Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and kit-cat pals!  It's me, Zim, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  I have lots to show you today, so let's get started.  I just know we'll find something in our garden to help you feel that inner peace!!

Up in our front yard, it gave Mom great joy to see our other new rhododendron starting to bud up!

Nova Zembla Rhododendron bud

A couple days later, this is what it looked like:

Umm... OK, to be honest, it gave me much more serenity to check to see if Fluffy Black Cat was over in her yard.

The peonies also finally budded up:

They're actually in bloom now, but for some reason Mom finds it hard to photograph long-stemmed heavy flowers with 30 mph winds. Go figure. We'll get some shots eventually!

Speaking of buds, around in the back yard, our rose bush has buds all over it!

Our Aunt Janet gave that to us, so we are happy to see it thriving!

Speaking of Aunt Janet, she also gave us our Yorktown Snow Flower Tree. Let's have a look at that:

It's hard to tell, but it's got the fringe-y snow all over it! Take a closer look:

Cool, huh?  Can you see the dark plants in the background with the pink blooms?  Those are the Wine and Roses Weigela.  They are in bloom now, as are the Red Prince Weigela and the Minuet Weigela.  (You can see all three at this link.)  Here's an up close and personal look at the Minuets:

Also in bloom this week are the last of our lilacs to bloom - the Miss Kims! Here they are, under our Purple Ash tree:

Should we go in for a snoof?

Don't you just want to stick your snooter in there and smell them?!?

Me, too!

I hope our little walk around the gardens helped bring a little serenity to your day!

Play bows,
Zim

Pest Control

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, SGT Zim.  As you may know, I've been concerned lately about an invasion by giant robot-looking bugs.  They're EVERYWHERE!  (That second post linked there was taken down by Blogger, so you might not be aware of how prevalent these things are!!!)

I know Dave's got my six, but it doesn't hurt to have lots of reinforcements.  I'm always up for recruiting more troops - especially those who might have special skills.  So imagine my surprise when Dave and I came home from a walk recently to see this truck parked in our driveway:

"American Pest Management, Inc.?  COOL!!!"

Imagine - new recruits showing up right on our doorstep!

"Hey, mister!  Are you here to join us in our fight against the giant bugs?"

Mom said they were just there for our regularly scheduled maintenance stuff, but it never hurts to ask!  I'll bet I can count on these guys to back us!

Play bows,
Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Woo, pups and kit-cats.  It's me, Dave.  Blogger sure has had a time of it over the past 24 hours!  Zim's post from yesterday has disappeared.  They say ("they" meaning Blogger) they're working on it, so hopefully it will show back up.  In the meantime, I thought I'd go ahead with Photo Finish Friday.

Mom did some pretty cool effects on two pictures this week.  She used a bunch of steps to add a "grunge" look to a shot of me and a shot of Zim. I'm not sure I get the whole thing, but here's the one of me:

Umm... I wasn't up there waiting to ambush Zim or anything. Well... OK, maybe I was. Woo.

And here's the one of Zim:

I think his came out better. Can you see him up there? He was helping Mom in the garden. You know - supervising and all.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Luv,
Dave

The Invasion!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  SGT Zim here again, with startling news about the invasion by those bug-type things!!!  Click here to refresh your memory of me telling you about my first sighting.  I've been keeping my eyes peeled for more of those things - and sure enough, the other day when Dad and I were out on morning patrol by the Kansas Ocean...

There I was, checking out the local real estate scene ...

"Do they have an open house coming up or anything?"

It looked like a prime location - I'm sure from the upper floor you can see the Kansas Ocean!

"Yeah... I might be interested..."

Then something caught my eye at the new house they're building across from the ocean itself! I had to get a better look!

"WOWZERS!!!"

Can you see it there, to the left of the house?!?!? It's camouflaged by those trees, but you can just make it out!  It's red... and it's another one of those giant bugs!!! Dad and I walked over to the other side of the house, the ocean side, to investigate! Here's a better look at it:

We're being inVADED!!! Thank goodness Dave's healing up and he can help me take these things on!

In the meantime, while we were by the ocean...

"Dad, really.  We should buy the ocean!  Once we've stopped the invasion and all."

It's still for sale!  I really think I should buy it, don't you?

Play bows,
SGT Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

What's Black and White and Aqua All Over?

