Is That What I Think It Is?!?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  So there we were, out walking Mom and Dad this morning ...

"Maybe we'll get a better view of them up at the top of this hill!"
"Right!  C'mon, Mags!"

... when Cam and I saw something truly remarkable!

"Just right up here!"
"Let's pose at the top; maybe Mom can get a shot of them with her iPhone!"

Can you see what we were talking about?  Out on the horizon ... just above Cammie's head on this next shot:

"Oooh, that breeze feels nice!"
"It's almost ... almost like what I'd imagine a mountain breeze would be like!"

That's right!  MOUNTAINS!!!  Right here in Kansas!

"This is a momentous occasion!"
"I'm so happy!  Maybe we could take up skiing!"

Mom said it was really a storm out hugging the western skyline, but it sure looked like a mountain range to us!!!

"Yeah, well, it COULD have been mountains!"
"I'm not so sure it isn't, Mags!"

You never know. Once upon a time, we didn't even have an ocean in Kansas, but we most certainly do now! Maybe we're getting our own mountain range, too! I'll keep you posted!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cam and Mags

Is It Still Shark Week?

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I hopped up on the big bed yesterday afternoon to get a little rest, when ...

".......click here........"
"Is it just me, or does anyone else hear the theme from Jaws?"

Is it still Shark Week? Just wondering.

Cammie!

Walk This Way

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie!  Yesterday morning, bright and early, Maggie and I took Mom on a nice walk, just like always.  Only, when we got to this one corner, Mom wanted to go straight and I said, "No, I want to go right."  We all know who wins the battle of wills around here.

"Oooh, cool!  I didn't think we were going this way today!"
"Walk this way, Mom!"
"Sigh.  Got it, Cam."

It was very enjoyable. And when we got to where we'd normally turn right or left, I said, "No, let's walk this way!" and so we kept going up the hill. That led us to this pretty view:

"Look at THAT, Mags!"
"Wowzers!!!"

Neither of us girls had been there before, but Zim had told me about it -- it's Jellystone Park!!! Isn't that exciting!?!  Sadly, neither Yogi nor BooBoo were anywhere in sight.

After we watched Old Faithful for a bit, we headed back to the big road and crossed at the light. It's really fast, so no dilly-dallying!

"Hustle up, Mom!"
"Hurry, everyone!  Hurry!"

By this time, Mom had turned choosing the route over to me completely. I opted to walk behind the Fire House.

"We haven't gone this way in quite a while!"
"I know!  Isn't this great?!?"

As you can see, there is a nice trail back there.

Once we got around this bend ...

... we saw a fireman out having a cup of coffee. No photos of him, but he was very polite and said we were, too. (For the record, I'm fairly certain he meant me and Maggie.)

It was a great walk - and I loved choosing the route! Do you ever get to pick where you go?

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  At this time of the year, we would normally put up a post showcasing parts of our gardens, or birdies, or something like that.  But with as hot as it's been lately, we wanted to show you what truly makes us feel serene -- a couple photos from this very morning.

Let's jump right in -- literally!

"The water's nice and cold, Mom!  This is GREAT!"
"This feels so good after our walk!!!"

Nothing beats sinking your feety-feet into some cool water after you put in a few miles!

"Dig dig dig dig dig!!!"
"Thanks, Mom!!!  ❤️"
"Anything for you two, Cam. ❤️" 

I hope your Sunday has been as serene as ours!

Cammie!

Selfie Saturday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Mom went to download the photos off her iPhone the other day, and this is the first one that showed up:

What can I say? If I'm going to get better at taking selfies, I need to practice, right?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Snooter Resting

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other morning, while it was still relatively cool out, Cam and I went out on the deck with Mom to relax after our walk.

At first, we hung out in the inner deck:

"What's shakin', Cam?  Is Tao outside?"
"No ... just birdies."

Watching birdies is almost as good as staring at the neighbor!  I got comfy - and practiced the fine art of Snooter Resting:

"Good one, Maggie!"
"Thanks, Cam!"

Our great-brother Zim was aces at this and I am happy and proud to carry on the tradition!

I got bored in the inner deck after a bit and thought I'd move on.

"OK, Mags."
"Don't miss me too much, OK?"

I checked to see if I could go on the lower deck, but the gate was shut.

"Rats!"
"Where?"

I explained to Cam that I meant that figuratively.  Oops.

I did a quick scan of the area ...

"Not much going on out here, either."
"Zzz..."

... then decided to do some Snooter Resting out there, too!  This is the Elevated Snooter Rest:

"This ... is ... a ... tough one!"

