Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!

One a penny two a penny -

Hot cross buns.

If you have no daughters,

give them to your sons.

One a penny two a penny -

Hot cross buns!

Hey everypup, it's me - Zim! Amber will get back to the sleepy poses posts tomorrow, but I wanted to share this Hot Cross Bun picture with my very sweet friend, Ivy! Dave told her that I'd be helping Mom make Hot Cross Buns for Easter weekend and maybe I could send her some; that's one of them in the picture. They look yummy, don't they? We worked really hard on those and I was a big help and I was SURE I could snag some for us and for Ivy. But Mom put raisins in them... and that means no Hot Cross Buns for the Ao4. Cats! Raisins are on the Forbidden Foods list ... so we aren't allowed to have them and I don't want to make Ivy sick, so we didn't send her any, either. Sorry.

I thought that poem was kinda goofy - but Dave and I went around saying it anyway only we said, "...even if you have daughters, give them to your sons..." just to tease Stormy and Amber. Amber kept giggling anyway, though, and I finally asked her what was so funny!?!? She said she was thinking about a joke... I just HAD to ask her what the joke was. Are you ready, readers?

What do you get if you pour boiling water down a rabbit hole?

Give up? Hot, cross bunnies.

Ha roo roo roo! Ammy tells such silly jokes - but I have to admit..... they're funny!

Ivy - sorry I can't give the mailman any Hot Cross Buns to bring to you! I hope you liked Amber's joke though.

Play bows,
Zim

Easter 2007

On this most sacred of Christian holidays, the Army of Four and our bipeds would like to wish our readers a most blessed Easter.

Tail wags, love, play bows and luv,
Storms, Amber, Zim and Dave

Hail Storm(y)!

Storms here - ha roo, everypup, continuing our thread of napping positions! I have several favorite sleepy poses, but here's my all-time favorite. We call it the Hail Stormy! pose - but you can shorten it to Hail Storm! if you'd like. Ha roo roo roo. (A little weather humor there...)


The bipeds stand in awe of my ability to totally relax and even sleep with my arm sticking straight up. Sometimes, I even go for two - though it's a bit harder to hold that pose. In the picture below, I was just coming out of the two-armed Hail Storm!, or the It's Up... It's GOOD! pose.

Mom isn't as quick with the camera as she could be.

Here's a more relaxed version - not unlike the Reverse Froggie Doggie I've heard some of you discuss.

Very comfy, indeed. I feel a nap coming on.

Tail wags!
Stormy

PS: Amber just reminded me there was a two-armed Hail Stormy!/It's Up, It's GOOD! pose on a post Dave made a while ago. Amber is such a good puppy to remind me, isn't she? Thank roo, Am!

Doggy Doughnuts

Wooooo! It's me, Dave! Remember Amber saying the other day that it was in the 80s? Well, we did what we could with our Weather Control Device and now our wind-chill is in the 20s, 30 mph winds, and snow flurries off and on. Whew. MUCH nicer out there!

Our friend Rafe asked a really good question on our comments section yesterday! He wrote to Zim, "Do you ever curl? Some of my flock do. Like pies. Or cats. I don't too often cause I'm bigger I think. Thought you might be too." Too big? No way! We all like to curl up into doggy doughnuts! Zim was leaving that pose for me to discuss, I think. It's one of my favorite poses - in fact, I've written three Haik-woo about the doggy doughnut.

I wrote one about Holly for Valentine's Day - and by virtue of being a Malamute, she's even bigger than us Sibes! (I mean that in the very nicest way possible. She's TALL!) We're hoping Holly will post her own sleepy poses, so you can go to the Valentine's link to see her and Haik-woo #34!

Here is Zim, in Haik-woo #2:

Amber does a great Cinnamon Bun, too - or maybe hers is a Honey Bun. Woo.

I'll close with my own pose and Haik-woo #13:

Luv,
Dave

Z-Time With the Z-man

Hey pups! It's me - Zim. Did you see the great pictures our friend Magnum posted on the MaPaw Siberian Husky Rescue blog the other day? They were totally inspiring. We of the Ao4 thought we'd take turns posting some of our best nap shots!