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind (GDFTCB).  Mom and I have been working real hard down in the Studio.  Remember I showed you last week what we were doing with the black and white jelly roll?  We have a few of the blocks together now and I can give you a little preview of what it's going to look like!  Check it out:

Black and white and aqua all over

It'll be big, real big, before we're done.  And I WILL get Mom to add that purple I showed you!

As you can imagine, it's taken a lot out of me to do all that color work.

Thankfully, Mom lets me rest in between projects. Whew.

Luv,
Dave, GDFTCB

PS: I'm wearing my leash so I wouldn't race/fly/jump down the stairs and re-injure myself!  I was already hard at work before Mom could unsnap it.  Woo.

As I Was Saying...

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  SGT Zim here, back with what I saw the other day!  Remember I showed you that I was keeping an eye on it from Ao4 Headquarters?  That's right.  Keeping my eye on ... well, let's back up.

There I was, out on patrol with my dad.  It was just the two of us, as Dave had slightly injured his shoulder/neck and couldn't do any PT (physical training) for a while.  (He's OK now!)  Everything was going just great... I was heading up this grassy hill by the Giant's castle, when something caught my eye!

"Great Balto!  Is that what I think it is?!?!"

We had to go investigate! I had to know more!  Dad took me closer and I got a better look.

Can you see what it is now?!?! Let's creep in a little further!

Just as I had thought! It's ... it's one of those bugs from Starship Troopers! You know, one of these:

It was just Dad and me. We would have attacked it, but we needed reinforcements.

"I'll come back for you another day, Bug!!!"

But in the meantime, I'm keeping a close watch on it! AND I'm looking for more. These things multiply like cockroaches!

Play bows,
SGT Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave, here with Serene Scenery Sunday! This week, one of Mom's favorite sets of bushes are in bloom. They always make her smile! They're right by the door we go in and out of all the time - here, take a look!

Me (Dave) and Zim by the Dwarf Korean Lilacs

Aren't they pretty? I like the color. Zim likes the way they smell AND that his kit-cat pals hide out under them. He likes to stick his snooter in there so he goes around smelling like lilacs all day. That makes Mom hug him even MORE, and she buries her nose in his fur and goes, "Mmm.... Zimmie, you smell soooooo good!" and she's all serene and stuff.

Another favorite is in bloom this week, too - the Lily of the Valley!

Mom carried Lily of the Valley in her wedding bouquet, so I'm told, and she really likes these. We also have some very, VERY special PINK Lily of the Valley:

Our really nice friends Maggie and Mitch, the coolest Airedales ever, sent us those! (See the full story here!)  Take another look:

M & M Lily of the Valley

We just love them to pieces! And they remind us of Maggie and Mitch and their mom, so they make all of us smile!!! Thanks for being a part of our garden, M&M!!!

Here's something else that went on in our yard this week:

"Hi Mister.  Whatcha doing?  Can I help?  Does my mom know you're doing that?"

If me and Zimmie had done that, there would be lots of that "nodiggingnodiggingnodigging!" thing going on, but this seemed to give great serenity to both Mom and Dad. It was something to do with getting rid of bare patches and Yellow Nutsedge and putting new sod down. I don't know.  What I do know is that Mom and Dad are happy, there's some really pretty new grass on that part of the lawn, and me and Zim aren't allowed on it.  Yet.  Woo.

I hope you enjoyed Serene Scenery Sunday!  Wherever you are, I hope you find a little something to make you feel nice and peaceful.

Luv,
Dave

Watching...

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  I made a rather startling discovery on a recent adventure.  I'll tell you all about it Monday, but for now ... I can see it from Ao4 HQs and I'll be watching.

Can you see it out there? Here, try this:

Oh, yeah.  You can bet I'm going to keep my eye on that thing.  I mean ... how many of you have read the book or seen the movie Starship Troopers?  You may remember I was named after a certain very cool character in the book/movie - SGT Zim (click here, please)!  And so it's only natural that I have a thing about ... bugs.  (Please follow those hyperlinks for further explanation!)

Like I said, I'll explain more Monday.  In the meantime, I'll be watching that ... thing!

Play bows,
SGT Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave, here with Photo Finish Friday!  Mom learned a new technique this week that is supposed to give a colored pencil sketch look to a photo.  She's not 100% in love with how this came out, but it's still interesting.

Zim in colored pencil.  Sort of.

The next two are part of our "best friends" series! Mom just snapped these with her iPhone, but we really like them! Here we are, Zim and me, out doing one of the things we love best - walking!