Definitely a challenging pose, but I did it!!!

"YAY!!!"

I think Zimmie would be proud of me!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

The Pool Is OPEN!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Great news - the pool here at Ao4 Headquarters has FINALLY opened for the season!

As Mom filled it up yesterday morning, I dove right in and got busy:

Me, splishin' and a-splashin'!!!

For some reason, it doesn't fill as quickly when I help, but I can't help myself -- I just get so excited!!!

Cam came in and helped, too:

"Oh, nice form, Maggie!"
"Thanks, Cam!  I really DIG this pool!"

Actually, she pretty much just admired my technique and stood there to cool off!

Here's a video of my reaction when I discovered it was the first day of pool season - and Cam and me playing Queen of the Pool!

If you experience any difficulties viewing, please click here to view on YouTube

Has your pool season started?  Do you love it as much as I do?  I think it's a BLAST!!!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

How To Cool Off Your Bipeds

Hello, everyone. It's me, Cammie! We're expecting a heat index today of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, according to our local weather people. For our international readers who use the "C" type of thingy, that translates to "mighty hot"! Anyway, so while Maggie and I were on our morning walk, we thought we'd do Mom and Dad a big favor and help them cool off. Here's how we did it:

To watch on YouTube, please click here.

If your bipeds get hot on a walk, we heartily recommend trying this out! And ... it will help you cool down, too!

Stay cool, friends!

Cammie!

Independence Day 2016

From all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters, we'd like to wish our fellow Americans a happy Independence Day!

"Let's celebrate our FREEDOM!"
"And those who fought for it - and continue to do so today!"

"What a great country we have!"
"God bless our great nation!"

"0900 and I'm starting to hear fireworks again..."
"Time to head inside, everyone!"

Stay safe, stay cool, and may God continue to bless the United States!!!  Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Mags, Cam, and our bipeds

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  This week, for Serene Scenery Sunday, I thought I'd just take a stroll and photo shoot around the back gardens.  It's so peaceful there - want to join me?  I'll wait for you under the Amur Maples!

"Ready to go?"

If it's sunny out, you can always find shade under there! Let's head down the retaining wall and stop by the Wildflower Garden!

"And STAY out!"

Sorry.  There was a bunny in our garden.  I shooed him over into the next-door neighbor's vegetable garden.  He'll be much more serene over there.  And Mom will be more serene with him over there, too.

Let's head up to the Friendship Garden to see what's going on up there!

"Hey!  The Beth Coneflower is looking GOOD!"

"That makes me happy!"

Do you know what else makes me happy?

"Daisies!!!"

Daisies always make us smile.  You can tell how TALL they are this year!  Oh!  And see the two plants behind me, down on the botton tier?  They're GIGANTIC!  Those are the Maximilian Sunflowers!  Mom put them in this Fall, so we'll see our first blooms in a month or so.

Let's jump back up on the top tier and walk down the wall a bit.

"Heeeeeeeeeere Lizard, Lizard, Lizard!!!"

I thought I'd do a little hunting along the way.  Mom saw one of the Great Plains Skinks this week, so I thought I'd look for him.  You know.  Just to say, "Hello."

Moving right along ...

Let's head inside, before we get too hot. One more pose?

Me, striking a pose

I hope you enjoyed walking around the back gardens with me!  Have a wonderful, serene Sunday everyone!

Cammie!

Big Plans

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Does anyone have any big plans for the weekend?  Cam and I are planning to do a bit of this:

Me and Cam

Followed up by a bit of this:

"Oh.  Oh, yeah.  That feels good!"
"Zzz..."

Yeah. Definitely more of this:

"Mmmm... so nice!  Awesome plan!"

Whatever your plans are, I hope you have a great weekend!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Flower Friday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  We are joining with our friends over at Dory's Backyard once again this week for Flower Friday.  Mom went to the Gardens at Kansas State University last weekend, and we thought we'd share some of her photos with you.  Ready to take a look?

There were tons of different varieties of Coneflowers in bloom!

Can you see who was lurking behind those ones? Let's zero in a bit!

That's right, the wildcat we showed you yesterday - and a friend of his, too! We're glad Mom got out alive!  Whew!

There were also dozens of different varieties of roses; Mom said it smelled incredible! Here's a peachy colored one that she really liked:

There were also too many varieties of Daylilies to even count! Here are a couple:

And lastly, one more Lily:

We hope you enjoyed our tour around the Garden at KSU! To see more of the photos Mom took, please click here to visit our album on FlickR.

Cammie!