Photo Finish Friday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave!  I thought I'd show you some highlights from the week for Photo Finish Friday.  Sound good?  Let's take a look at some of the more outstanding events Zim and I shared!

First - did Zim mention that after my nap the other day, Mom cracked open a cold, juicy watermelon!?!?

"Sure... leave the room.  You can trust us, Mom.  Really."
"Zim.  Dad's standing right THERE!"

We waited very patiently and politely until Mom cut us each a little bite.  For the record, I'm not sure if Dad sat first before he got his taste.  Hmm...

We also did a lot of this, early in the day, over the course of the week:

Me and my kid brother Zimmie

Notice I'm not wearing the harness?  We had a deluge the other night and Mom took it off so it wouldn't get soaking wet.  I'm doing so well in just my collar, that we're giving it a go.  (Shh!  Don't tell my vet!!!)

We also did plenty of one of my favorite things:

Yep - watched TV together!  I forget what was on...

The early mornings are still cool enough for coffee on the deck!

"Zim, there's a grey and white cat walking through our yard..."

"Yeah... that's White Socks.  I told him he could hang out here.
Hey, White Socks!" 

Mom didn't get a picture of White Socks.  He's even more elusive than The Limestone Cat.  She just wasn't fast enough on the draw.

Zim decided he and I should go to Stonehenge for the big Summer Solstice thing.

"Look, Zim!  There it is!  Stonehenge!"

According to some of the news reports we saw/read, some people claim it was raining at Stonehenge.

"Clearly those bipeds didn't go to the REAL Stonehenge, Dave!"

They need Zim as their navigator!!!

Those are a lot of the highlights from our week, as captured by Mom's iPhone.  Oh ... one more thing ...  did I mention she cracked open an icy cold watermelon for us?!?

"Hi, Mom.  How's tricks?  Don't you need to do something in the other room?"
"Hi, Dad.  Whatcha watching'?..."

Do we look any more trustworthy via special effects?  Ha woo.

I hope you had as much fun this week as we did!

Luv,
Dave

Me?!!?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats, it's me - Zim!  So there I was, guarding the dining room yesterday afternoon...

"I'm sooooo bored..."

...when Mom saw me.  Dave was getting some much needed rest in the other room and she didn't want me to wake him up.  Something about me finding my own entertainment not being quite restful to everyone else in the house.  I have no idea what she means by that.  Anyway, she seemed to understand just what I needed and whispered those words I love to hear ... "Psst!  Zim!"

"Me?!!?"

When she does that "Psst!" thing, I just know she's being sneaky and that it means something fun!  I dashed over and followed her into the garage.

"Car ride?!?  Can I drive?"

She said she'd drive but that I could navigate.  Cool!  I navigated us straight over here:

"This is what I'm talking about!"

Can you tell where we went?!?  Look in the background -- it's the transoceanic bridge!  That's right -- since I was navigating, I directed Mom over to the Kansas Ocean!

"Ahh!  Feel that breeze!"

It was a tad breezy, as you can tell from my fur, and it just felt GREAT!!!

Mom did a special effects thing on her iPhone:

Pretty cool, huh?  I felt very retro.

I was surprised there weren't any tourists visiting - you'd think now that it's Summer, everyone would head to the Kansas Ocean!

All the more for me to enjoy, I guess!

When I got home and cooled down a bit, Dave and I helped Mom slice up a watermelon.  Mmm!  Nothing beats icy cold watermelon after a trip to the ocean!  I sure wish all of you could have joined us!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Luv,
Dave

A Post About ... Posting

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  So ... there we were yesterday afternoon,  just snoozing in the  on Guard Duty in the living room ...

"More chest scratchies, Mom?"

... when Zim asked me what I was going to post about today.  Me?!?  I thought it was his turn!

"Are you sure, Zim?"
"Yeah, Dave.  I've gone about a zillion times in a row.  I'm tapped out, bro!"

Oh.  He was right, of course.  But ... I wasn't feeling overly creative!

"Zim?  Hey, Zim?!?  Maybe we could do a post together!  Zim?"
"Zzzzzz..."

I think he was fresh out of ideas, too.  Do you guys ever have a hard time deciding what to post about?  I've got to go put my thinking cap on.  In the meantime, enjoy the special effects photos!

Luv,

Dave

Monday Musings

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  It's going to be another hot one out there today - we're expecting temps to hit near to 100℉ (about 37 or so ℃ for our international readers) with plenty of humidity along for the ride.  So ... what to do today?

"What to do... what to do..."

I could just lay around and daydream about snow.

"Ahh... snow... sweet snow..."