Siberianly speaking, I like to sleep in all KINDS of positions - the Froggie Doggie, upside down, holding up walls, stretched out and other zen-like poses... all kinds of positions! What I do that the other members of the Ao4 don't seem to is put my head under stuff. I love to lay with my head under the chair or pillows. Here are some of my pillow shots!

Nice, huh? That one (above) was taken just the other day. Mom had just changed the bedding and it all smelled like Downey fabric softener. I love the smell of Downey!

Here I am from a while ago, helping change the sheets! Mom says I add a lot of pleasure to housework and that I can turn a 5-minute task into a 20-minute one. Hey. Working Breed! I'm here to help.

As you can see above, I got a bit tuckered out half-way through the task and had to take a nap. It's really exhausting work.

Here's one last one for today:

This is all making me very tired. I'm off to try out a new pose. Storms, Ammy and Dave will post their nap pictures in the coming days!

Tired play bows,
Zim

Blooms and a Guest in the Garden

Tail wags, pups! Storm here. Mom went out into the yard to take some pictures of the garden stuff that's blooming the other evening. First, out front for a better shot of the Redbuds:

then she headed out back. We all wanted to come with her, but she said she wanted to go alone in case she saw something interesting. Huh? Whatever. I was in the middle of something anyway.

Zzzzz........

She came back in all excited that the Old Fashioned Lilacs are blooming (pictured below) ~

and the Eskimo Viburnum (a dog-onal favorite of the Ao4) were about to pop open (ours don't look as nice as the ones at the hyperlink, but they might one day!), the TX Quince in the back are doing great, the Juddi Viburnum were starting to bloom (see below) and already smelled incredible...

AND she saw a little visitor under the deck. What?!? I must go greet any visitor! All of us Sibes must - it's part of the Social Butterfly aspect of our temperament! But then I saw a picture of the visitor ... and realized my sister and brothers MUST not know she's out there. And I should be kept on a lead around her ... but I have been known to simply wag my tail at others like her. Here she is:

Pretty cute, don't you think? Hey! Are you guys staring at her!?!? I know what you're thinking... now stop it! Don't even think those thoughts!!! Besides... she might know the Easter Bunny and she could put a good word in for you! And ..... she's our guest.

Have a great day, everypup. Tail wags,
Stormy

Magic Beans!

Ha roo, everypup! Zim here!

I realize we haven't posted any (p)updates on our exploration into the Land of the Giant lately. Truth is ... we've been concerned about an escape route. Back in September, I posted about the really cool Beanstalk I grew one year from Magic Beans that our Aunt Janet sent. They are something called annuals, so you have to plant them every year. Only I didn't save any Magic Beans to grow more. What's a Sibe to do? Obvious - send a mind-meld message to my aunt for more Magic Beans, please!

So guess what came in the mail on Saturday!?!?! A package from Aunt Janet! Ha roooo! And even better - what's in it? MAGIC BEANS! For all kinds of stuff! But ... any Magic Beans for the Beanstalk?

Hmm... Daylilies.... French Hollyhocks...

Poppies ... Columbine ... Whoa! BINGO! Here it is - the Beanstalk!!!

Stormy told me I should go on-line and research the Magic Beans a little. The plants they grow are called Hyacinth Bean Vines - and their Latin name is Lablab Purpureus. "Lab-lab"? And one link is to a place called "Dave's Garden"? Ha roo roo roo. Toss in his purple collar, and it's just way too funny. But anyroo....... there you go with some cool links for more info on the Magic Beans!

Apparently we have to wait until it gets a little warmer to plant our Magic Beans - but as soon as the time is right, Mom said she's found a special spot for them out in the back yard. Ha roooo! I can't wait. Then - once we have our escape route - we'll get back to tracking down the Giant!

Play bows, everypup - and a special thanks to Aunt Janet for the Magic Beans!
Zim

New Magic Cold Box, Part II

Hi everypuppy, it's me, Amber! I hope everypup had a really happy weekend and did lots of fun things and saw lots of pretty things and got lots of treats and ear rubbies. We had a nice weekend here, but I must confess, I was a little bit concerned about the new magic cold box. As I've mentioned before, I love ice cubes. I was worried that the new magic cold box might not have any or maybe I wouldn't know how to use the dispenser on this one!

