It's Adopt-a-Maggie Day!!!!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Today is the very first anniversary of my homecoming!  My Gotcha Day!  Adopt-a-Prime-Minister Day!  Peep-a-versary!!!  Can you believe I've been here a year already?!!?

Cammie posted a lot of pictures a year ago when I first got to Ao4 Headquarters - you can see them at this link, if you'd like.  Today, I thought I'd share some you haven't seen before!  Are you ready!?!

Here I am, somewhere in Lawrence, Kansas, on my way home:

"Home, please, driver!"

This was taken immediately upon my arrival at Ao4 Headquarters:

"I thought it was supposed to be a yellow brick road!"

After meeting Cammie and Zim, I explored the lower deck:

I will admit, I loved Cam from the start ... and just adored Zimmie!

"ZIMMIE!  ZIMMIE!  ZIMMIE!!!"
"Love you, kid!"

We all miss him very, very much.

Mom and Dad set up a nice den for me in the kitchen. We refer to it as 10 Downing Street.

"Greetings from 10 Downing Street!"

It's a nice little get-away.

Cam, Zim, and I did a lot of playing starting that very first day:

"Show me that Crazed River Otter game again!"
"Shall we, Zim?"
"Oh, yeah, Cam.  Let's go for it!!  Are you ready, Mag-a-roo?"

I showed them I was really good at play bowing already:

"Ha yip yip rooooo!"

I wanted to play all day! Here I am again with Cam:

"Let's play some more, Auntie CamCam!!!"
"Aren't you tired yet, little one?"

Cam said I was very, very active as a puppy - and that some things haven't changed.  I wonder what she meant by that?

Here are two last pictures, showing you at least one change.  Cam and me "then":

Me and Cam, meeting for the first time
12 OCT 2013

And here we are "now":

Me and Cam
12 OCT 2014

I think I've changed a little bit ... haven't I?

I hope you'll celebrate with me!  We'll be going on extra walkies, having some fruit, and enjoying special playtime with our toys!!!  Happy homecoming!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Kitchen Capers

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  I was just relaxing the other evening, when I got that "feeling".  You know what I mean - that feeling that there's somewhere you just SHOULD be!  I felt like I should be ... in the kitchen.

"I sense my presence is needed.  Umm... what's that on the counter?!?"

I asked Mom what she had, and oh, boy, was I glad I listened to that little voice in my head. Check it out:

YUM!!!

That's right - an apple! A beautiful Honey Crisp Apple! I called for backup!

"She's got an APPLE, Maggie!!!  An APPLE!"
"I'll do the Sad Eyes Look ..."

Maggie is really good at the Sad Eyes Look.  Sure enough, when Mom sliced it open, she let me give a little sniff ...

"Oooh, a nice bouquet!  And I could hear the crispness as you cut into it!"

Mom gave each of us a little slice, then said the rest was going in the salad.

"Should we stay here, Cam?"
"Yes, little one.  Until dinner.  Then we'll see if we can tool Dad out of some!"

I can't help it.  Apples, especially Honey Crisp, are right up there with pears and cantaloupe!  What are your favorite fruits?

Cammie!

Photo Finish Friday

Greetings to all - it's me, Maggie.  For Photo Finish Friday, I thought I'd show you a few of the other things I was up to this week.  You saw that I went on a lot of walks, that Cam and I both went to see our vets, had a planning session, etc. - that was all great fun.   Here are a few other things I busied myself with!

I spent some time playing Squeaky Blue Hippo with Mom:

Me and Squeaky Blue Hippo, taking a break

There's a chance he's missing an ear. I have no idea how that may or may not have happened. Squeaky Blue isn't a "Leave Down All The Time" (LDATT) toy, so who's to say Mom didn't do it when he was in her protective custody?

My green ball that I showed you the other day is one of my few LDATT toys. I don't mean to brag, but I can put a good sized dent in one of the Black traditional KONGS in a matter of minutes! Pretty good, don't you think? Anyway ... one of my other LDATT toys is my green GoughNut. I was starting to make some headway on that baby, so guess what? Not only did I get a new green one, since they hold up to me mighty well, but check this out!

