"Very Expressive"

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. My mom is always saying that I am "very expressive".  I'm choosing to take that as a compliment (ahem) and thought I'd show you two different expressions. 

The first thing you need to understand is now that we're on Summer Walking Schedule, we don't get to have breakfast until we get home and cool down. So ... as soon as we do get home from a walk, before zoomies, snooter jousting, or anything else on our agenda, we get a cookie. You know - to tide us over until breakfast.  One of the special ones in the freezer.  Ready to take a look?

OK. This is my expression when Mom goes straight over to the freezer to get us a cookie:

And here's my expression when she stops to do something frivolous first, like start the coffee:

I don't know where her priorities are sometimes!

Anyway, just two of the many expressions of ME!

Yours sincerely,

 Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Ragnar & Mags

Inner Studio Guard Duty

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. Yesterday afternoon, I drew Guard Duty for the inner room of the Studio. I got to my post as soon as Mags made the assignments:

 

"No action on the western front, Mags!"

It's a HUGE assignment, right!??!  But don't worry -- I'm a Working Breed Dog. This is part of who I am.  Mags checked in on me from her post (she was on Stairs/Library Guard Duty) from time to time.

"How about now, Raggi?"
"Umm ... yeah, still nothing."

Mom said I was a big help.

Sköl!

Ragnar

The Last Kingdom

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. Ragnar Jimmyson. You know - Polargold's Einherjar. I'm kind of feeling my Viking roots. Why? We started watching the latest season of The Last Kingdom last night.

 

"Ohhh!  VIKINGS!  This is great!"

"Shield wall!"

Mags tried to fill me in on everything, as she's seen all the older episodes.  

"OK, so our hero is Uhtred, right?  Uhtred Ragnarson!!!"

Ragnarson.  How cool is that?!?!

Anyway, I got a little bit lost after the opening credits, as I hadn't seen the earlier seasons. Mom was a tad confused, too. Dad said we are going to put a hold on Season 5 and go back and repeat Season 4. It's a great show, but I think I need a better recap or something!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Stand-Off Sunday

It's a Stand-Off.

 

(Insert wild-west sounding audio clip here.)  A Siberian Stand-Off. 

Mags and Ragnar

Saturday

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. It's Saturday -- that means it's time to kick back and relax!

 

"This is the life!"

Sköl!

Ragnar

PS:  Mags didn't get my spot this time!  🐺

Photo Finish Friday

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. I thought I'd do another Photo Finish Friday this week - the best pic or pix from the week. Hands down, it has to be this one of me and Ragnar out on our morning walk:

 

"Check out that sunrise, Raggi!"
"Wow!"
"Spectacular!"

... unless you want to count this one from later that afternoon:

 

"Spectacular!"
(Mom's a weather geek.)

For some reason, Mom didn't want us out there helping with that shot. Go figure!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Imitation

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags.

 

"Oh, hey!  Glad you're here!"

"Want to see an imitation?  Gimme a sec; I've got to get into character."

...

OK, get ready!

"Check it out.  I'm a fox."

Pretty good, huh?  

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Ragnar & Mags

Synchronized Snooter Hang

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. After our walk and breakfast, Ragnar and I went out onto the deck to guard our mom and dad while they had coffee. At first, we kept it simple...

 

"Lady with a pram and a pup, coming our way!"
"I've got my eye on a couple Blue Jays!"

... then Ragnar suggested we do a Synchronized Snooter Hang!

"OK, Ragnar!  I got it!"
"Awesome!  I'm with you, Mags!"

I know it looks easy, but trust me, it's a complicated maneuver!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

What The ...

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! So there I was yesterday, relaxing in one of my favorite spots ...

 

"Oh, yeah.  So comfy!"

"I dunno.  I am kinda thirsty."

"I'm going to get up for a sec to get a beverage.  Be right back."

While I was at our water bowls - only 5 feet away ...

 

"Oh, yeah.  So comfy!"

"What the fluff, Mags?!?"
"Sorry, bro.  You snooze, you lose."

Can you believe that?!?  Oh, well.  It's one of her favorite spots, too.

Sköl!

Ragnar 

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hi everybody. It's me, Ragnar. Because we're in the midst of such a hot spell, our time outside has been limited. The most serene scene I could come up with was this:

It's us on one of our water breaks during this morning's walk.  Trust me, it was VERY serene!  And refreshing!

Sköl!

Ragnar

We Were Not Posing!

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. Mom took this shot of me and Ragnar on the walk this morning:

Me and Ragnar, all smiles

No, we were NOT posing - we were watching some dogs walk their bipeds down the trail and Mom jumped into our view. Really.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Photo Finish Friday

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. We thought you'd enjoy seeing these pix our mom took out on our walk the other morning.

We were on the path that goes past one of the middle schools in town.  Nothing especially exciting, but we like how the light was hitting the camera lens. Pretty cool, huh?

Speaking of cool -- try to stay cool and have a great weekend!

Yours sincerely,

Hard Work

Hi everybody. It's me, Ragnar. I know Mags and I make working in the Studio look easy, but trust me, it's hard work!

 

"How am I supposed to fit in here?"

See what I mean?

Sköl!

Ragnar

Wordless Wednesday

Mags & Ragnar

Happy US Army Birthday and Flag Day!!!

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! Mags and I would love to wish the US Army a very happy 247th birthday!!!

 

"Happy US Army birthday!!!"
"I thought we were doing our Tough Guy Look!"

AND a happy Flag Day to all!!!

 

"What a great day to celebrate!"
"Yeah!  And look tough!"