Sounds like a good plan.  But this morning, before the heat sets in ...

"Hey, Zimmie!  I like this better than your daydreams!"
"Yeah!  Me, too, Dave!"

...it's time to have a little fun!  Keep cool, friends!

Play bows,
Zim

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Mom went a bit overboard this week, taking pix in our garden and along our walking routes.  She said they made her feel very serene, so I'm going to cut with the chit-chat and post the pix of posies.  Ready to take a look around?

How about a couple big slices of Kansas for starters?

Kansas Sunflower

Kansas Sunflower

Mom was trying out a new (to her) app on her iPhone.  It made her happy.  So did the giant sunflower!

Here are some Prairie Coneflowers:

Ratibida columnifera (Prairie Coneflower)

They're pretty cool-looking, aren't they?  I tried to get a taste, but Mom said that wasn't in the cards. Apparently it's OK if these guys sample the goods:

Coneflower and bumble bee

Black-Eyed Susan and friend
(It made Dave happy that they are color-coordinated!)

...but not me.  That's OK.  I helped Mom ID a plant she's been trying to figure out for a while:

"Oooh!  Fluffy flowers!"

I knew all along it was Gooseneck Loosestrife, but no one asked me.  (The mom of my Valentines is the one who pegged it!  Ha roo to Ruby, Sprite and Holly's mom!!!  For more views, you are welcome to view the set at this link.)

Moving back to our own garden ...

Mums.  In June.

Don't get our mum started about the Mums blooming already.  It makes her leave the serenity zone.

Our Russian Sages are all young - it's the first time we're growing any - so they're still quite small.  They do have flowers, though:

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)

Mom's growing another variety called Perovskia Lacey Blue, but it's not really looking so hot right now.  What is looking hot is the Flame Thrower!

Flame Thrower Echinacea

Let's get up close and personal with some Becky Daisies, too.  

Leucanthemum super bum (Becky Shasta Daisy)

That whole "please don't eat the daisies" thing doesn't apply to everyone.  Check out this guy:

Tip du jour:  If you're walking around the garden with your mom, don't try to pounce butterflies that are on posies.

Extra shot of the daisies, just to make the post REALLY long

Both Rose of Sharon varieties are in bloom:

Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon)

Ditto (only a different variety)

And throwing its petals into the "let's bloom super early this year" ring are the Crape Myrtles!

Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle)

Behind that, up on the first wall you see, is one of our new Lavender plants!  We'll fill you in on that another time - it's another "first time we're growing it" thing.  Here's another look at the Crape Myrtle:

Crape Myrtles

In the background, you can see a Fountain Grass sticking up, some of the Magic Carpet Spirea, some Becky Daisies, and our Yorktown Snowflower tree (it leans to the left).  Oh.  And our King's Choice Elm and the neighbors' Weeping Willow.  They do a lot of great screening.

Last, but not least, since it's Father's Day -- check out who helped Mom with the watering the other day!

Happy Dad's Day, Dad!!!
And Mom says thanks for helping her water!

We hope you have a serene Sunday!  And happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Play bows,

Zim

Zoomies, Anyone?

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim! Up here!

"Ha roo!"

Who wants to come over for a round of zoomies?  The track goes something like this:  around the dining room table, through the living room and into the bedroom (jumping all the way over the queen-sized bed like I like to do is extra credit and extra fun!), back into the living room, up the steps to the catwalk. Strike a pose while you're up there, then run back into the living room.  Repeat, repeat, and repeat!  There is also an added bonus for whoever can get closest to the dining room hutch without knocking anything over.  Mom LOVES that part - she gets so excited about it!  Now -- who's coming over?!?  The more, the merrier.  And don't worry, my mom won't mind!

Play bows,
Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me - Zim!  Could you figure out where I was in the picture from Wordless Wednesday?  Our very cool friend Nora nailed it -- I was at the Top of the World!!!  I had so much fun walking around up there exploring everything that Mom didn't take many photos of me - I was busy with my head down, snoofing all the great smells up there!  I did have a couple more I thought I'd share with you for Photo Finish Friday, though!

Here I am, heading down the road:

It is a great place to explore!  So many cool smells, amazing vistas, lots of birdies singing ... it's got to be one of my favorite places to go!

Mom snapped this portrait real fast with her iPhone:

Most of the rest of the pix are of wildflowers.  Hey, if letting Mom take pix of flowers means a longer adventure for me, I'm all for it!  We had a blast!