I had to gather my courage and give it a try. Here I am, on the approach:

Oooh, the new magic cold box...

Mom? May I please have some ice?

Thank roo!

Wow! Stormy was right! The new dispenser works just like the old one!

I better go rest up. Mom and Dad are having the rest of the mulch delivered today. It's going to be in the 80s today, so I'm going to have to keep a close eye on them from the kitchen windows to make sure they're OK! They might want to share ice cubes with me when they're done!

Have a happy day, everypupppy!

Love,
Amber

Sunday Salute - Thunder!

This week's Sunday Salute goes out to our friend Thunder of Overland Park, Kansas! You might remember Zim mentioning him a week or so ago - he was going to pick him up on his way east? Remember? Yeah, that's him! Here he is!

Thunder

Gorgeous, isn't he? Thunder will be one year old on April 28th. He was adopted by his Mom and Dad last August, when he was 16 weeks old! He shares his home with two other Siberian Huskies - Phantom, a black and white male, who is about 7 and 1/2 years old and Dakota, an all white female "boss" (ha roo roo roo!), who is about 9 and 1/2 years old. Here he is, a couple weeks after he got home.

Thunder's mom says that he learns a lot from Phantom and Dakota - most of it good. We'd bet it's ALL good, depending on your perspective. One thing Thunder does that his "siblings" don't do is de-stuff toys. (He'd fit in well around here!) He LOVES to find the squeaker! In fact, check out this video - he's tossing around a squeaker and pouncing on it!

Get it, Thunder! Get it!

He is already a big boy at 62 pounds! His mom said he has "huge paws and very wide frame, sits lower to the ground than the other two. Gorgeous markings, gray and white. Phenomenal coat, I call him my lamb who needs to be sheared." Ha roo roo roo!

Do I look like a lamb to you?

Thunder is still a growing puppy. In the picture above, he is stretching and trying out a "wolfie face". Very convincing!

Thunder -- and Dakota and Phantom -- are hard-working, exciting, interesting pups. We always love hearing from them - and a few of us fellow bloggers are trying to talk their mom into letting them have a blog of their own! Ha roo! But any time they'd like, we'd be happy to post stuff for them. They are EXTREMELY busy, helping their mom babysit three baby bipeds - their mom's grand babies! You'd think that since the Sibes are watching the wee ones, their mom could at least put up a Dogster page.... ! (Just kidding, Mrs. B, no pressure!)

Another time, we'll go into their cool pack dynamics - but for now, here are some cool pix of Thunder learning the ways of the Siberian.

Here he is in his yard. Obviously at the base of a climbing wall.

Very important for Siberians to learn how to scale walls. Here he is, below, working on his cute, innocent look:

I didn't do it! Honest!

And even though he's not yet a year old, here he is VERY hard at work - holding up the deck railing.

We get tired just looking at him!

Thunder, you're well on your way to true Sibe-hood! For all you do, getting along with Dakota and Phantom, helping babysit the grandchildren, learning to scale walls and other Siberian skills, holding up the deck railings.... and MUCH more - we salute you!

The Army of Four

PS: A hearty HAPPY BIRTHDAY cheer to Dave's twin brother of a different mother - HARLEY!

New Magic Cold Box!

Ha roo, pups. It's me - Zim! Wow, what a busy day yesterday! Despite a drizzle of rain in the morning, Mom and Dad had a truck-load of mulch delivered to spread in the front gardens. I had to go out and greet the delivery person, let her scratch my ears... you know, schmooze her a bit. Due to what I'm sure was my charm, she agreed to bring "just" one truck load yesterday and the second truck load on Monday.

Us members of the Ao4 had to stay inside and watch Mom and Dad work all morning - it took them hours, working constantly, to get that spread. It was exhausting for us to have to watch.

For some reason, Mom didn't take the camera out there with her, but here's a picture from one Winter of Amber watching out the front windows.

