Use 'Em If You've Got 'Em!

Hello, everyone! It's me, Cammie. A few weeks ago, Maggie mentioned that I have this "new" superpower -- Mom and Dad can't say "no" to me! Actually, this isn't something completely new, but I think my powers have been enhanced by these trips to see the nice Oncology people. Anyway ... now that my energy level has greatly improved, I'm enjoying my walks more than ever! In fact, a morning walk just doesn't quite do it for me right now, so after we have our lunch ...

"Hi, Mom. Whatcha doing?"

Please note Maggie's snooter at the far right in the shot above.  She had tried, but struck out.  I summoned my superpowers and gave it another go.

"Ah, c'mon!  That stuff will all be there later!  It's a gorgeous day out there!"

" ... look into my eyes ... deeper ... deeper ..."

"That was awesome, Cam!  You should ask Mom to grill us some salmon for dinner!"
"I kinda of like that rice and ground beef I've been getting!"

What can I say?  Superpowers.  Use 'em if you've got 'em!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cam

Double Vet Visit!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Yesterday, Cam and I both had to go see the vet - she had a routine re-check with the Oncology peeps and I had a routine re-check with the Pet Health peeps.  Both departments were very accommodating, and Mom was able to schedule Cam's appointment at 8 and mine at 9.  Plenty of time for everything, without much waiting around!  Perfect!

Here we are after we checked in:

Me and Cam

You'll note I let Cam lay on the quilt Mom brought.  It's the respectful thing to do.  Besides, I was busy doing this:

Me, snuggling with Dad's feety-feet

Mom had suggested that I lay down, so I thought Dad would appreciate a snuggle.  Two birds, one stone.  Or whatever.

Anyway, Cam's appointment was first, so while she was in with the Oncologists, I kept her quilt warm for her:

"Hope it goes well, Cam!  I've got the quilt covered for you!"

By all accounts, she was really super good.  I don't have pix from when I was in with my vet care team, but I did really well, too.  "Very patient" was tossed around a bit.  Cam has taught me to be a good ambassador for the breed!  Mom and Dad might have had a hand in that, too.

Anyway, after my appointment, we stuck around a bit to get the results from Cammie's test and to talk to her vet.  Cam gave me a few pointers on what to do in the waiting room, since she has more experience with that than I do.

"Just sit here quietly and look cute.  People will come over and adore you.  It's awesome!"
"Like this, Cam?"

She was right!  All kinds of people stopped and gave us hugs and told us how cute we are and how well-behaved we are.  Pretty cool!

Anyway, that was our morning!  It was nice to go in to the Vet school together!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Before Anyone Asks ...

Greetings to all and hello! Before anyone asks ...

... we had nothing to do with this hole. Really.

Mags and Cam!

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone! It's me, Cam! Maggie and I saw something new along the Hudson Trail the other day. It was very serene, so we thought we'd share some photos with you.

We were hiking along, just like normal. When we were almost at the end of the second leg of the trail, we spotted it!

"What's that up there on the right?"
"Something new!  Let's check it out!"

It was a bench!  We gave it a thorough checking out!

"This is very interesting!"
"I'll say!"

Can you see it?  It's a very clever bench, with special features!

The new bench!

Under the bench, we found this stone:

"The Lord is my rock" -- on a rock!

And on the right, there is a wooden box with very special things tucked inside!

A box full of Bible verses!

Let's take a closer look!

"It reads, 'Your Word is a light for my path'.  And this is on the path.  I like this!"
"There are things inside, too!"

Look at what's inside!

Inside the box!

There are pretty stones, with Bible verses on them.  Whoever put the bench there invites you to sit and read them - how serene is that?  And in the jar, there are cards with more Scripture on them that you can take with you!  It's really very peaceful - and such a kind offering!  Mom's favorite of the rocks bears 1 Peter 5:7 - "Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares about you."

It's really lovely.  We hope it brings joy and peace to those who stop.  It sure leaves us feeling serene!

Cammie!

Veterans Day 2017

Veterans Day, the 11th day of November, is traditionally when we pay tribute to those who served or who are serving in combat. It has become a day to salute all who have served honorably in our military.

Statue honoring our veterans in front of our county courthouse

Here at Army of Four Headquarters, we understand that freedom is not free. We thank our veterans for their selfless service, dedication to duty, and their courage. It is because of these men and women that we enjoy the great freedoms we have today. They are the strength of America.

Our nation's colors flying high at Ao4 HQs today, honoring our veterans

We are thankful for and humbled by our veterans' dedication to duty and to our country.  Our dad, Mom's dad, and many other members of our family have proudly served or are serving in our Armed Forces.  You are true American patriots and we couldn't be prouder of you.

Veterans - past and present - we thank God for you and pray for His blessing on each and every one of you.

Mags and Cammie

Photo Finish Friday

Hello, everyone! It's me, Cam. Our Burning Bush is just starting to turn red, but based on how lovely our weather has been (low 20s this morning, wind-chill in the teens!), Mom is thinking that it might not get totally red before the leaves fall off. That being said, I thought I should pose for a portrait in front of it this morning.

There may have been treats involved.

Cammie!

Gnome-Man's Land

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  About yesterday's photo -- Mom took it while we were all out on a walk the other day.  Cam and I had made an important discovery and we thought we should mark the occasion with a portrait.  No treats involved or anything - that's how crazy our discovery was!  Ready to see?  Let's get walking!

The walk started out like many others ...

"Let's go this way!"
"Let's check that mini pine for messages!"

Everyone leaves important messages by that tree!  We had to stop!

"This is MOST interesting!"
"Seriously!  You should leave a message back, Cam!"

I'm not sure how she does it, but Cam can lift her leg like a boy dog.  It's pretty cool.

