The Innocent Look

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Yesterday was one of those very rare days where Mom and Dad couldn't safely take us on a walk -- we had a coating of ice all over everything.  Ragnar and I even slipped in the driveway!  It just wasn't a good idea to go anywhere!  This morning, much of the ice was gone, so we headed out! We had a wonderful walk:

"Now this is lovely!  In the 20s and still a little snow here and there!"
"Hey!  It's sleeting, Mags!"

The sleet was a nice touch, although that meant we had to get toweled off when we got home. Oh, well, not a bad price to pay for such lovely weather! 

There MAY have been some very, very active play when we got home - perhaps lots of super-speed zoomies and neck-grabs and the like. Maybe.

"Who ... us?  Sugar wouldn't melt in our mouths!"
"Yeah, Mom.  What Maggie said.  Look at how cute we are."

Mom must have seen some other Siberians racing around.  It couldn't have been us -- look at how innocent we look!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Even Though We Aren't Related ...

 Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  As you know, Maggie and I share a biological mama, CH Dancing Winds Polargold Legacy -- Bebe.  We have different fathers, though.  Her sire is CH D'Azul's El Presidente - Juarez; mine is GCH Rainbow’s Union Boss - Jimmy.  ANYWAY ... Maggie does this Paw Tuck thing that's a tribute to her father Juarez.  He does it and she does, too!  She can do a single and even a double!  Well ... even though I'm not related to him, check this out!!!

Me!  Doing a Half-Juarez!

Maggie is teaching me all kinds of cool stuff - and this is the newest one on the list!  Her dad IS mighty special - I hope he likes my version of the Half-Juarez!

Sköl!

Ragnar Jimmysson

Struck Out Sunday

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  This morning, we went back to the scene of the turkeys for the first time since Friday! Here's how it all went:

"Oh, boy, Ragnar!  Anneberg!  Keep your eyes peeled for those turkeys!"
"Turkeys.  Turkeys!  TURKEYS!"

Needless to say, we were both on the same wavelength!

"They could be hiding in that pile of leaves!"
"I'll check!  Turkeys!  Turkeys!  TURKEYS!"

I mean, you can never be too sure!  Right?!?

"Is that turkeys over there?!?  Nah, it's a truck."
"Could be a truck full of turkeys!"

You just never know.

"Maybe we should do a turkey call, Ragnar."
"OK.  Here, turkey, turkey, turkey!"

That didn't seem to work.  The turkeys must have been out having Sunday Brunch somewhere else.  

"Well, that was a big bust."
"Yeah ... fun walk, though, even if we struck out on the turkeys.  Is anyone else hungry?"

So ... we didn't see those turkeys today - but we did look for them everywhere in the park.  AND we'll look again next time we take that route.  Probably the next several times.  Can't blame a Sibe or two for trying - right?!?

Have a great Sunday!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Dueling Doughnuts

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. Now that the wonderful, cold weather is upon us, Ragnar and I have been doing more of this than we had been:

Me and Raggi - Dueling Doughnuts

 

So ... if I'm a Cinnamon Bun or Honey Bun, what is Ragnar? A Chocolate Frosted Doughnut?  A Powdered Sugar Doughnut with Chocolate Sprinkles? What do you think? 

Yours sincrely, 

Margaret Thatcher

What A Bunch Of Turkeys

Hi everybody.  It's me, Ragnar.  What a WILD walk this morning!  The windchill was in the 20s when we headed out, so it was just wonderful out there!  We walked Westbank to Sharingbrook, then headed into Anneberg Park.

We were taking our time walking down the Perimeter Trail, going very slowly, doing a lot of snoofing.  That should have been Mom's first cue that something was afoot!  Let me just cut to the chase and ... roll tape!

 

To view on YouTube, please click here.

It was wild!  They ran away from us at first, but then they got to the road and there was a truck!  Fortunately, the man in the truck saw them and stopped, but they ran back toward us!!!  All but one of them took flight - Mom had never seen turkeys fly!  One kept running at us, until he was about a leash length away!  I have no idea why Mom didn't shoot video of that!  Something about ... "hanging on for dear life" ... "why didn't I wear the hands free belt" ... "thank God for strong leashes and harnesses" ... that was pretty much it.  Anyway, that turkey finally flew up over us, too.  SO CLOSE to an early Thanksgiving ... if you know what I mean!