Just erase the snow in your mind, picture the four of us taking turns at the window where you see Ammy, and you'll have an idea of the hard, hard work we put in. Exhausting!

Amber and I had to run Dad to the park when the bipeds were done; Storm and Dave got Mom and came to meet us. Can you imagine how tired we were? But as Dad and Mom's personal trainers (or ... uh... Siberian trainers) we are committed to making sure they get some PT in.

As if that wasn't enough work for one day, the appliance dealer called and said the new magic cold box was in! They could bring it in a few hours! Wow! Then I had to watch Mom and Dad take all the stuff out of the old magic cold box and run it downstairs to the magic cold box down there. Whew. Lots of up and down, up and down. You have no idea how tiring it was for me, laying at the top of the steps watching them step over me!

When the magic cold box arrived, the four of us had to stay downstairs. Something about the front door being wide open. Mom said Dad and the delivery guys had to work some magic of their own to get it to fit... but it did! Here I am, helping to load it up:

Yeah, Mom... little stuff up here ... then the veggies in the big bins.

It was an exhausting day, as you can imagine. I had to get a nap in. This is an old picture of me napping.

I don't know why Mom didn't take a new picture. With all the help she and Dad got from me and the rest of the Ao4, you'd think she'd have energy to burn!

Play bows, pups!
Zim

Best Hiding Space

Hi everypuppy, it's me - Amber! I'm still a little concerned about the whole "bath" thing. You know ... our friend Nikki got a bath and now I just KNOW Mom is thinking about doing the very same thing to all of us. YIKES! I gave our friend Magnum my best advice, as he thinks a bath might be in store for him, too -- hide behind the chair in the living room!

Really! No one will EVER find you there. They can't see me, so it's bound to work for you! I hope this advice works for any of you who might need it! Good luck!

Love,
Amber

Tail Wags!

Ha roo, everypup! It's me - Stormy! Wow, what a day yesterday! Did you read our dear friend Marvin's blog? He wrote a poem about US -the Ao4! And he made his Wednesday Tail Wag about us! Our whole pack!!! What an honor! We were all so touched, so flattered...... what a cool guy you are, Marvin!

Dave saw the post first, since he was the one posting yesterday! He called me over to the computer. I had been doing something VERY important...

What? I'm sort of in the middle of something....

But Dave, being the heck of a nice guy that he is, wouldn't pull me away from my work for nothing. He told me about Marvin, his fellow poet's Tail Wag to us and wow! Did it make me happy!

Roo! That Marvin! What a guy! "Lab in Sibe clothing"! Ha roo roo roo!

Dave went in to get Ammy to tell her - she was working at the time, too.

She was SO HAPPY to read Marvin's poem and went on and on and on (you know how Ammy can be!) - then she told Zim. Meanwhile.... Dave went to help Mom with something.

I am so a lap dog! Really. I can fit. Zzzzzzzzzz...........

We all read Marvin's wonderful ballad and thoroughly enjoyed it. Marvin, you are SUCH a talented poet - and I think Dave was right in his Haik-woo #33 -- you are better than Burns! You're the best Scottish poet of all time!

Being the subject of such a literary masterpiece does seem to have gone to somepuppy's head around here, though.

"Zim the pirate"? A "favourite" with Marvin? Nah... haven't seen him, babe.

Oh. Sorry, Storm. Yeah, it's me. I thought you were part of the puparazzi.

See what I have to deal with here? Anyroo - Marvin, a big Ao4 THANK ROO for the very cool "Ballad of the Famous Army of Four" and the Wednesday Tail Wag. We are so honored!

Tail wags,
Stormy

Big Mean Kitty

Woo, it's me, Dave! Zim posted some pretty cool pix of some of our flowering stuff yesterday, didn't he? And he's right - I just LOVE those ornamental fruits when they drop off and get squished and lay there for a while fermenting. Mmm... those are tasty!

But anywoo... I asked Mom to take some pix of our Texas Quince - since I'm from Texas and all. We have a few different groupings of them, but the biggest are on one of the tiers along the South side of our house. Here they are:

Aren't they cool? Go in for a close-up, Mom!