My best friend and the best kid brother a guy could ask for - Zim - and me.  Dave.

That was on the way home from somewhere. We very seldom march in formation on the way out.

Here we are in the living room doing another thing we really like - hanging out until Mom says those magic words ...

"Zim!  Did Mom just say what I think she said?!?!"

Yep.  Those magic words:  "Who's ready for Supper-Dupper Time?!!?"  I love hearing that!

That's a wrap for Photo Finish Friday.  Woo.  Now that I mentioned it ... I wonder how much longer 'til Supper-Dupper Time....???

Luv,
Dave

Even Bully Cats Need Love

Ha roo, pups and cool cats. It's me - Zim! As many of you guessed yesterday, I was at my lookout post in the breakfast room because of one of my kit-cat pals. Maude The Bully Cat, to be more precise. She's been coming into our yard lately, then prowls around under our deck.

Yesterday, while Mom was out on the side steps watering plants, I saw Maude come out from under the deck and run over to Mom!  THEN... I saw my mom PET her!  She seemed real friendly.  Oh, sure... it bothered me at first, but then I thought the poor thing is lonely!  She's outside away from people all day, the poor Bully Cat.  I'm glad Mom was there to give her some loving.

Having said that, Dave and I deserve extra ear scratchies and tummy rubs, don't you think?  Maybe some extra Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats for me, a cookie or two for my brother...

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

GDFTCB Hard at WORK!

Woo, everypup and everycat, it's me ... Dave.  I've been working so hard down in the Studio lately!  I thought I'd show you a few pix so you'll know just how dedicated I am to my job as Mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind (GDFTCB).

One of our projects is a bag for a long-time friend of Mom's.  (They've known each other since they were biped puppies!)  She likes this one fabric we have with matryoshka dolls on it, so we're building a bag around that.  It's a challenge because it's kind of different colors, but here's a look at what I had at one point:

Not all of those are in the final mix, but you can tell how much I like the combo. Especially the BDUs (battle dress uniform).

Remember the black and white jelly roll I showed you? We worked with that a lot last week, too. Here's one of my favorite combos:

"Black and white and PURPLE!!!"

I liked it so much, I gave Mom a high five!

"High five for the purple, Mom!"
Sorry the color is off!

Our selection process went on and on and on! Zim got concerned and came in to check on me:

"Dave!  You OK, buddy?  Maybe you should take a break!"

He really is the BEST brother a guy could ask for!

Mom and I did more looking, and I let her know which ones I liked:

"These ones!"

Sadly, we didn't have enough of those! We'll put them in something else.

Then we found one I really liked!

"Ooooh....."

You might be asking, "But what about the purple?"  Check it out:

We're using BOTH! Woo.

I'll keep you posted on our project.

Luv,
Dave, GDFTCB

Meeting Monday Head On

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me Zim.  The best way to face a Monday is to stare it in the face and meet it head on.

Also, if you look at your bipeds this way, there will more than likely be a treat in the mix for you.

I'm a Siberian Husky and I'm here to help.

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats. It's me, Zim, here with Serene Scenery Sunday. Today, I thought we'd take a walk around our garden and see what's going on, OK? Let's go find that inner Zen of Zim!

Remember the new PJM Rhododendron we watched helped Mom and Dad plant out front? Here's a close-up of one of those blooms:

Cool color, don't you think? They aren't in bloom any more; we had some pretty wicked storms rip through that took care of that. The high winds also made a lot of pinecones drop. Here's one of them:

I have no idea why Mom took that. Let's have a look around the side of the house, where I like to hang out with my kit-cat pals.

The Mohican Viburnum are in bloom! (That's the tall bush in the middle -- that one is about 6 feet tall!) I showed you those buds a couple weeks ago when they were still green - and now look at them!

Those blooms last a really long time!

Remember that sort of dirt area by the stairs? Mom planted some Dragon's Blood Sedum in there.

They are supposed to spread all over and later on will have bright red flowers on them.  They'll stay real low.  Mom is really happy with them.   Me and Dave just like the name "Dragon's Blood"!  How cool!

OK... let's go see what we can see on the lower deck, OK? You can usually find a shady, cool spot to relax - or a nice sun puddle to soak up some warmth. And over here in this corner...

...you can smell the Juddi Viburnum! I showed them to you when they were about to pop open - and look at them now!

I wish you could smell them; they have a beautiful scent.

I hope you feel nice and relaxed now. Have a Serene Sunday!

Play bows,
Zim