"Long may she wave, huh, Raggi?!?"
"Amen, Mags!"

I really thought we had agreed to do our Tough Guy Look, but there's a chance we turned our meeting into a zoomie session instead of mapping everything out.  Anyway ... Happy US Army birthday and Flag Day!!!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Not So Serene Saturday/Sunday

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. Saturday evening/night we were smacked by a huge storm system here in our part of Kansas. We even had to hunker down in our "storm shelter" --- here's a look:

 

"Hi, everybody!"
"This movie is REALLY boring.  Zzz ..."

Sure, it may LOOK like our Library, but it's also our storm shelter. Before we went downstairs, our mom shot some video:

To view on YouTube, please click here.

Here's a still-shot for you, taken off our deck. This was right before Dad made Mom come inside.

I made sure to keep an eye on things until we lost cable.

 

"Oh, hey, Rags.  It's not a movie, it's a severe weather thing."

Fortunately for us, the tornadoes skirted just to our east, but our town did get hit with 80-100 mph straight-line winds!

The next day, we saw lots of downed trees on our walk:

 

This is us in CiCo Park.  We're glad our cow friends didn't have a show!

"We better go around."
"We should check for squirrels first!"

Though there were millions of dollars of damages, we've heard of no loss of life, and we are so very thankful for that!  We feel very blessed that we only had some tree limbs down (not on the house!) and a small leak. It was a wild - not serene - weekend!!! (Except for Adopt-a-Ragnar Day, which was AWESOME!!!)

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Adopt-a-Ragnar Day!!!

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. We interrupt our normally scheduled Serene Scenery Sunday post to bring you the following ...

Guess who was adopted 2 years ago today?!!?

 

Polargold's Einherjhar

That's right - my handsome little brother, Ragnar!  He is the best kid brother a girl could ask for and I just love him to pieces!  So do Mom and Dad.  Please join me in wishing him a happy 2nd Gotcha Day!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Have I Ever Told You ...

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. Have I ever told you ...

 

"Yeah ... right like that, Dad."
"I ... can't ... move ..."

... that my dad's foot makes a GREAT chin rest?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Check!

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. On this morning's walk, we went through CiCo Park -- so we HAD to check the Trippy Trap Bridge!

 

"The Trippy Trap Bridge, Raggi!  Check for trolls!"
"And GOATS!"

"Nothing here!"
"THIS time!"

It always pays to check -- you just never know!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Garden Changes

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! Last Summer and Fall, Mom and Dad worked overtime in the gardens, making lots of changes. One of the big changes was taking out some unfortunately dead Lilac Bushes and planting something new in that area. One of the three Lilacs was still OK, so they left that, but wanted something else, something different in there. They opted for Penstemon, a perennial they'd seen in other gardens in the neighborhood.  They only got a couple inches high last year and didn't bloom, but look at them now!

That's me in the background, not a garden statue!

Pretty cool, huh?  They are Dark Towers Penstemon and Mom and Dad are thrilled with how they're doing!  If anyone's looking for a sun-loving perennial, check into planting a few!

This has been an Ao4 Garden Moment.

Sköl!

Ragnar

Wordless Wednesday

Ragnar and Mags

Cover Me!

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. I'm just hanging out in the living room with Ragnar, being VERY innocent and well-behaved.

 

"Cover me, Rags!  Here comes Mom!  Do your best Innocent Look!"
"Oh ... umm ... hi, Mom!"

No, really. We weren't doing anything!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Great Weekend!

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar! Not only did Mags and I get to see COWS on Saturday, but on Sunday's walk ...

 

"We haven't been this way in WAY too long!"
"❤❤❤ A BRIDGE!  A BRIDGE!  A BRIDGE! ❤❤❤"

I love a good bridge - and that one over Wildcat Creek is the longest one on our walking routes!  It was awesome being able to cross over it!  What a great weekend!

Sköl!

Ragnar

All Clean And Shiny!

Greetings to all! It's me, Mags. So, guess what extremely good, patient girl had to put up with a shower and a blow-dry the other day?  Umm ...  I mean "got treated to" a shower and a blow-dry.

 

"That's right - me!"
"You're still wet, Mags.  We need to do more blow drying!"

After my shower, Mom must have used that Master Blaster on my lovely, thick coat for hours! Or at least one hour.  Maybe 45 minutes.  Anyway, I did my best to help out.

 

"Mags?  Could you get off the hose?  And PLEASE start the shedding process.  You'll feel cooler, honest!"
"No.  It's MY floof and I'm keeping it.  At least until Ragnar is done blowing coat."

So anyway, after a bunch more blow-drying we went back out front for another break and a photo shoot.

"You look so PRETTY!!!"
"All clean and shiny, right, Mom?"

Apparently I smell really good now, too (we tried a new shampoo and conditioner) and am as soft as a bunny.  Whatever.  It did feel pretty good ... I have to admit.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

How Great Was It?!?

Hi everybody! It's me, Ragnar. Today's walk was so great! I mean REALLY great! I mean ... it was this great:

 

"❤❤ Moo cows!!! ❤❤"
"❤❤ Hello, new friends!! ❤❤"

And this great:

 

"How now, Brown Cow?!?"
"Mmmm!"
"You always know the perfect thing to say, Mags!  She likes you!"

And THIS great:

 

"We just love your markings!"
"Want to come live at our house?  You aren't a bed hog or anything, are you?"
"We are not adopting a cow, you two - no matter how cute!"

I just LOVE this time of year!

Sköl!

Ragnar