Vacuuming

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  As many of you know, I love to help with the vacuuming!  I love keeping pace with Mom as she goes back and forth, pointing out things she may have missed, doing cord management for her -- and YES, getting vacuumed myself, if we use the vac with the attachments.  A little slice of Heaven on Earth!  As unbelievable as it may sound, sometimes Mom tries to vacuum without me.  Oh, I know - she probably just doesn't want me to overdo.  But take last week or so for example ...

I was settling in for a good chew on my GoughNuts toy, when I heard the unmistakable call of the Oreck upright.  I looked all over for Mom and finally found her on the stairs to the upstairs!

"Mom!  Why are you vac-ing without me?!?"

She said something about not enough room on the stairs for both of us and the vacuum.  Please!

"Mom, there's plenty of room!  Can't I help?"

Look at that face!  Do you think she could say "no" to that face?  Ha!

Anyway, we gave the stairs and the upstairs guest rooms a good cleaning, then Mom took the vac back downstairs to put it away.

"Hey, Mom.  Forget something?"

That's right.  She forgot to put the safety gate back across the stairs.  (We can only access as far as the landing normally.  Something about not trusting someone to not go flying off the catwalk -- check the 5th and 6th photos down at this link and you'll understand what I'm talking about.  Come on - she trusted Zimmie and Dave and everySibe but not me?!?  I need to see if I can change that.  Anyway ...)

She called me a few times, but of course, I didn't come down.  I mean - I'm a Siberian, need I say more?  (OK, here's more - think "missing link between dogs and cats.").  And so ...

"Margaret Thatcher!"
"Ha roo!"

I love it when Mom uses my full name.  It usually means something really fun is going on!  Yep.  I added even more fun to our vacuuming for the day!  No need to thank me - that's what I'm here for!

Do you and your bipeds have this much fun when you vacuum?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

Make The Most Of It

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Most of our snow, lovely snow, is gone today, but I did want to share a short video with you from the other day.  It was about 10 million degrees below zero, so we just went for a short walk with Mom and Dad.  For some reason, they don't enjoy this kind of weather.  Yeah.  Go figure.  Anyway, they said we could go on a quick one.  And I mean like no harnesses or anything, we just hooked up and went.  I thought we should make the most of it, so even though it was a very short one ... well ... here's a vid of the action:

To view on YouTube, please click here!

Somebody's got to liven things up - right?!?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

This Morning's Walk

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  This morning, we had a great all-family walk!  We've only been on shorter ones lately, due to extreme cold and slippery conditions, so it was awesome!

Someone was doing a bit of shilly-shallying (do you say "shilly-shallying" or "dilly-dallying"?  I think "shilly-shallying" takes longer, but I'm not sure...) anyway, as I was saying, someone was taking her sweet time, so we went outside to wait for her.

"Take your time!"
"Shake a leg, Mom!  Daylight's burning!"
"Oooh, look at the pretty sunrise!"

We headed up the hill and took the Water Tower Path.

"I love it up here!"
"We can see forever!"

There are so many cool things to see and sniff up there!

"Ooh!  What did you find, Cam?"
"Coyote scent!"

It's definitely the coyote hang-out place at night - we see their ... umm ... calling card all over the place!

We walked over and checked out the Kansas Ocean; it was frozen solid.  Mom was hoping to see birdies there, but it was a no-go.  We decided to go back up the trail:

"The old re-trace thing!"
"I like going this way!"

Frankly, we were going to go a different way, but Cam didn't want to, so we didn't.  We usually get to decide - I mean, it is OUR walk, right?!?

Mom had the small camera today and did some cute little birdies along the trail like these:

A Harris's Sparrow, striking a pose

Mr. and Mrs. House Sparrow, spending some quality time together

American GoldFinch in winter plumage

At the risk of sounding like I'm ranking on someone, Dad must have spent 5 minutes pointing out that Goldfinch before Mom finally saw him.  I mean, yes, they are teeny-tiny, but he was RIGHT in front of her!  Sheesh!

Anyway, a great time had by all!

"That was a great walk - don't you think, Cam?"
"I do, Mags!"

Thanks for coming with us, everybody!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Tennis Ball!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Remember the other day when I showed you the new bandanas Cammie and I got from our new friend?  And remember I told you I also was given a tennis ball!?!?

"What's that behind your back, Mom?"

Let's have a look!

"It. Is. So. Awesome!"

Isn't it a beauty!??!

"And I shall call it ... "

I don't know yet.  I'm still working on it.  For now, it's my "Purple K-State Tennis Ball That Kristin Gave Me", and that's a bit long.  You know what might inspire me ...

"Let's see this baby in action!"

Don't you think?  How about a little Indoor Fetch!

Please click here to view on YouTube!

Well, you know. Siberian Rules Fetch. This way, both Mom and I do some moving around!

Isn't my new ball COOL?!!?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

My Birthday!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam - and guess what today is?!?!  It's my birthday!  My ninth birthday!  It's been such a fun day so far!

Mom asked me to pose for some special birthday portraits.  She said there would be treats involved, so I thought I'd accommodate her wishes.  First, I did this:

"Who's the coolest 9 year old?"

Then this:

"Hello!"

And then this:

"Is that an Old Mother Hubbard treat, Mom?!?"

I liked that one best!

Maggie and I played with our toys after short walks, then we played a round of Crazed River Otter Games (CROG). Here are some shots from when we were starting to slow down; for some reason the REAL action shots are all blurry:

"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"

Circling around ...

Getting ready for the ...

"Take down!  I win!!!"
"Happy birthday, Cam!"

