The Best Part Of The Day

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Ragnar and I have been having such great fun on our walks lately - we just have to invite you along on another one!

This morning, we did a 4.5 mile route we've done before, only backwards.  Oh, I don't mean we walked backwards, I mean we did the route the opposite way we ... yeah.  OK.  You know.  Anyway, from home, we headed up some hills, then hit the KSO:

Ragnar and me on the boardwalk along the Kansas Ocean

It was really humid, but cooler due to some rain -- and we had fog!

"I feel a howl coming on.  Do you feel a howl coming on?"
"I'll howl if you howl!"

Mom is pretty much convinced that going this way is all up hill.  The whole time.

"Look, Ragnar!  The other 'M' gates!"
"So this is where we are!"

It's confusing going the other way.  It's like a whole different route!

"Oooh!  CICADA!  Ah.  No.  False alarm."
"It's 'M' for Maggie!"

Seriously.  Is Ragnar fun enough!??!

Anyway, those Maggie gates are on quite the hill, so we plowed on through!

"You don't think Mom's right and it really IS up hill the whole way, do you?"
"It seems like it ..."

It did level out a bit after that climb!

"Whew!  That hill was fun, huh, Ragnar?!?"
"VERY fun, Mags!!"

We love our walks.

"I love this!  It's the best part of the day!"
"It sure is!  ... unless it's dinner time ..."

He has a valid point there.  We do love our dinner time!  But walking time is AWESOME!

Thanks for coming with us!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Trying It Out

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  Now that I've been here about a month and a half, Maggie and I have been trying this thing after dinner called "settling down".  It's really strange, but kind of nice at the same time.

"This is ... nice."
"Yeah.  I guess we can play more tomorrow.  Hey, Dad!  Pop a mystery show on, OK?"
"GOOD PUPPIES!!!!!!"

It's funny - we aren't walking or playing or anything and Mom says we're being very good.  Huh.  Who knew?

This "settling down" thing might be OK!  ... for a little while.

Sköl!

Ragnar

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  For this week's dose of serenity, Ragnar and I thought we'd share pix with you from this morning's walk.  We went over 5 miles today, so get a drink of water and let's hit the road!

After doing some hills, we ended up in the development known as Sharingbrook.  While there, we enjoyed the sunrise:

"Oooh, look at the sunrise!"
"Whatevs, Mom."
"Keep an eye out for Cicadas, Mags!"

That's one of the things I love about Ragnar - he knows what's really important!  The road we were on, for some reason, is a real Cicada hot-spot!

Anyway, we looped on through, then exited at the big road:

"Anneberg Park, straight ahead!"
"I love that park!"

Instead of sticking to the roads, we hit the trail that runs along the perimeter of the park!  Crazy as it sounds, it's called the Perimeter Trail.  None of us had ever been on it, so it was a really exciting adventure!

Some parts are paved:

And some are dirt and gravel:

There was a fork off the trail.  We wanted to see where it went!  We took this bridge over Wildcat Creek:

"Check for 'gators, Ragnar!"
"Really?"

I was serious.  Some jerk stole some alligators from a rescue/rehab place and "set them free" in Wildcat Creek.  Sadly, one didn't make it, but the other was found alive a couple days ago and was returned to Reptile World.  Anyway ... getting back to more serene things ... after the bridge there was a small trail:

"Looks like it goes to that housing development, everybody!"

Mom and Dad thought it looked like an interesting thing to try once the weather cools off; we headed back to the park.

The trail was nice and shady; Ragnar and I like the woodsy parts!

There are lots of ball fields all over Anneberg, for baseball and soccer!  This next part of the trail ran right alongside one:

And let's not forget perhaps the best feature of the park -- the Anneberg Ocean!

Once back at the entrance, we looped back through a couple different housing areas; we took the shadiest route we could!

"Almost home, Ragnar!  Less than a mile!"
"What a great walk this has been!"

It was a great walk - and very scenic and serene, too!  Thanks for coming with us -- don't forget to rehydrate!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Testing Out Cute Poses

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  Maggie has been teaching me the importance of doing cute poses.  You know, like if you do something you really shouldn't like ... I dunno ... jump off a retaining wall or something ... you need to do a cute pose to erase that out of Mom's computer-like brain.

Mags showed you how she's been mentoring me and that I've mastered the "under the chairs" poses. I've even managed to expand on that with a couple of my own:

"Hi, Mom.  Look at how cute I am!"
"❤️ Oh, Ragnar!!!  ❤️"

Retaining wall?  What retaining wall?!?  Right?

And ...