Oh.  And if any of you are thinking, "Poor Dave!  Didn't he get to have any fun?" I'll leave you with the following photo.  Mom took this when we pulled up at the house:

Dad-Dave Time!
(Special effects via PSE9)

That's right - he got to have special one-on-one time with Dad!  He said he had a really good time, too! Us guys both having tons of fun - now that's what I call a great Photo Finish Friday!  I hope you capped the week off on a happy note, too!

Play bows,

Zim

US Army Birthday and Flag Day 2012!

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  Zim and I were kind of surprised this morning - we went on our walks, had breakfast, then went on another walk - just like normal.  But then Mom said, "Hey, boys, let's go out front!"  I don't want to say we had other things to do, but it was just a bit unusual.

Instead of doing something fun like going on another walk or playing with toys or something, Mom asked us to sit on the front porch and look at the camera.  This is what we gave her:

I'm doing neither.  Zim is only sitting because he went on a much longer first walk of the day than I did and he was a bit tired.

That's a Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum') in the pot, if anyone is wondering.  It's an annual here, or Mom would have ten thousand of them.

So then, Mom reminded us that it's the 237th birthday of the US Army!!!  We decided to get a bit more cooperative, given the big day!

Mom said it was OK if I stood, since I was looking at the camera and smiling!  We got a treat out of the deal.  I'm sure the treat had nothing to do with us being a tad more focused on our mission at hand.  Really.  Happy birthday, US Army!!!

The soldiers in the poster above aren't smiling at the camera; I hope they got a treat anyway!  (Mom said there's a good chance they'll get cake.)

It's also Flag Day here in the US, the anniversary of us adopting our flag back in 1777!!!  Zim and I also posed by our flag:

Zim and I look like we're defending the colors, don't we!!??!!  Nobody messes with our flag!  Nobody!

Oh.  Yeah.  We aren't sitting or looking at Mom.  In totally unrelated news, she had run out of treats by the time she took that photo.

Happy birthday to the US Army!  And happy Flag Day!  Fly those colors high!!!

Luv,
Dave

Wordless Wednesday

Play bows,
Zim

Limestone Cat!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats!  It's me, Zim!  So... there we were, out on a walk yesterday morning ... just me, Dave, and Mom.  We turned the corner to head home and I froze.  I mean I froze and refused to move kind of froze.  Mom knows that can only mean one thing in my case - I've spotted one of my kit-cat friends!

Some of my feline friends I see fairly regularly - like Fluffy Black Cat and Callie Co Kitty.  But there's one neighborhood pal I only see on rare occasions -- the Limestone Cat!  (New readers, please check out the links here, here, and here for other posts about him!)  Limestone is a fairly elusive guy - in fact, Mom has never been able to get a picture of the two of us together!  (Contrary to popular opinion, Mom's hand does not have an iPhone or camera glued to it.  Ha roo roo roo.)  But yesterday ... yesterday she was armed with the iPhone and she was able to shoot this:

Can you see him up there near the top?  Right - just to the right of the white flag.  Oh.  Hmm.  Yeah.  A white flag.  Right near the thing that looks like a mole tunnel.  Hmm.  You don't think Limestone conquered a mole colony or something, do you?  No wonder I haven't seen him lately - he's been one busy kit-cat!

Anyway - so there we are!  Yeah, yeah, technically, it's my shadow ... but we're at least sort of in the same photo!  It sure was great to see him.  I love meeting up with old friends!

Play bows,

Zim

Toy Time!

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me, Dave.  The title of today's post might have given it away, but do you know what makes me get this look on my face?

That's right - TOY TIME!!!  I just love one-on-one time playing with my mom and a toy!  That's my "C'mon, Mom!  Throw it!" stance.  Don't I look ready for anything!?!?  Let's PLAY!!!

"GOT IT!!!"

Oh, did we ever have a blast!  Mom tossed it a bunch of times for me and I caught it and SQUEAKED it (that's the BEST part!) and ...

"Yes, Mom?  But it's not Serene Scenery Sunday day.
...
OH.  OK."

Mom scaled our retaining walls with the Nikon to get a couple good shots of that crazy pink Echinacea I told you about yesterday.  She promised me a little something extra if I'd let her go ahead and post them now.  Take a look!

Pow Wow Wild Berry Echinacea

Pow Wow Wild Berry Echinacea

I have to say, they ARE better than the shot she took through the fence with her iPhone.  And now ... about that promise, Mom?

Tuggy, tuggy, tug!!!

I LOVE playing tuggy-tug!!!  Especially when my toy SQUEAKS!!!

I hope you get some special toy time with your biped today!  It's the BEST!!!  ...besides walkies... and snuggle time ... and playing with your brother ... and ...

Luv,
Dave