Long Walks!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  As we've mentioned, Ragnar and I have been taking Mom and Dad on nice, long walks in the early mornings.  You know what they say, "A tired biped is a good biped."  Something like that.  Anyway, not only are these great mentoring opportunities, but Ragnar and I do a lot of bonding along the way, too.  I mean don't get me wrong, I still miss Cammie very much, but wow, do I ever love my brother!  Here's a walk we took from a few mornings ago.

We started out up the big street, heading east:

"Now remember what I told you about the limestone chunks at the top of the hill."
"I remember, Mags!" 

As I've said before, he's a quick study!  We had discussed how Mom likes us to pose on the limestone at the entrance to the trail and already had a game plan all laid out.

"Perfect, you two!  Now stay ...."
"NOW, Ragnar!  NOW!"
"Cowabunga!!!"

Was that perfect, or what?!?!

Anyway, we walked all through some neighborhoods, then picked up the last paved section of the trail.

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it, Ragnar?!?"
"I love this part!"

There were even some puddles where we could get our feety-feet wet for a bit of a cool down!

"Puddle at 12 o'clock, Ragnar!"
"Mom?  Is it OK if I do some splashing?!?"

I know.  I've got to work on him actually looking for permission.

Anyway, we got to where the trail ends and the wild part starts and walked just a tiny bit of that.  We posed for a great photo:

My brother and me!

Mom really wants to walk us all the way down there, but we're waiting for a hard freeze.  You know.  Ticks.  Fleas.  Snakes.  You know.

Anyway, off to our right, we could see the sunrise - check it out:

We turned and headed back home.  We put in well over 4 miles that day; I'm not sure how much more.  When we got home, Mom and Dad suggested coffee on the deck.  We did our best to entertain them out there!

"UFF!"
"BOOM!"

Nothing beats kicking back and relaxing on the deck after a nice, long walk - right?!?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Sköl!
Ragnar

Down In Front!

Greeting to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other evening, Ragnar and I were just winding up a power-packed zoomie and wrestling session, when ...

"Oooh!  A new episode of Father Brown!  Hey!  Down in front!"

A new episode of Father Brown!  That's one of my favorite mystery shows!  Ragnar and I called a short timeout so we could watch the show together -- he likes TV, too!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Quick Study

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  I can't tell you how much I love having a little brother!  He's great company, he's a GREAT playmate, and I am totally into mentoring him.  Check out one of our latest sessions:

"Hey, Ragnar!  Come check this out!"

 You all know I love laying under chairs like that, right?  I thought he could try it, too.

"It's really comfy, bro.  You should try it out on Mom's chair!"
"Hmm... OK.  Hang on, Mags."

And before I knew it ...

"How's this?"

Honestly, he is SUCH a quick study!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Sunday, The Deck!

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  There were a lot of new things for me when I came home to Ao4 Headquarters - I've mentioned getting into boxes (or not), being a house puppy, traffic and people, and even the Trippy Trap Bridge.  I don't think I've mentioned the deck yet!

Our deck is REALLY high!  After our morning road marches, we usually go out there to relax for a while.  I love it out there, but I have to admit, the first time or so I was a bit leery of the edge!  Maggie's been helping me get used to it ...

"See, Ragnar?!?  No big deal - right?  Besides, we can see forever up here!"

And now ... take a look!

"Maggie was right!  This is awesome!"

Maggie taught me how to do the Paw Dangle!  Isn't that cool?!?  Look at what else she showed me how to do:

"Oh.  This is incredibly serene!"

That's right!  Just this morning, I did my very first Snooter Rest!  It was so relaxing - so serene!

Have a great Sunday, everybody!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Next!

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  The other day, I was doing some exploring -- you know, 'cuz I'm a Viking and all -- when ...

"Uh, Ragnar?  If you're done in there, I'd like to get my shower now."
"Oh.  Right.  Sorry, Mom!"

I really like it in there!  The first time I went in, Mom turned the water on and gave me a shower.  Don't tell anybody, but I kinda liked it!  Anyway, it's a cool place to hang out, even if the water isn't on.

Sköl!
Ragnar

Game On!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other day, I was just hanging out in the living room, minding my own business, when ...

"Oh.  Uh ... hey, Mom.  What's shakin'?"
"Maggie?  Where's your brother?  Are you playing the 'Don't Let Ragnar in the Living Room' game?!?"

Can you believe that accusation?!!?

Well, OK.  Maybe she was right.  Let's take a peek into the kitchen.