"Must hold this pose until she forgets about me surprising her in the shower ..."
"❤️ Who's the cutest little Viking?!? ❤️"

(Have I mentioned Maggie taught me how to open the door to the bathroom? She's brilliant!  And wow, do I like splashing in water!  And the smell of Olay body wash.  Have I mentioned our shower doesn't have a door on it?  Does anyone know what "privacy" means?  Anyway ...)

I've also discovered not only do our windows have built-in chin rests, but we look really cute when we use them:

"I wonder what Tao's up to out there?!?"
"❤️ Look at how cute you are!!! ❤️"

Who cares if there are smudgies all over the window, right?!?  It's nose art!

And of course, tops in my personal arsenal, as I showed you the other day ...

"Zzz ..."
"❤️ Mr. Smooshyface!!!  ❤️

Maggie said it's good just to toss a cute pose into the day, even if you haven't done anything on the "questionable" list.  She's the best big sister a guy could ask for!

I hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Photo Finish Friday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  Today, I thought I'd do a Photo Finish Friday, using some miscellaneous pictures Mom has taken since Ragnar joined our family.  I'll try to cut the chit-chat down to a minimum.  Ready to take a look?

Here we are on the first day Ragnar arrived at Ao4 Headquarters:

"Hey, bro.  How's it going?"
"Doing great, Mags!"

I know. We look like we've always known each other, don't we?

Here we are, the next day, on our first long walk together:

"Isn't this great, Ragnar?  We'll do this every day, weather permitting!"
"This is great fun ... but I thought Kansas was supposed to be flat!"

It's a common misconception.  When the heat breaks, we'll take Ragnar to the flatter part of the state!

Here we are on that same walk -- his first time down Hudson Trail!

Ragnar and me

And a day or two later, with his first time at the Kansas Ocean:

If you look closely at the little peninsula, you can see we're being watched by a Great Blue Heron.

We even stopped to pose that day:

"Hi, Mom!"
"Yeah.  Hey, Mom!"

I normally wouldn't do that without treats, but I was just so happy I couldn't help it.  Besides, I was tired.

And lastly, here's a scenic shot, as we stopped beside a field full of Black-Eyed Susans:

"Hey, Maggie.  Aren't you going to look at Mom?"
"No ..."

He's still learning!

Anyway, we still have some catching up to do, photo-wise (Mom's been crazier than normal taking pictures!), but at least that's a start!

Happy Friday -- have a great weekend!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Pretty Photo And A Question

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  Mom shot this picture of me and Mags on our walk a few mornings ago.  We thought it was pretty enough to share.

Me and Mags on our morning road march

Nice, huh?

Anyway ... you know, ever since joining Mags here at Ao4 Headquarters, I've gotten all kinds of nicknames.  I'm sure you know the basics:  Sweetie, Love, Mister Fluffypants -- you know, the regular ones.  But there's one I don't quite understand and I thought maybe you could explain it to me.  No making fun, though, OK?

Mr. Smooshyface.

???

Does anybody get that one?  I'm going to have to sleep on it and try to figure it out.

Please let me know if you have any ideas.

Sköl!

Ragnar 

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Ragnar

Quick Post

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  Maggie said we've both been getting a bit long-winded with our posts lately, so I promised I'd just put up a quick one today. Here's a photo of us out on one of the retaining walls:

"No jumping off the retaining wall!!!"
"You know you want to, Ragnar ... "
"It's just so tempting ..."

Since this is to be a quick post, I'll just leave it right there.

Sköl!

Ragnar 

Delay Of Game!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  We had a great walk this morning once a wild storm cleared out. We would have been happy to walk in the rain, but there was lightning, so we had to wait.  Fortunately the storm brought some cooler temps, so we were able to get over 4.5 miles in this morning.  Want to come along with us?  Get a quick drink and let's GO!

Near the top of the first hill, we had an awesome backdrop of the stormy skies.  Mom tried to get us to pose together.  We came up with this:

Ragnar and me

Pretty nice shot, but uh ... she didn't get the sky in. Oops.

She tried to get us to pose together on the sidewalk, but we just didn't feel like it.  She finally gave up.  I stood there laughing for a sec - and being the sneak that she is ...

"Ha roo roo roo!"

Oh, well.  Is IS a pretty cool, gnarly sky, isn't it?

Up around the curve, Dad held our leashes real quick while Mom snapped this:

"Look away, Ragnar!"
"Got it, Mags!"

On to the walking!  We went up about a gazillion hills, which was wonderful, then got to where it levels out a bit.

Me and Ragnar!

We walked through some pretty garden areas ...

Me and Ragnar again!

... and past some pretty houses.