Oooh, pretty! Then I asked Mom to take a picture of them from the backyard. Here's that shot:

The first tier on the other side of the fence has Froebel Spirea on it that aren't doing much at all yet, then the second tier has the TX Quince (they're actually on both sides of the pine; the wall curves around!) and a HUGE Austrian Pine, then the top tier is at street level - it has the Redbud trees, Snowmound Spirea (my favorite kind!) and other stuff.

Oh... and Zim asked me to post this for our dear friend Althea:

Sorry. That's all the inferior Altheas are doing right now. We'll keep you posted on how they progress.

Moving right along... Did you see our new friend Maggie the Airedale's blog the other day? She and Mitch have a mailman toy that's made by the same people as one of our toys - Big Mean Kitty! We only get to play with Big Mean Kitty when it's one-on-one playtime in the yard with Mom - or else we'd totally destroy it. As it is, Big Mean doesn't squeak any more. Woo. Here I am playing with it!

Gotcha, Big Mean Kitty!

You can't get away! I've got you!

Look at the scary face he's making!

It's a pretty cool toy, don't you think? No disrespect meant to any kitties.

Luv,
Dave

Springtime in Kansas!

Ha roo, pups and pup-ettes! It's me - Zim! Springtime has hit Kansas and you know what that means! Yeah! Time for drinking coffee out on the deck!

Yeah... right there, Dad! Thanks!

Oooh, I love mornings spent like this! Ha ROO!

OK, just kidding. Have you seen Jazz and Dixie's blog lately? It's Cherry Blossom time in Japan, and those Beagle babes have posted some lovely pictures! Surf on over and check them out!

Here at our house, we don't have any bee-roo-tiful Cherry Blossoms, but we do have a Redspire Pear tree, an ornamental fruit tree, and I told Jazz and Dixie I'd post some pictures of it! The blossoms might get fuller, but with the storms that have been sweeping through here (rain, thunder, lightening, 40 mph winds...) we didn't want to take any chances with waiting!

Here's a shot Mom took this morning; it was raining so it's kinda bleak-looking. You can see how nicely it's shaped, though.

And here's a close-up from yesterday. Aren't they pretty? Can you smell them?

Dave likes it after the ornamental fruit has ripened and falls off in Winter and is smooshed on the sidewalk. He says after it's fermented a bit, they're really tasty. They're OK, but I'm not as into them as he is.

We have some Redbud trees starting to bloom, too. They look all purple-y and pretty! Here's a branch silhouetted up against our house.

Pretty cool, huh? We'll take pix of more stuff as it blooms. I think Dave and Mom took some of the Texas quince; Dave will share those soon, I'm sure!

Hope you all enjoy the pretty pix! Happy blossom-time!

Play bows,
Zim

If You're Not the Lead Dog...

Woo, it's me - Dave. I hope everypup had a great weekend! We did - lots of walks and going out on the deck and stuff ... which brings me to today's post.

Usually on walkies, if it's the whole Ao4 plus Mom and Dad, Stormy and I walk up front. Stormy usually takes point because she's our alpha and the lead pup. And she pulls way too hard if she doesn't get to go first. Zim usually guards our six. Sure, Dad and Mom sometimes accuse him of lolly gagging, or even looking for his friends or wanting to go back to meet a biped and have her scratch his ears or something... but Zim says he's got our six covered... and I'm sure he does. I mean - he IS named after a Drill Sergeant and if a Drill Sergeant says he's got your six, he's got your six! (You can click those hyperlinks for more info, if you need it!)

I like to take the lead sometimes, too. In fact, I used to walk with Am and I'd pull really, really hard. Dad and Mom figured out that if I walk up front with Storm I don't pull as hard. Hard, but not as hard. Sometimes Storm lets me take point with her, but usually I'm behind her. And you know what they say. If you're not the lead dog...

the view never changes. Woo.

What do you say, Storm? Can we go shoulder to shoulder for a while?

Thank woo, Stormy.
Yeah... whatever. You're a heck of a nice guy, or I'd never let you take point with me!

Stormy's really cool, isn't she?

Luv,
Dave