Snooze-y Saturday

Play bows, pups and kit-cats. It's me - Zim. We've got a chilly, cloudy, damp day here at Ao4 HQs today. Now that I've had some exercise, there's only one thing on my mind.

Zzz....

That's right - curling up on one of our beds for a good nap.

OR... maybe use two beds, part of the floor... oh, not those covers on the bed by the dresser, though. Gotta get rid of those...

This napping stuff can be hard work in and of itself. I feel an additional nap coming on. Just for balance.

Have a great Saturday!

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Hi everypuppy and everycat! It's me - Ammy - here with Photo Finish Friday! I'm going to use today's photos to answer a really great question we got yesterday from our sweet friend Sedona! She left this comment on Davy's post: "Dave, you are one Energizer Bunny! I see you have no fence...do you stay on your property or do you have an invisible fence? At the Meet the Breeds, the Sibe booth people said you guys like to roam... Jus' wonderin'! Your pal, Sedona."

GREAT comment, Dony! Whoever you spoke to at the Meet the Breeds event was 100% correct! We Sibes can NEVER be trusted off-lead. We don't just like to roam, we love to RUN and can cover over 50-60 miles a day. Combine that with the lack of leash ... and that's just not a good combo!

We actually do have a 6-foot high fence around our back yard, complete with a concrete mowing strip along the base for added security. You have to look really hard at the pix of Dave to see the fence. Because we live on the side of a hill, sometimes it looks like we're just out there, running free. Trust me when I say that's one of our mom's biggest nightmares! Anyway - I succumbed to a photo shoot this morning to show you a bit of our fence. Ready? Let's head outside!

Here I am, up at the top of the yard - the northeast corner.

You can see the fence behind me, and one of our gates. The gates are always padlocked - just so the meter reader or someone doesn't come in, then leave the gate open. Safety first! You can also see how steep our hill is.

Let's walk around to the other upper corner. We have a cool brick path that weaves through the yard. Dave got to pick out the pavers, since he's Mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind. I just thought I'd point that out. Anyway... here's the south side of the fence.

Right over there. Oh... hee hee hee. That shot is for the Basset Babes. Let's keep walking.

Here's the southeast corner - Mom's favorite part of the garden.

Halt! Who goes there?

I like posing on those chunks of limestone. Here's another one:

Stormy calls this pose my "Nanette of the Midwest" look. Hee hee hee!

Anyway, enough of this...

I'm outta here!

Let's go have some fun! (Photo above also for Martha and Bailey Basset!)

YEA!!!!! Run, run, run!!! YEA!!!!!!

I love to run. Oh. And you can see the western fence line in the background, and the other gate.

When we play with our toys with Mom, we usually play on the upper tier; because of the layout of the terrain, you sometimes can't see the fence! See how it disappears on the left side of this next photo:

That's my version of playing "Fetch". I love to run and chase after the toy, but I only bring it back part way. That helps Mom get more exercise! And here's one more photo -

Whee! Look at me - I'm FREE!

I'm not really free, but it looks like it, doesn't it? Maybe we have a magic disappearing fence?!?! Hee hee hee!

Thanks for a great comment, Sedona! And our thanks to the Meet the Breed bipeds for putting out some GREAT information that not only educates other bipeds about us, but can also help keep us Sibes safe!!!

Love,

Ammy

Camo Wubba!

Woo, everypup and everycat! It's me, Dave! Yesterday should have been called Wubba Wednesday, because that's how I spent part of the morning - playing with my very cool camo Wubba! Mom had walked and walked and walked the redheads, took Storm and me on a shorter walk, then decided I needed a bit more exercise. I proposed a good round of WUBBA! Here's how it went!

We did some of this:

Throw it, Mom! Throw it!

And some of this:

Here I come!

A bit of this:

Woo! Tuggy, tuggy, tug!

More of the above:

Me enjoying Wubba time!

And more of this:

Tired? Me? No way! Throw it again! Throw it again!

What great fun! And I was a bit tired afterwards. It was all I could do to play zoomies with Zim when I got in the house!

Luv,

Dave

Veteran's Day 2009

Today in the US, we celebrate Veteran's Day - a day to honor all of our service members, especially those who have served in combat.

Here at Ao4 HQs, we understand that freedom is not free. We thank our veterans for their selfless service, dedication to duty, and their courage. It is because of our men and women in uniform that we enjoy the great freedoms we have today.

May God bless our veterans, watch over them, and keep them safe.

The Army of Four

Dealing With the Puparazzi

Tail wags, dear readers, it's me - Stormy. That's right - the puparazzi. We can all relate. You all know our common plight - you're there taking a nap on Guard Duty in the bedroom, totally focusing on your mission ... when the puparazzi comes in and disturbs your peaceful slumber. I suffer from these photo ambushes, too. But you can take control of the situation! Here's a little "how to"!

Take the other day for instance. There I was, guarding the bed...

Zzzz... mmm, tuna ... salmon ... tilapia, mmm ... zzzz....

...when in comes the puparazzi.

Can I help you?

Oh, sure. I understand - I mean, I was doing a really good cute pose, but honestly - enough's enough!

Is she still there? I don't even want to look.

Me, rolling my eyes.

See what I put up with around here? Sheesh.

How would you like to see these pillows meet an early demise?

I sent Mom a mind-meld message that unless she wanted to see a little display of my handiwork rearranging the pillows, quilt, covers, etc., she might want to put the camera down and let me get back to my nap Guard Duty.