Anyway, we checked the whole rest of the park for them, and trust me, Mags and I will check the park for them EVERY TIME we walk there now.  It was SO EXCITING!!!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Playing Cricket

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Ragnar and I went on a great walk this morning - oh, the weather was Siberian terrible/biped ideal -- sunny and in the 60s.  But we had such FUN!  Come on along and let me show you!

Before heading down the water tower trail, I stopped to admire the sunrise:

"Oh, nice!"

Truth be told, I was enjoying the aroma from the garbage truck that just went down the street, but ... yeah, whatever.  Here we are on the water tower trail:

Me and Ragnar!

In addition to being warm, it was very windy. Check out the fur-nado on the back of my neck in this next shot:

Me and Raggi again; check out my fur-nado!

All kinds of great things were blowing by! I saved us from being attacked by a tumbleweed and countless leaves!

"That leaf will never bother anyone again!"
"Way to save the day, Mags!"

We did a little exploring:

"Wait a minute.  Is that tumbleweed following us?!?"
"Hi, Mom."

You can never be too sure with those things. 

We headed back to the sidewalk by the golf course, where Ragnar and I played one of our favorite games.

"Got one in my sights!"
"Me, too!"
"You guys... !!!"

"BOOM!"
"I missed mine!"
"Margaret THATCHER!" 

I love it when Mom uses my full name.  It usually means I'm doing something extremely fun!

"I think I'm up, 2-1, Ragnar!"

Did I mention we were playing Cricket?  And what I really mean is playing a little "catch and release" game with crickets.  Great sport!  I'm surprised it's not televised more in the US!  Ragnar and I LOVE playing!

"That was a great round of Cricket, Mags!  Here comes another tumbleweed!"
"I'm totally ready!"

An incredibly fun walk!  Oh!  And great news on the weather front - even though it has already hit 80 today, we're supposed to get snow on Sunday.  Isn't Kansas fun?!?

Thanks for coming along on our walk!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Ragnar

 

Like Glue

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  What a bizarre morning!  First, Dad took Ragnar out front while I had my breakfast.  That was not normal and I don't like to eat alone.  THEN Mom walked us in the dark.  The DARK!  She hates walking us in the dark, but she mentioned something about hurrying to get some miles in before "an appointment".  Hmm.  Then she left Raggi's harness on him after our walk.  Oh.  Uh oh.  Yes, it was the infamous "fasting before a vet appointment" thing. For my little brother.  It was HORRIBLE!

Except for the cheese.  He had to have some Benadryl before his appointment (to avoid an allergic reaction to his Rabies shot), so at least there was cheese.  I had some, too, just to make sure it was OK.

I don't want to be overly dramatic here, so let me just say I missed my kid brother something fierce.  It was just a routine appointment, but still!  Now that he's home (fortunately he was only gone an hour), we're doing this:

"Raggi needs his breakfast, Mom."
"And maybe Maggie could get a little snack?"
"❤️❤️"

After breakfast and a quick trip to the yard ...

"I think I need a nap, Mags."
"I'll be right here if you need anything!"

Yep, I'll be stuck to him like glue for at least the rest of the day.  I was so worried about him!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Thread Painting Quilt

 Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar, coming to you from the Studio.

"Hi everybody!"

While Maggie is making sure I got everything out of my Pickle, I thought I'd show you something I don't think we've shown you before. After we lost Cammie, Mom's dear friend Denise made an amazing thread painting quilt that hangs on the door to the inner part of the Studio. It's right here:

"It's so beautiful!"

Isn't it amazing?!?  It's thread paintings of (going clock-wise from top left) Dave, Cammie, Zim, Amber, and Storms!

I stop and check it out every time I got into the inner room -- unless Maggie and I are doing zoomies.  So does Mom; she loves having it where she can see it a LOT!

"This is Storms right here!"

"Here's a little smooch for Ammy ... from what I hear, she would have liked that."

I like to greet all of them - sort of paying my respects to those who came before us!

Anyway - isn't that just a gorgeous wall-hanging?!?  Our Auntie Denise is one wildly talented lady!  We love that "Army Family" logo she put in the center - and the cool camo-looking quilt design!  

Sköl!

Ragnar

Serene Scenery Sunday

 Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  This morning, we had a great family walk!  And I mean GREAT!  The winds were blowing and the "real feel" temp was at about 30 degrees.  Finally.  Some nicer weather!  We hit Anneberg Park and had the trail almost all to ourselves:

"Is this great or what, Ragnar?!?!"
"So many exciting smells!"

