Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave.  Are you ready for Serene Scenery Sunday?  I had a look around the gardens and this is how it made me feel:

Let's take a look at what's blooming and see if it has the same effect on you!  Ready?

Out front, the Mums are already busy exploding into blooms:

Mums!

They're a couple months early.  I think they didn't want to miss the best part of the Summer.  (And Mom says that yes, she did cut them back -- it's the first time she's remembered to and they went ahead and bloomed early anyway.  She says they listen about as well as Siberian Hu -- never mind.  I think she's been out in the sun too long.)

Around back, there is a lot to see!  Here is the biggest of the Purple Coneflowers:

Echinacea purpurea

Right beside those are the Starburst Ice Plants we planted this year.

Starburst Ice Plant

No special filters or enhancements -- that's the actual color!  Don't they look incredible?!?

On the side tier that sits above that part of the garden are the hot pink Echinacea whose name I couldn't remember before.  They are Pow Wow Wild Berry Echinacea and one of them is in bloom!

Mom shot that through the fence, zooming in with her iPhone.  She'll try to get a better picture when she scales the rocks to do some weeding.

While we're looking at pink stuff, check out the bloom on the newly planted RED Creeping Thyme:

Thymus praecox Coccineus

I think whoever wrote the description of those being RED could use my services as a Guide Dog for the Color Blind!  Woo.

Our daisies are blooming now, too!

Becky Daisies

Like the Mums and other stuff, they're early.  I hope they pace themselves!

Another of the Echinacea are blooming -- the Flame Thrower!!!

Who couldn't love something named "Flame Thrower"!!??!!  That's right up there with Dragon's Blood Sedum.  We think other blooms will have fuller petals; we're not sure.

The Rose of Sharon bush has blooms all over it now!

The regular rose bush is blooming, too!

I hope our garden pix helped bring a little serenity to your day.  Did it?  Here's what they did to Zim:

"I am totally in the Zone, Dave.  Totallyyyy..."

Woo.  Have a wonderful Sunday.

Luv,

Dave

Take Time To Relax!

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with my kid brother Zim.  Like us, many of you work straight through the weekend, but we wanted to remind you that it's Saturday.  So whether you're working inside ...

Zim, working in the Zzzz-zone

or outside ...

Me, Dave, working at getting some tummy rubs!

... remember to take some time to relax and recharge your batteries.

This has been a public service announcement, brought to you by the Ao4 Digest.  Woo.

Luv,

Dave

Tons of Photos Friday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim.  Rather than Photo Finish Friday, I have Tons of Photos for you this week.  I met up with a friend yesterday evening, and since Mom had the camera with her for a change, instead of "just" the iPhone, she snapped a bunch of pix.  Ready to see our little get-together?

Here we are!

"Meow!"
"Ha roo!"

Yep!  It's me and Fluffy Black Cat!  She lives next door and likes to come over here and hang out sometimes.  She's a pretty cool cat and I like it when we get to visit with each other.

I was confused last night, because she kept looking away while we were communing.  Like this:  

Fluffy Black Cat (FBC)

Hmm.  I tried to figure out what she was looking at ...

... and spotted the reason right in there between the row of Spirea and the Yew.  Can you see?  Let's zoom in!

The Other Black Cat (TOBC)

Another black cat!  I checked to make sure it wasn't my bestest friend Huffle Mawson and it wasn't her.  I didn't know who The Other Black Cat was!!!  FBC said she'd check it out, since I had her six.

"Meow.  I better go see if The Other Black Cat is a friend or foe!"

How brave!

"Be careful, Fluffy Black!  I've got your 6!"

I heard her tell TOBC to meet her by the corner of our house.  Like some kind of kit-cat showdown or something!

I was mesmerized, as you can imagine!  I wish I knew what they were talking about in there!

"So ... how do you think the 'Cats will do this year?"

Who knows?  Probably some kind of secret kitty-cat stuff.  

After they had their chat, they parted ways - FBC went home to her house and I didn't see where TOBC went.  I went on a quick walk, then when Mom went to open the garage door for us to go back in, something under the lilacs caught my eye!

Can you see her?  It's The Other Black Cat!  Let's zoom in!

"Meow, Zim.  Can I stay here for a while?"

Poor kit-cat looked mighty tired.  Of course, I said she was welcome to hang out here.

TOBC settling in for a little cat nap

All the kitties and bunnies and other friends seem to understand that our yard is a safe-zone for them.  They have my permission to seek refuge here and are under my protection once they enter.  I just hope Fluffy Black explained to The Other Black about not stomping Mom's flowers and stuff.

Play bows,
Zim

Transit of Venus

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  So ... did anyone else's bipeds get all excited about the transit of Venus event the other evening?  I have to say, our mom was pretty stoked about the whole thing.  I decided I'd help her with the whole viewing process.

For us, the show started just after 1700 hours.  We held off until about 1900 hours, then went outside to check the scene.

Mom pointed out that I was actually facing the wrong way - but I reminded her we should never look directly at the sun!  Saftey first, Mom!!!  I thought we should opt for the pinhole in a card method, projecting the image onto another surface.  Since we had no special equipment, it seemed the safest way to go.

We actually got incredible photos.  Mom shot some close ups, so you can really see the whole thing in detail - we got more than just the "black dot crossing the sun" that even the professionals got.  Are you ready to see what the transit actually looked like, close up and personal?  Here is a series of three shots as the planet passed in front of the sun.