"Mom likes that grey one best!"
"It matches me!"

Aren't the skies cool?!?!  (Mom and Dad checked the radar closely before we left, in case anyone was wondering!)

Time to start heading downhill!

Guess who?  Yep.  Me and Ragnar!

Oh.  And then another steep uphill.  When we got to the top of that one, Mom asked us very nicely to pose.  Since  there was someone we wanted to stare at  we wanted a quick break anyway, we obliged:

Polargold's Margaret Thatcher and Polargold's Einherjar

I think if me and the Viking cut an album, that could be our cover art.  What do you think?

And finally ... heading downhill again:

"Almost home, Ragnar!"
"Less than a mile, I think!"

It started raining again about 15 minutes after we got home -- great timing, huh?  Thanks for coming with us!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar.  Maggie and I got to play in the backyard for just a little bit yesterday afternoon.  It was too hot to do much messing around, but we thought you might enjoy seeing some of the shots Mom took.  They're very serene.  Really.

Mom asked us to pose on the top retaining wall, so ...

"Oh, BOY, that was fun!"
"Ha roo roo roo!  Way to go, baby bro!"

Oh, I know what you might be thinking!

"I did NOT jump off the retaining wall!"
"Yes, he did.  And it was awesome!"

Well, OK.  Perhaps I did.  And perhaps that's why Maggie recommended we both do a cute pose real quick.

"I'm looking my cutest, Mags!"
"You are so ridiculously fun, Ragnar!"

And then, despite our cute poses, Mom suggested we move our photo shoot to the Friendship Garden.

"Fine. Happy, Mom?"
"More or less.  Could you two smile, please?"
"Maggie said not to.  Sorry, Mom."

The Friendship Garden isn't nearly as fun as those retaining walls, but it was very serene.  I hope your day is serene as well!

Sköl!

Ragnar

Raiding With Ragnar

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  This morning, Ragnar and I took Mom and Dad on a really long raid into a land known as "Anneberg Park"!  I've only heard tales about this faraway land - from my great brother Zim.  He and Mom used to go there quite a bit, only they'd drive there.  We walked!  Want to take a look?!?

Here we are at the entrance:

"C'mon, Ragnar!  From what I've heard, we're going to love this place!"
"Oh, boy!  Another new land to explore!"

Before too long, we saw the Anneberg Ocean.  Our great-sister Amber discovered it way back in history.  It was so cool to see it!

"Look, Mags!  Birdie!"
"It's a Canada Goose, Ragnar!"

We're going to be getting back into birding soon, so I'm trying to teach Ragnar about the different birdies.  So far, he's pretty good about being super calm around them.

"Aww ... thanks, Mags!"
"Well, you are!  Now remember - check for goose poop!"
"No goose poop!!!"

Mom can be a real spoil-sport sometimes.

We looped around the ocean, and across from where we saw the goose, we spotted a heron!

"Great Blue Heron, Mags!?!"
"You got it, Ragnar!"

See?  He picks up on things super fast!  We've seen a couple Great Blues at the Kansas Ocean and he remembered!

Once we looped the Anneberg Ocean, we were ready to exit the park.

"Back across the big street!"
"Wait for Mom to hit the 'cross' button, right?!?"
"Good puppies!"

Did I mention it was raining or sprinkling the whole time?  We got pretty soaked (from both rain and humidity) but that kept the temperature down under 80.

Back across the big street ...

"I wonder if there's really a brook in Sharingbrook?"
"Who put the 'ape' in 'apricot'?  Oh, sorry.  I think I'm channeling Mom."

... then through a couple subdivisions and homeward!  We did over 4.6 miles today; it was a blast!  Then, of course, zoomies when we got home and some wrestling.  It's so fun to go raiding with Ragnar --- thanks for coming with us!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Upstairs!

Hi everybody!  It's me, Ragnar!  Now that I've totally conquered the stairs to go down to Mom's Studio (I mean like WEEKS ago!), I've made a new discovery!  That's what us Vikings do - we explore and make discoveries and cool stuff like that.  Anyway, check this out:

"We have an UPSTAIRS, too!"

It was my duty as a Viking to go check it out!

"This is pretty cool up here!"

There are some comfy beds up there that I considered jumping on until I got the "Ah-ah!" from my mom, I saw a very handsome Siberian in a special kind of window Mom called a "mirror", and I was checking out something called a "cat walk" when ...

"Prepare to be BOOMed in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ..."
"Uh-oh!"

Apparently, I'm not the first Siberian to discover the Upstairs.  Who knew?!?  Anyway, it's a real fun place to do zoomies with Mags now!

Sköl!

Ragnar