Everything was blowing through - it was amazing!

"I can't believe more people aren't out enjoying this weather!"
"Bipeds can be really weird, Mags, huh?"

Actually, there was a huge softball tournament going on at the park and there were hundreds of young girls running all over the fields playing ball.  They made lots of happy sounds and their families were there, cheering them on.  It was fun to see them and hear them!

"Too bad none of them are on the trail; I'd love to greet them all!"
"I think I would, too, Mags!"

What a wonderful walk!  Is it turning nice in your part of the world, too?  Friends of ours even got SNOW last night -- now wouldn't THAT make today even more serene!!??

Have a wonderful day!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Saturday In The Studio

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  This morning after our walk and before Mom got on the treadmill, we helped her in the Studio for a few minutes.  I noticed the closet door was open so ...

"Hey, what's in here?!?"
"Oh, go on in, Ragnar!  Mom won't mind."

Maggie knows how to open the doors and offered to open the other ones for me.  Isn't she the greatest!?!  

We're planning to help again this afternoon!  Our work is never done!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Missed It By THAT Much

 Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Another great walk, another great day in the fabulous state of Kansas.  And had we actually been walking East, we would have had this view:

   

But ... we didn't go that way. Mom stopped and snapped that quickly at the intersection before we turned the other way.

We still had a pretty view on parts of our walk:

"Look at those clouds, Mags!"
"They're from the cold front!!!"

That's right - another cold front! It was in the upper 30s for the start of our walk -- Mom had to put on a sweatshirt and gloves! When we got to a gated area, Mom wanted us to jump up on the wall and strike a pose for her. Jumping up was no sweat ...

"I think Mom wanted us to look at the camera, Maggie."
"Whatever."
"I have treats!"

"And you have my undivided attention."
"You should have said earlier!"

Still a pretty sky in the background ... just not the "sky on fire" shot from earlier!

Happy Friday to one and all!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Working For A Living

 Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  As you all know, it's election season here in the great US of A.  Maggie and I have been working very hard, doing our civic duty, helping our mom and dad deliver campaign fliers for a friend running for a local office.  What can I say -- we're Working Breed Dogs!

We covered our whole district, which basically is where we walk a lot of the time anyway - except we don't normally walk all the way up to peoples' doors.  Anyway - the other day we did a bunch of fliers and thought we'd show you how that went!

First, we headed down the Water Tower Trail!

"Pretty sky this morning!"
"It sure is, Mags!"

Some of our leaves are changing colors!

"Look at the yellow one!"
"I think that's a Cottonwood!"

What can I say?  By virtue of being a boy dog, I'm more into trees than Maggie is.

We covered the area up by the golf course that day, to include some apartments.

"This is where that Great Dane lives!"
"Hey!  Good morning, Big Guy!"

Dad was the one who walked up to the vast majority of the houses, so Mom tried to keep us entertained.

"How about you two strike a pose while we wait?!?"
"Can anyone see us?  I'd hate to give people the wrong idea.  We're WORKING here!"
"I smelled Zuke's in her bag earlier ..."

We decided it would be worthwhile.  The treats were a happy coincidence. 

Really.

OK.  Not really.

We gave it our best:

"Smile, puppies!!!"
"Yeah, whatever."
"Hi, Mom!  How's this?!?"

"I thought we were doing our Serious Looks, Raggi!"
"Oh.  Sorry, Mags."

I forgot.  By the way, don't we look a lot alike in that photo above?!?  I think we should send a copy to our biological mom.  She'd like that.

We covered a lot of area with no houses, too, so we just walked like normal.

"Kick it into overdrive, Ragnar!"
"Is that OK, Mom?"

 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm very Siberian - but I like to make my mom happy.

We hit more houses on the way home; here we are, waiting for Dad:

"This being a Working Breed Dog is mighty fun, isn't it, Mags?"
"You know it, Ragnar!"

 

We covered a lot of territory, met a lot of nice people along the way, AND Mom had snacks.  Really not a bag gig at all!  We love being Working Dogs!!!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Wordless Wednesday

 

Mags and Ragnar

 

How Did You Know?

 Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  The other day, Maggie and I did a REALLY nice pose in the living room for Mom.  JUST because she asked!

Polargold's Margaret Thatcher and Polargold's Einherjar -- Mags and me!

Oh, right. She may have had treats. How did you know?!? 

Sköl! 

Ragnar 

PS: Maggie says thanks for all the great Adopt-a-Mags Day wishes yesterday!