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Tell me that wasn't amazing!!!

"Yeah, I'm your Venus!"

To paraphrase Shocking Blue, "He's got it!  Yeah, baby, he's got it!  I'm your Venus!"  Ha roo roo roo!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

How Refreshing!

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave.  When we take our mom on a walk, Zim and I  sometimes  often  usually  always like to have a little fun along the way.  The other day, it was quite warm out, so we decided to play a little joke on Mom.  One that we'd all enjoy.

There we were, just heading down the street like we do:

"Hey, Zim!  Do you see what I see?"
"Sure do, DaveDave!"

The sprinklers were on at the "house for sale" err... house.  No problem!  We're Siberian Huskies - you can always count on us to avoid water whenever possible!

"Let's just step over here so no one gets wet!"

See?  Mom trusted us to lead her out of the path of the water.  We veered on over so we could avoid getting sprayed ...

"Ha woo!"
"Gotcha, Mom!"

...then quickly pulled Mom right back into the line of fire - so to speak.  Ha woo.  We fooled her but good!

It was all in good fun and I'm sure she appreciated how refreshing the water was!  She kept saying, "Thank you, boys!  Thanks a lot!" and stuff like that.  In fact, she felt so refreshed, we got to go a bit further that she had planned on!

"Ha woo!  That was worth getting my feety-feet wet!"
"Hey, Mom!  That was pretty funny, huh?  Say ... you look a bit damp back there!  Ha roo roo roo!"

What a fun, refreshing walk!  And given that we got to go a bit longer, I'm sure Mom liked our little joke!  Right, Mom?  Mom?  ...Mom?  Woooo.  

Luv,

Dave

Are You Sure?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me ... Zim!

So... are you sure it's Monday?

"Really?  Monday?!!?"

Because it just doesn't feel like a Monday!

Now ...

Who's ready to play?!!?

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  Ready to take a look around the gardens and relax?

Let's start with an update!  Remember the Plume Grass (Erianthus Ravennae) Mom bought?  Right - the one that could get 14 feet tall!  Dad worked incredibly hard removing some dead things out back and Mom filled one of the gaps with the grass!

Erianthus Ravennae in front; Maiden Grasses in the rear

Mom put a couple Maiden Grasses that they split in there, too.  They will all be great screens beside our fence!

While Mom was watering the garden the other day, she was joined by a beautifully colored Monarch Butterfly:

I think it struck a very nice pose for her!

Just across the brick pathway from there are the Aunt Janet Day Lilies.  Here are two shots of those:

Hemerocallis Auntus Janeti

Another view of the Hemerocallis Auntus Janeti

The Stella D'Oro Day Lilies are still blooming, too.  Here's a great shot of one, complete with a bug!

Isn't the bug a nice touch?  Zim and I liked that part a lot.

Speaking of bugs -- and since it's Sunday and all -- how about a shot of another one of Mom's garden helpers?

That's right - a praying mantis!  What could be more apropos for Sunday?

This last garden shot isn't the best, but oh, if you could only stick your nose in there and smell it!  The honeysuckle is blooming:

Nothing smells quite like Summer as much as honeysuckle!  The aroma sends me and Zim straight to our serene places.

Speaking of which ... here's Zim in his Zen of Zim Zone:

...and here I am in one of my happiest places:

Me and my mom!

I hope you enjoyed this week's bit of serenity!

Luv,

Dave

2000th Post!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim, here with Dave!  Guess what?!!?  This is our 2000th post!  Two THOUSANDTH!!!  Can you believe it?  We've been blogging since way back in September of '06.  Just thinking about all of that work ...

Yeah.  We need to do some of this today.

Play bows,

Zim  (and luv from Dave!)

Photo Finish Friday - A Trip to the Ocean!

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave!  Like Zim told you yesterday, we've had a change in the weather - and cooler temps the other day meant a trip to the Kansas Ocean for us!  I thought I'd show you the highlights for Photo Finish Friday!  Are you ready?  Let's cross the trans-oceanic bridge ...

Me, Dave, on the trans-oceanic bridge!

... then hit the beach!

Mom asked Zim if he was enjoying our afternoon at the beach.  This is the response she got:

My kid brother and best friend, Zim.  At the Kansas Ocean.

I'd say that was a resounding 'yes', wouldn't you?

(Note that Zim and I were wearing our rather beachy-looking leashes!)

Here's how happy I was:

I was enjoying the ocean breezes blowing through my fur, and was taking in all the wonderful sights and sounds!  ... and smells!

"Zimmie!  Check this out!"
"Oh, wowzers!"

I think bipeds miss out on a lot of cool stuff sometimes.

We did some walking on the boardwalk:

On the boardwalk
Check out the huge waves in the ocean behind me!

... and did some walking on the beach:

"This is the best, isn't it, Zim?!?"
"You know it, Davy!"

Before we headed home, Mom took a series of shots of us boys up on the boardwalk.  Here's probably the best one:

Me and Zim at the Kansas Ocean

Mom used an app on her iPhone to make a really cool postcard, then enhanced it a bit in PSE9.  Here it is:

Zim thinks they'll sell like hotcakes in one of the quaint gift shops along the boardwalk!  Especially once he gets his sightseeing business off the ground!  Woo.

I hope you enjoyed going to the Kansas Ocean with us!

Luv,

Dave