And that's how you get a little peace and quiet, pups and kits. Just remember - you are the ones in charge, not the puparazzi. Take control of the situation!

Tail wags (and happy birthday to the US Marine Corps!),

Stormy

Working For My Mom

Woo, everypup and everycat. It's me, Dave. As many of you know, I serve as my mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind. She's been incredibly busy in our Studio lately - which means I've been busy in there, too. She's been making bags like crazy (really exciting news to tell you soon reference one of them!), and is currently working on a really big project I'll tell you about eventually - and is re-writing a tutorial as she goes. Woo. And who has to make sure all the fabrics go together? That's right - me. Davy.

I told you about some of my duties last week; today I'd like to impart the importance of looking at things from different perspectives. Colors change in different lighting, different settings, and depending on how you look at them. So when Mom asks me to check things out for her, I have to view the fabs at different angles.

Looks good this way... let me try something else...

I like it from here, too.

I think some tummy rubs might help me see things more clearly...

Ah... sweet bliss!

Err... I mean...

Yeah, that looks real good, Mom.

That's for the tutorial she's doing. I don't think she'd be making much progress if I wasn't helping her.

We're back to work this afternoon. I better rest up. Have a great day, everypup and everycat.

Luv,

Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday - The Red & White Edition

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! Zim here, with another Serene Scenery Sunday. This week's theme - red and white! Let's get started!

We have a really cool Japanese Maple Tree by out front door. The colors have just been incredible this year! Here's a little collage I put together for you:

Aren't the reds intense? You can click that, if you'd like, to go to our FlickR site and see more.

Let's balance that out with some white; here's a look at our Mums:

And even more Mums:

We like these because they look like small snowballs - promises of cool things to come!

Let's get back to red! We've shown you our Burning Bush before, but once it sheds its gorgeous red leaves, it gets these vibrant red berries:

Aren't they cool? The birds really like them.

Did the red and whites help you feel serene? How about one more dose?

Me and Ammy

Ha roo roo roo! Have a serene Sunday!

Play bows,

Zim

Cat-ch up Caturday

Tail wags, all! It's me - Stormy, with a few miscellaneous things to share with you.

On behalf of the Ao4 and especially Zim, we'd like to thank our very beautiful and dear friend Huffle for presenting us with the Blogger Buddy Award!

We just love it and feel quite honored! A big "thank you and meow!" to Zimmie's bestest friend.

Speaking of "BFF"s, now that we can send photos with text messages on the iPhone, my sweet BFF Tia and I have been sending pix back and forth. Here I am admiring a portrait she sent me last week:

"Tia... you look so regal!"

I love that technology helps us keep in close touch with our friends!

In other news, Zim wanted his kit-cat pals to know he's made another friend in the neighborhood.

"Ha roo, kit-cat!"

He looks for him every time we pass that street! I'm so proud of my Zimmie for being so good with kitties!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tail wags,

Storms

Photo Finish Friday

Hi everypuppy and everycat. It's me, Ammy.

I'd like to take today's Photo Finish Friday to remind you that our troops need your support and your prayers, as do their families.

Please take a moment today to say a prayer for them.

Thank you.

Love,
Ammy

Fun in the Library

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! Guess who?

"Ha roo roo roo..."

No really, can you guess?!?

"Ha roo!"

Yep, it's me - Zim! Having some fun in the Library/Media Room.

"Wanna play, Mom?"

Play bows!

"Aw, c'mon! Aren't you going to chase me?"

Not right now? Fine. Hmm... there's a Kong over here on the big puppy bed; I'll play with that for a while.

Yep. Nothing beats relaxing with a Kong!

"I've got a funny feeling..."

Wow. Does anyone else feel like they're being watched?

"Hi Zimmie..."

Ha rooo! I knew I'd get somepuppy to play with me! Gotta go, guys!

Play bows,

Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Love,
Ammy

This One's For You!

Tail wags, dear readers! It's me, Stormy. As many of you may know, our very sweet friends Martha and Bailey, those lovely Bassets, are getting a bit fed up with being followed around by the camera. We certainly understand this, as we have the very same problem. When they called us all into action to be uncooperative for photos, I knew we here at Ao4 Headquarters were just the pups to help! We had only two challenges - getting the boys to not cooperate and downloading the pix from the camera before Mom deletes them!

I'm all about not cooperating for photos! In fact, as a heads up to newer readers, I taught an on-line class on this very subject. (The final post is here, with links back to the lessons.) Once I explained to the boys we were doing this for Martha and Bailey, they were all for it - and Dave even offered to pin Mom down so she couldn't delete our, as she calls them, "out-takes".

"Umm... yeah, I've got her, Stormzzzzzzzz......"

You've got to admire his work ethic, don't you?

So I plugged in the iPhone and downloaded these masterpieces. Martha and Bailey - this post is for you! First up, Zim and I:

"But Storm! But the camera..."

"Look away! Do it for the Basset Babes, Zimmie!"

Yes, if you're wondering, it was raining. That made not cooperating even better. Here are Dave and Ammy:

Dave and Ammy

I love how Ammy's walking out of the frame. An excellent touch, don't you think?

How about the rest of you? Do you stand with the Bassets? Show your support!

Tail wags,

Storms

Monday

It's... Monday.

Seriously.

Play bows,

Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday - The Snuggle Edition

Woo, everypup and everycat. Dave here with Serene Scenery Sunday. Storm said I could post whatever makes me feel serene, so...

Woo.

Luv,
Dave