"Is it safe out there?"

He LOVES this game.  No, really!  Every time he tries to leave the kitchen, I 'BOOM!' him - no matter which way he tries to get out.  It's great!  Then I finally let him out and we race around the living room, dining room, and kitchen REALLY fast!  Here's a blurry action shot - we're too fast for the camera!

"Gonna get you, Ragnar!!!"
"I don't think so, Mags!"

And then ... have I mentioned he's really fast?!?

"GOTCHA!"
"Errrfff!"

"BOOM!"
"Ack!  You got me!  Help, I'm being attacked by a Viking!!!"

Then I jump up and we start the whole thing over again.  Wow, is it ever fun!  Isn't this a great game?!?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Long Road March

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  We had a wild, crazy storm during the night that brought us a much cooler morning today.  To celebrate, Maggie and I decided to take Mom and Dad on a super-long road march today!

We headed up into the hills:

"Check those skies, Ragnar!"
"I'm glad Mom and Dad looked at the radar before we left!"

And then went way down the big road:

Sorry it's blurry and crooked; we were moving out smartly!

Mom always likes to stop and shoot wildflowers along the way. Here's one of her shots:

Black-Eyed Susans

We usually turn at this one road, but today we decided to keep going!  We turned eventually and saw these hugs gates:

"Check it out, Ragnar.  The 'M' is for Mags!"
"Really?"

She was joking with me.  I kinda thought so.  She actually hadn't walked that way before, either.  It was fun exploring a place that was new to both of us!

Mom wanted to get a shot of us so I did a nice pose for her:

"Hey, puppies!!!"
"Hi, Mom!!!"
"Hey, Mom.  Check it out -- Daisies!"

Maggie reminded me we shouldn't always look at Mom when she asks us to.  I told her I'd try to remember.  Maggie knows these things!

Anyway - since Mags pointed them out ...

Daisies

There were lots of great smells up in that area; we really had a blast.

Mags walking past a hacienda 

We finally looped around near the golf course clubhouse, and we were back on familiar turf.  Golf course ... turf ... good one, huh?

Me, leading the way!  Gnarly skies, huh?

When we finally reached the "it's all downhill from here" point, Mom held our leashes while Dad made a deposit in a nearby trashcan.  You know.  I mean ... yeah.  We all know what he was putting in there, right?  OK.

Anyway, Mom asked us to sit together and pose for her again.  Remembering what Mags told me earlier ...

"Oh, Ragnar!  I'm so proud of you!"
"Thanks, Maggie!"

Then Mom gave a sad, "Oh, you GUYS!  Please!?!"  Since she asked so nicely ...

"Just this once.  But you owe us!"
"Hi, Mom!!!"
"Such good puppies!!!!"

And then down a couple hills and we were home!  That was our nice, long road march!  It was tons of fun.  Thanks for coming with us!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Wordless Wednesday

Ragnar and Mags

Strength Test?

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  Last week, my mom made me my very own new collar!  Check it out:

"Here's my right side!"

"And here's my left!"

"Thanks for the cool new collar, Mom!"

I really like it - can you tell?  Mom had that webbing in her "stash" (she has all KINDS of interesting things in her Studio!!!) and decided to order more so I could have a matching leash.  That order came in really fast and she made the leash yesterday:

Mom decided to do a lot of heavy-duty reinforcing on my leash

After she was done, we took it out for a little test drive.  That actually turned into what she thought would be a strength test when ...

"SQUIRREL!"
"Uh-oh."
"Oh ... my ... uh ... on by, Ragnar!  On by!"

I didn't pull, but I did want to stop and stare for a while.

"Lemme just stare at him, Mom, OK?"
"E-E-E!!!"
"Good boy, Ragnar.  Calm.  G'boy!!!"

I was very calm, so Mom let me stand there and stare at him for a while.  He was teasing me something fierce, shaking his tail at me and yelling at me and stuff, but I was a good puppy.  Check it out:

To view on YouTube, please click here

I love my new collar and leash.  And I'm sure they're both very strong ... I just haven't pulled real hard yet to check them out.  I did say "yet".

Sköl!

Ragnar

Very Strange!

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  The other day Maggie got all excited when a man in a loud truck brought something to our doorstep.  It was called a "box", and once Dad emptied it, Maggie did something VERY strange!

"What in the name of Thor are you doing, Maggie?!?"
"I'm BOXING, Ragnar!  Isn't this a beaut?!?"