"Ooooh.  That's going to be a good challenge!"

Yeah!  They make a line of GoughNuts for extreme chewers!  I just love it!

Something else I love is ice!  Any time Mom or Dad get ice out, I get a cube.  What I didn't realize until lately was that you can get carry-out ice, too!

"Dinf ish grent!"

I apologize for talking with my mouth full.  I couldn't help it - that ice was SO GOOD!  I understand they have other things at the carry-out place, too.  I'm hoping to score some grilled chicken next time.  Maybe a strawberry milk shake.  How cool would that be?

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Vet Visits

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  As I mentioned the other day, Maggie had her annual vet checkup on Monday.  She was a good girl, got a great report, and other than having a follow-up for a booster in a few weeks, she's good to go.  Here is a picture of her out front, after her appointment:

"Wow.  Cheese on a stick.  Unforgettable!"

I had an appointment yesterday! I got the same student team that Maggie had, so that was very nice. We both really liked them.

"Mike and Kyle are going to be terrific veterinarians in a few months!"

Seriously.  They found my "tickle spot" in less than 10 seconds and gave me lots of scratchies there!  I loved it!!!

They (and my doctor) had nothing but wonderful things to say about me - and Mags, too.

While they were getting my Discharge instructions ready, Mom and I compared feety-feet:

Mom's are the ones on the left.

I didn't get Cheese Whiz on a tongue depressor (cheese on a stick) like Maggie did, but I did get a cookie!

"Wonderful people.  Wonderful care.  Wonderful cookies..."

Do all of you get tickles and treats when you go to the vet's?  I hope so.  Because of how nice everyone is at our KSU Vet Health Center, we aren't the slightest bit afraid to go there!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher ... and Cammie!

Morning Walk

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Mom took Mags and me on a very lovely walk this morning and I thought I'd show you a few shots of us along the way.

Here we are, coming out of the garage:

"Oooof!"
"BOOM!"

Walks are such a peaceful, wonderful way to start the day!  I mean ... you know.  After someone settles in a bit.  She can't help it - she's a puppy!

Moving right along ...

The morning sky was just beautiful!  Here we are, up on the first big hill:

"Oh, beautiful..."
"...for spacious skies..."

Here we are on the next hill, admiring the sunrise:

"It's going to be a great day, Mags!"
"It already is, Cam!"

Yesterday, Maggie had her big first annual check up at the vet school!  (Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University.)  She was so tired when she got home that I just made sure she got a glowing report, but didn't press her for details.  I thought our morning walk would be the perfect time to get the full scoop.  Remember - the family that walks together talks together!

"So how did it all go, Mags?"
"It was pretty rough ... but I did my best."

The vet gave her a great report and Maggie just loved seeing everyone.  I just hope it wasn't too traumatic for my little Maggie.  She puts on a brave face, but I know it had to be hard.

"Yep.  Met a bunch of nice people, had to hold still, a needle poke here and there ... that's about it, Cam."
"I'm so proud of you, Mags."

She did great.  And for some reason, she doesn't mind at all that she has to go back in a few weeks!  What a brave, brave puppy!

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Cammie!

***EDITOR'S FLASHBACK TO MAGGIE'S VET APPOINTMENT:

"Oooooh, cheese on a stick!!!  I never get this kinda stuff at home!!!  How COOL!!!
This'll be our little secret, OK, doc?"

A New Ball!!!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  I hope your weekend was as good as mine was.  Want to know something that made mine great?

I have a new ball!

That's right - I got a new ball!!! It looks just like my old one, but it's new!

This is going to be a GREAT week!!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with a wonderful Serene Scenery Sunday post for you to enjoy.  This all happened Friday afternoon, but I thought today would be the perfect day to share.

It all started after lunch.  We all had lunch, Dad went downstairs to work and work out, Cammie said a nap was calling her name ... and Mom reached for her glasses.

"Oooh.  GLASSES!!!"

Zimmie taught me many, many things in the time we spent together and one of those is this: Mom only wears her glasses to watch football or drive the car. No football on a Friday afternoon -- so that meant I was going on a ride!!!  I mean ... she wouldn't want to go somewhere without ME, right?!?