Anyway, we headed to the Hudson Trail!  There is always something exciting down there.

We saw the mini scarecrow that we showed you a couple weeks ago ...

"Hey.  I saw some of your bigger relatives.  They wouldn't play with me.  Can you believe that noise?"

Maybe those bigger ones being such stiffs are why this little one is sitting all alone.  I mean, I wouldn't want to hang out with them either.  Not if they don't want to play!

Further down the trail, we found the most fascinating forest creatures!!!!

"Cam!  Check this out!  It's gnomes!"

Can you believe it!?!?  I didn't think we were far enough into the forest or anything to stumble onto gnomes!

Cam found another one, off by himself!

"Maggie, look!  This one's sleeping!"

Isn't that wild?!!?  GNOMES!  It was so cool!

"This is the most awesome walk we've had all day!"
"The BEST!"

You just never know what you can discover if you keep your eyes, ears, and noses open!  Who'd have thought we'd stumble into Gnome-Man's Land?!?!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Cam and Mags

New Friends?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  I thought I spotted some new friends on our walk today.  I went over to ask them to play, but I'm not sure they were interested.  Cam said they were a couple of stiffs and we should just keep going.

To view on YouTube, please click here.

What do you think?  Would you have stopped to play?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

A Pink One?!?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags!  A couple years ago, Mom bought a cool mat for inside  my crate  10 Downing Street.  You can read about it here, if you'd like.  I really like it - it's a little cushiony and cool.  It was getting to the point where it needed replaced, so Mom ordered a new one from the good folks at Amazon.  Those guys have everything!

"A pink one?!?  I like this!"
"PINK?  Seriously?  If it wasn't for the camo..."

I'm not normally into pink, but the camouflage makes it pretty cool.  Ha roo, get it?  "Cool"?  And it's a cooling mat?  Anyway, it's just as nice as the old one!  

Mom got a blue one, too, so we have a backup!  For now, the pink camo is fine with me.

Do you like to sleep cool, too?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  So ... just when Mom got caught up with all of her birdie photos ... guess where we went yesterday?  Yes!  We went here:

Mags and me at the Kansas Wetlands Ed Center!

And then here:

Foggy road to Quivira NWR!

Then saw this:

Sandhill Crane in flight!

And this:

Another Sandhill Crane!

... and several hundred more. We even saw Whooping Cranes!  And lots of other birdies, too. And some deer! It was a very exciting, very serene day!

More to come later on!

Cammie!

Busy Day

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie.

"Hey.  Over here."

It's a busy day today, lots to do!  I'm right in the thick of something now, in fact.

"I wonder how long it's going to take for that sun puddle to get over here?"

I'm not sure what's on the agenda after I tackle this one.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Finally!

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie. Remember about 87 years ago ... or maybe a week and a half ago ... we told you we'd been birding down at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge? We promised birdie pix and Mom has FINALLY uploaded her shots to FlickR! We thought we'd show you a handful or so today. Now, as I recall, we were right about here:

"Greetings, Ed Center peeps!"
"Hello?"

It takes us a few hours to get down there, so we like to take a break at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center near Cheyenne Bottoms before we get started. There is a nice mowed area where we can all stretch our legs, nice "facilities" for Mom and Dad, and we generally get to schmooze some people. All in all, very nice. Then we head to Quivira!

Heading to Quivira NWR

At this time of year, we generally see lots of raptors! Here is one of Mom's favorites:

Northern Harrier, ready to strike!

She loves watching them hover then dive!

We saw two different kinds of Grebes!

Pied-Billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

Some of the Sandpipers are still around, like this one:

Lesser Yellowlegs

And a few Shorebirds are still here:

American Avocets in flight

Fall is one of those really exciting times for birding here in Kansas. The geese are starting to come in ...

Greater White-Fronted Geese - AKA Speckle Bellies!

... AND the Sandhill Cranes are stopping by!!!

Sandhill Cranes in flight!

More Sandhill Cranes!

Mom and Dad just love seeing and hearing the Sandhills! Mom shot some video, but she was battling 35mph or more winds, so it was challenging. If you would like to see a couple clips, please click here to watch on YouTube.

Speaking of the winds, it was making the waves so high, we could barely see this Coot:

American Coot

Mom couldn't resist.

... moving right along ...

We saw this pair of female ducks hanging out together:

Ruddy Ducks!

And on our way out, Dad spotted this guy fishing in one of the little ponds:

Great Blue Heron

It was a fun trip and we hope to go back soon!

"We need to get Mom to pack some travel games next time, Maggie."
"Yeah.  And more sammiches!"

We'll be sure to keep you posted!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

PS:  If you'd like to see more pix from our trip, please click here to visit our FlickR album.

First Of The Season!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Before I get to today's post, I wanted to thank all of you for the very kind comments you left on our post the other day.  It means a lot to all of us to have the support of our friends!  We are so very thankful for the prayers and good wishes, and are beyond happy that you are celebrating with us.  It is awesome to be able to call myself a "cancer survivor"!

So ... on Howl-o-ween, Mom and I went outside just to doodle around a bit, maybe take a picture or two. I was posing by our stairs when I sensed something changing ...

"I sense a change coming.  Soon."

We had no sooner walked over to the driveway when ...

"YES!"

It was snowing!!!  Well, OK, not "snowing" so much as "flurrying", but it's our first of the season!  That's always the most exciting!  Let's pan in and look at it on the grasses:

Maiden Grass in snow

Is that not a beautiful development?!?

"We're going to need a whole lot more than this!"

Sadly, it didn't amount to anything, and the next day it was over 70 degrees outside, but at least we got SOME!  Maybe it was just a practice run or something.  

Have you seen any snow yet?

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cam