I mean ... she was just sitting there.  IN the box!  It was very strange.  THEN she asked me to join her.

'Uh ... not gonna happen, Mags.  Wait.  Do you get treats for doing this?  I can't even look at you."
"The box IS the treat!  Maybe next box, Ragnar.  I mean, we ARE related!"

I'm pretty sure I won't be boxing with Mags, but who knows?  Things I didn't want to try a couple weeks ago, I'm tackling whole-heartedly now.  But boxing?  Very strange.

Sköl!

Ragnar

Sassy Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  So there I was the other day, mentoring my little brother during a zoomie session, when ...

"Margaret Thatcher!  You are NOT allowed to sit on the furniture!"
"Watch and learn, Ragnar.  Yeah, Mom ... I'm not really 'sitting', I'm more like 'leaning'."
"Woo ... good one, Maggie."

Am I right or am I right?!?

Have I mentioned how fun it is to have a little brother lately?

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Independence Day!

From all of us here at Ao4 Headquarters, we'd like to wish all of you a safe and happy Independence Day!

Ragnar and Mags

Exploring

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  Every morning, Maggie and I have been taking our mom and dad on real long walks -- or as we like to say "exploring".  There's always something new out there!

The other day, we walked on that Hudson Trail again, only we walked and walked and walked all the way to the very end of it!

"Pretty cool, huh, Ragnar?"
"This is tons of fun!"

Mom said once the weather cools off, we could try walking the wild part of the trail! That sounds like great fun!

"I'd love to do that, Mom!"
"Me, too.  I've only gotten to do that once!  It was super muddy and hilly and SUCH great fun!"
"Oh, yeah ... wait a minute ..."

We walked back through the neighborhoods, stopping in a cul-de-sac to enjoy the view.  You can see forever up there!  I asked Mags if we could see our homeland of Missouri from there, but she said we were facing the wrong way.

"Maybe Colorado, though!"
"Oh, OK."

Maggie's really smart and knows all kinds of cool stuff.  She's teaching me a lot!

Anyway, thanks for coming on our walk with us!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Getting Started

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  This having a little brother thing is SO AWESOME!  In addition to having a buddy and playmate, I get to teach him all kinds of cool stuff.  I'm going to back up a little bit and show you how Ragnar and I got started.

As I showed you the other day, we really hit it off out at Polargold HQs.  I loved everyone there, but I seemed to know that Ragnar is my brother and ... well, the rest is history, right?  Mom wanted to get some pictures before we left.  Here's my favorite group shot:

Me and Ragnar doing nose bumps in front
Our breeders (Cecile and Lisa) and Dad in the back

Don't we all look happy?!?

When we got home, I showed him around the neighborhood and house.  He's not used to being a house pup, so we're doing some training there.  So far, he's been really good.  He's also really good at zoomies and wrestling.  Mom cheers us on a lot, using funny phrases like, "Be gentle!" and "Careful, you two!", but we pretty much ignore her.

The next day, I started my walk training.  He walks very nicely, and we do great together.  He has a lot to get used to, though - he's not used to being in a neighborhood where there are a lot of people, cars, trucks, etc.  He's adapting super well!

"This is a side walk!  We try to stay on these, OK?"
"Got it, Maggie."

We walked all the way to the far side of the park that day, which meant we had to walk over the Trippy Trap Bridge.  It's wooden and makes noises when you go over it.  Ragnar hadn't been on a Trippy Trap Bridge before, so I offered to go first.

"See, Ragnar?  Nothing to worry about!  I don't even see any trolls down there!"
"I'm not sure about this ... "

Fast forward about a week to the next crack he had at the bridge ... and check him out:

"C'mon, Mags!  This is a piece of cake!"
"Go, Ragnar!!!"

I was so proud of him!  He even looked over the side of the bridge with me to check for trolls!  What a brave guy!

We've also been teaching him about parking lots and shopping centers.

"Stick close here, Ragnar.  There can be a lot of traffic!"
"OK!"

He handled it like a champ!

Near the end of that first walk, we hit the Hudson Trail.

"It's nice and cool and shady here, Maggie!  I like this!"
"I do, too, Ragnar!"

I'm really proud of my kid brother.  He's such a fast learner - and is willing to try anything new we toss his way!

I feel a round of zoomies coming on, so that's it for today.  Stay cool, everyone, and stay safe from those firecrackers/fireworks!  (He's doing great with those, too!)

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Ragnar