She said we were going on a training mission to Tuttle Creek State Park!  Oh, how very exciting!  She wanted to see how I would act around the birdies she likes to photograph and if we could work together as a team.  Are you kidding, Mom!??!  Teamwork is a Siberian Husky's middle name!  Off we went!

We saw all kinds of wonderful things!  Our first stop was a little dock at the River Pond.  Just as we approached, a Great Blue Heron took off!  He landed just up the shoreline a little bit:

Great Blue Heron and American Coots

That's him, silhouetted under the tree branch. The little guys are Coots. Some young Coots, some old Coots, no doubt. Ha roo roo roo.  "Old Coots".

I took a look around and stared silently off to my left:

"Oooh.  More big birdies!"

Mom followed my gaze and saw this other Great Blue Heron:

"Got one!"

He caught a fishie!!!

"GULP!"

And swallowed him whole. Wow. I'm surprised Mom didn't remind him to chew his food, like she tells me and Cammie. Anyway, he was a mighty serene Heron!

"Oh, that was yummy!"

There were two other herons over near, him, too, but they didn't catch any fishies. Mom and I loved sitting on the dock watching them!

"This is great, huh, Mom?"
"You betcha, Mags."

OK. There's a slight chance I was commando-crawling across the dock, trying to snarf something, but don't tell my mom. I'm sure she had NO idea of what I was up to. I don't want to ruin my chances to go again!

After we were there for a while, we drove over to another area of the River Pond. I took a good look around:

"Heeeeeere, birdie, birdie, birdie!"

I was more than willing to go down that steep bank so Mom could get closer to the water, but she was against it for some reason.  There weren't any exciting birdies down there, anyway, so we moved on.

Our next stop was over by the little outdoor chapel. I thought we should go in.

"It's so peaceful in here!"

We thought a lot of serene thoughts while we were in there - and Mom said I was one super-well-behaved puppy. I thought about our buddy Goose a lot - and his MOM, too. Goose has taught me a great deal about reverence and respect. I'm fairly sure he's the one who writes his MOM's sermons for her and I just love it when he shares God's word and important lessons with us!  Anyway - we had great quiet reflection time in the chapel ... then we headed out.

Something caught my eye as soon as we left the chapel.  Mom let me go check it out:

"A huge stick!  God must have known I was thinking about Goose in there!!!"

Seriously.  It's like there was this connection!  I'm in a chapel saying a little prayer for Goose, the most stick-loving, best stick-saving dog on Earth, then BOOM!  There's a stick right in the middle of the road.  It was awesome.  I wanted to mail it to Goose, but Mom said we couldn't fit it in the Celica.   I tagged him in a picture of it on FaceBook (actually Mom tagged Goose's MOM) which I hope was the next best thing.  I also chewed it a little bit for him.

Anyway, what a wonderfully serene time we had!  I hope coming with us via these photos helped you find a little serenity in the day, too.  Thanks for coming with us!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Research

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  Fall has definitely arrived here in Kansas!  We are getting some delightful weather, the leaves are starting to change, and the migratory birds and birds who "winter" here are starting to show up.  Those last two things are really more things that excite our mom - but we celebrate with her, just like we're sure she's happy about the cooler temps!  Right, Mom?  ... Mom?  Hmm.  Well, OK, maybe not as happy as Mags and I are.

While we watch TV at night, we're helping Mom get refamiliarized with some of the birdies that will be showing back up.

Me, Mom, and Mags, doing birdie ID research

Maybe we should look into getting Mom a warm jacket and gloves.  Maybe long pants while we're at it.  Who else is ready for Fall?!!?

Cammie!

Record-Setting Walk

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie, here with today's post.  We had some wild storms rip through over the past couple days and they brought us something quite wonderful - a drop in our temperatures!  This morning at Walk Time, it was in the upper 40s with 30 mph winds!  It was great!  Unfortunately, it was also raining, so Mom and Dad opted to delay our walk until that passed.  Fine with me - I passed the time by doing zoomies and trying to get Cam to play.

Finally, the rain passed, and it was time to go!  Cam and I suited up and were all SET!