Afterwards, Maggie bought a round of drinks!

"Drinks are on me, Cam!"
"Thanks, Maggie!"

What a great day! I hear there may be sliced fruit later on -- and yogurt!!!

Happy birthday to my sisters Drew and Lucy!!!

Cammie!

Birdie TV

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  You know, Maggie and I like watching Birdie TV as much as some of our kit-cat friends do!  Take the other day, for example ...

I looked out my window, and ...

"Mags!  Birdies!"

"Oh!  Now they're in the tree!"
"They're hopping around, all over the place!"

Mom mentioned something about us looking like kit-cats.

"And your point would be ... ?"
"Just ignore her, Maggie.  Ooh!  Chickadee!"

"Black-Capped or Carolina?"
"It's hard to tell ..."

We're just trying to share one of Mom's hobbies with her!  Maggie and I should have our own binoculars, don't you think?

Cammie!

What A Great Day!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  I've had such a great, busy day today - and it's only lunchtime!

It started much like any other day - up before dawn with Dad, a little snoozing with Mom, then we all got up.  Normal.  EXCEPT:  #1, I didn't get any snacks or breakfast and #2, it SNOWED!  Sort of a bad news, good news thing, right?  Then Dad took me on a short walk, without Cam or Mom. That was odd.  And I smelled breakfast on Cam's breath when I got home.  Hmm!  THEN, after a while, Mom and I got into the HR-V!  I thought maybe we were going birding, but no!  We went to the vet's!  How exciting!  I love the people there!

Apparently it didn't just snow at our house, there was snow there, too.

"How COOL!  I wonder if this is just for me?!?!"

Mom asked me to jump up on the bench and strike a pose:

"Got it, Mom!  Oooh!  People!"

I love to people-watch!  Mom neglected to specify the whole "look at the camera" part. Besides, I was not offered any treats!

I had my appointment -- routine stuff -- and my most wonderful doctor gave me treats. See? They love me there. Then the student gave me treats, too. It was great. I think I got a shot and a blood test, but who knows. I got treats.  My student said I could stand to gain a few pounds, but other than that, I was good to go.  Awesome.

After that, Mom said she and I had been invited out for coffee! Wowzers! How awesome is that?!?!

We met up with a very wonderful new friend and hit the coffee shop.

"A double espresso, please!"

"With extra caffeine!"

Yeah, well, actually, I didn't get to have coffee.  I did get a few treats Mom had brought with us, though, so that was cool.  I also got lots of loving and got to meet more people. It was great!  I think I'm pretty good at this "going out for coffee" thing!

"Hey, Mom.  How about some Gatorade for the ride home?"

We also went to our new friend's office and she gave me a KSU bandana -- and one for Cam, too!  I also got a purple KSU tennis ball!  I'll show that to you later.  For now, here are a couple shots of me and the Cam-a-roo in our cool, new bandanas!

"Look, Maggie!  Mom has treats!"
"How about a head-tilt?"

If only she had offered me a treat for sitting on that snowy bench ... right?

"Many thanks for our pretty bandanas, Kristin!"
"And the tennis ball and coffee!"

Well, again.  Not that I got to have coffee -- but Mom did.  In fact, I'm getting mighty sleepy now.  I think lunch and a nap are on the immediate horizon.  

I hope your day is going as great as mine!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cam

My Hiding Place

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  Maggie and I were in the living room playing with our Pickles, then I was done.  I just wanted to kick back for a while - I wasn't ready to play Crazed River Otter Games - so I hid.

"Pickles! I've got both pickles!"
"Shh!  Don't tell anyone where I am!"

"Right, Cam!  Got it!  I won't tell a soul!"
"D'oh!"

"Hey, I'll be right over here when you're ready for a round of CROG!"
"Sigh..."

I think I need to find a new hiding place!

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Monday -- or -- What We Did On Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Day!  We went out on an adventure, and I thought I'd tell you about it today!

We all piled into the HR-V, fastened our seat-belts, then headed down the road.  As we were about to get onto I-70, we saw a beautiful sunrise:

Sunrise!

We went through a lot of country that looked like this:

Kansas through the HR-V window

Isn't our adopted home state beautiful?  Speaking of beautiful -- check this out:

Snow clouds?!?

We thought it looked like snow clouds ahead!  Sadly, they weren't -- or at least the snow never made it to the ground.

"Rats!"
"Bum.  Mer."

Despite that huge disappointment, we continued on and landed here:

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge!

Yes, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, also known as Mom's happy place.  Here's a look at the Little Salt Marsh:

The LSM

And here is one of the little ponds:

Park Smith Lake, Quivira NWR

Mom and Dad saw all kinds of wonderful birdies!  Mom hasn't even started processing her photos - I just took the ones off her iPhone for today's post.  I mean, she GAVE them to me, it's not like I took them.

Speaking of giving things to me, at one of our rest-stops, Mom and Dad had sandwiches.

"Look into my eyes ..."

Correction - we ALL had sandwiches!  Plus, Maggie and I had treats and water!

On the way home, we saw a little "fun with hay bales" in a farmer's field:

Hay bale snowman

Maybe it's just me, but I would change their sign to "Hay, Merry Christmas".  Wouldn't you?  Ha roo woo roo!

"Oh, Cam.... seriously?"

Well, Mom thought it was funny.

Anyway, that's our big New Year's Day adventure!  We'll let you know when Mom's birdie pix are up!

Cammie!

2017

From all of us at Ao4 Headquarters - happy New Year!!!

"This is the start of something great!"
"It's going to be a good one; I can tell!"

Mags, Cam, and our bipeds