"Are we ready?  I was BORN ready!"
"Yes, ma'am; I'm ready."

Apparently, when it gets nicer out like this, Mom and Dad have to delay even longer by putting on jackets and stuff!

"You know, I can make my own entertainment if you want me to ..."
"Oh, please no.  Please ..."

Aren't I helpful?

"Let me see ... without leaving this room, 
I could knock over the laundry hamper, grab Cam by the neck ... "
"Please hurry!  Please!"

Sure.  Cam might act all innocent and calm, but guess who was firing on all cylinders once we got outside?!?

"Ha roooooo!!!!"

Mom didn't get any pix of me right out of the gate.  Something about "nothing but a blur of fur".  Hmm.

Anyway, by the time we reached the Kansas Ocean, I had settled down a great deal - and paused to stare at some huge birdies!

"DINNER!"
"Birdies!!!"

They were a rare species called "Crows".  Or at least Cammie said something about "rare".  I was ready to get going!

"I said I'd take mine rare ..."
"Ha roo roo roo!  Oh, Cam!  Hey, isn't this the greatest walk ever!?!" 

It was just an AWESOME walk!  Oh.  And guess what?  We helped Mom break a speed record.  Check out what her GPS thingie emailed to her:

That's right - fastest pace in a month!  Go, us!!!  Mom said we're excellent personal trainers.

I hope you get nice, cool weather where you are - and that you go out and enjoy it as much as we are!  Now ... who's ready to go again?!!?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Rugged, Outdoorsy, Playful ...

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  As you may know, the Siberian Husky is a versatile, adaptive breed.  We are rugged and outdoorsy:

"Lions and tigers and bears!"
"Oh, my!"
(A little Kansas humor.)

Rough and tumble  playful:

Zoomies and wrestling!

And all kinds of other things!  As the adult Siberian here at Ao4 Headquarters, it's up to me to teach Maggie how to excel in all of these areas ... and others, as well.  We are currently honing our skills in one area that is very, very important.

"Mmm... this is nice, Cam!"
"Yes.  Snuggle in close, little one!"

That's right - snuggling!

It comes naturally to us.  You see, the Chukchi tribesmen who developed our breed counted on our ancestors to act as sled dogs who could go great distances with them - as the AKC says, the "Chukchis needed a sled dog capable of traveling great distances at a moderate speed, carrying a light load in low temperatures with a minimum expenditure of energy." So yes, we got them where they were going, but there was more!  We did a few other jobs along the way like hunting and herding, AND some of the Sibes (the smart ones who could snuggle!) were brought into the yurts at night to snuggle up and help keep everyone warm! Wouldn't you rather sleep inside the yurt than out on the frozen tundra?!?  So we are genetically predisposed to snuggle - but we need to keep that skill sharp!  Here's what I'm teaching Maggie!

If someone in the house isn't feeling well - be there to snuggle!

"We're here for you, Mom!  Zzz..."
"Very good, Maggie.  Hang tough, Mom.  Zzz..."

When Mom and Dad are eating, don't pester, but nap nearby, looking ridiculously cute. You'll be rewarded later!

"Like this, Cam?"
"Yes.  We're killin' Mom with cuteness.  It'll pay off in spades."

Here's another example of this:

"Didn't we used to fit on here a little better?"
"I have plenty of room."

She'll always be my little puppy as far as I'm concerned.  (That one scored us some yogurt, if I recall...)

Work hard snuggling in lots of other locations, too. It's important to be able to adapt!  My favorite place:

"This is my bed, little one.  Learn to snuggle up here, too, even when it's just us."
"I thought this was Mom and Dad's bed?"

"I spend more time up here than they do.  It's mine.  Zzz..."
"Got it.  Zzz..."

Maggie is coming along very well.  The snuggle force is strong in her!

Yep. Just making our ancestors proud, honing the skills they passed down to us! I wonder if the Chukchis had queen-sized beds?

Cammie!

Wordless Wedneday

Cammie!

In Case You Were Wondering

Greetings to all, it's me, Maggie!  In case anyone was wondering ...

... I'm still not allowed up on the sitzbank.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher