Holly? Is That You?

Woo, everypuppy. It's me, Dave.

A while ago, Mom and Dad cleaned out and rearranged the garage. They moved all of our stuff around out there, too - that's where we keep our canteens, towels, outside toys, and leashes and all. Yesterday while Mom was hooking me and Amber up to take us for a walk, I had a look around. Look at what I saw! Or should I say "Look at who I saw!"??!!

Hollybollyboo? Is that you?

I thought it was my very bee-wooo-tiful Malagal friend Holly! Then Amber reminded me it was an Iams tin Mom got a long time ago. It just was up higher before where I couldn't see it. Woo. I thought Holly had come to visit!

Luv,
Dave

Sitka's Quilt ... Completed!

Ha roo, everypup! It's me - Zim! Wowzers, did you see how much hard work Dave put into (oh... I mean "Dave and Mom put into"...) the quilt for Sitka? How cool! If you'll recall, Mom was about to do all the clipping when Dave ended yesterday's post. She must have some Working Breed in her, because she got it all clipped and into the wash before we could even shed more fur on it!

Here it is, coming out of the dryer. See how the frayed edges are all fluffy?

Here's a close up. Those raised, frayed, fluffy seams are GREAT to roll around on! We all love how they feel rubbing our backs! (We have a quilt like this on our bed!)

I can't wait for Sitka to try it out!

Dad held it up for Mom to get some photos of it. I found it fascinating!

Mesmerizing! And fluffy!

I thought Dave should see it all fluffed out and held up like this!

Hey, Dave! You really did a great job on this! Come on in and see it while Dad's holding it up!

Well, Dave did come in, but rather than standing there admiring it, he said Dad's arms were probably getting tired and I should get out of the way. Me? In the way? That can't be right! Then I saw Stormy coming over to physically remove me (see her back there, sort of behind the quilt?) ...so I thought I should go do something else for a while.

Here's the back - it's all cut up blue jeans!

Mati was really sweet yesterday, and left a comment wondering where Am was! Oh, don't worry, Mati! We had a special request from Sitka and Amber was the perfect Sibe to see to it! See... Sitka asked for a sniffy bag of Ao4 fluff, so she could get a better sense of who we are. And Amber has the thickest, fluffiest, still-blowing-her-coat fur of all of us. :) I knew she wouldn't mind taking a brushing for Sitka! Well... maybe she did mind a little, but since all of us donated a little, too, she gave a couple swipes of the comb worth.

This is enough, isn't it, Mom?

I came in to see if Mom got enough fluff out of Am to fill our sniffy bag. (That's me, behind Amber.) Mom asked if I was volunteering to donate more. I decided to go see what Dave was doing. Amber said I left her holding the bag. Ha roo roo roo. Good one, Am.

Sitka - we all hope you enjoy your new fluffy quilt and your sniffy bag!!!

I'm off to help Mom wrap it up and get it in the mail! Happy quilt, Sitka!!! We hope you, Tia, and your mom and dad like it!

Play bows,
Zim

Sitka's Quilt!

Woo, everypup! Dave here, Guide Dog for the Color Blind! I've been hard at work lately, helping Mom with the cool raggy-edged denim quilt for our bee-woo-tiful friend Sitka. And Tia. Oh... and their mom and dad, too! Remember when I first told you about it? That post showed you my fabric selection.

I chose a line called "Liberty Garden" - it has all kinds of be-woo-tiful patriotic prints with eagles and stars and roses ... and all kinds of cool stuff. Among the stack that Mom has (she really liked it and bought a TON of it!) were some greens. Mom thought we would use the ones with the green background because Sitka's couch has some fluffy pillows on it that have a lot of green in them. I told Mom, "Woo!" which we all know means, "No! Not the green fab!" "But Davy ... there is a lot of green in Sitka's pillows!" she insisted. I told her, "Woooooooo!" - Siberian for "That's not the right green, Mom!" She finally caved to my choices - which was a good decision.

Trust me, Mom! I know what I'm doing!

In this next picture, Mom's got all the fabs and the denim stacked up next to the Bernina, ready to sew.

She kept at it hard - it took a long time to get all the pieces together, but finally it was all one piece! Zim heard the quilt we were working on is for Sitka ... and since she has a VERY special place in his heart, he came in to inspect!

This is for Sitka? Cool! Let me see if it's good enough for her!

He gave it the SGT Zim seal of approval! Then Mom put it on the floor for us to admire - and Stormy came in to check it out!

I think Tia will like this, too! Very comfy!

Thanks, Storm!

But wait! We're not done! I laid on the quilt and remembered we still have to fray it and wash it a few times! (No wonder Mom actually let us get on it! Ha woooo!)

Mom! We still have to fray it!

I asked Mom if she wanted us Sibes to fray it for her in our own, creative way, but she said she has special scissors for that.

Cool! I asked if I could do it. Mom said I have to clip every 1/2 inch or so all along every seam she sewed, plus the outside. That's a lot of clipping!

Ummm ...this sounds like a lot of work ...

It was then that I remembered my lack of opposable thumbs. (Whew!) I was going to have to leave the clipping to Mom!

Tune in tomorrow to see how transformed it is by the clipping and washing! It gets down-right FLUFFY! I sure hope Sitka and her family like it!

Luv,
Dave

9/11/07

Our flag is flying high here today at Ao4 HQs. Rather than my own words, I give you our National Anthem:

The Star Spangled Banner
LyricsBy Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Tail wags,
Stormy

In Search of ... That Bug!

Hey everypup! It's me - Zim! Remember a few weeks ago, I showed you that cool bug on the Sweet Potato Vines by the mailbox? I looked for him the other day and I couldn't find him!

Hello? Bug! Are you in there?

Hey, bug! Where are you?

I couldn't find him. I figure since he liked the Sweet Potato Vine by the mailbox, maybe he'd try another one. I remembered the potted Sweet Potato Vine on the front porch. Maybe he's in there!

Hey, bug! Are you in here?

I took a closer look, and couldn't find him in there, either. The only other Sweet Potato Vine I could think of was the one hanging out on the back deck.

I couldn't see him and the plant hangs too high for me to stick my snooter in it. No fair! How am I supposed to keep watch over it if it's up high like that? I had to satisfy myself with munching on a few mint leaves and a basil leaf instead. All-in-all, not a bad ending to a morning's work in the garden.

Play bows,
Zim

Sunday Salute - Andrew Peterson!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to our friend Andrew Peterson of Sydney, Australia! Andrew is very active in Husky Rescue! K and Kali, our pals in Mexico, help keep us up-to-date on Andrew, his pups Sampson and Ashaki, and all he does for Siberian Husky Rescue. Most recently, they shared video about a Sibe named Shelley, who Andrew took into rescue. There is a great article about Shelley here, on Sibes.org. (Andrew is the Site Administrator!) The article provides more details of what Shelley went through!

Here is the cool video K and Kali sent! It's a clip of a show called "Totally Wild", and features Andrew with Shelley's story!

We'd call it "Totally Wonderful" ... but maybe that's just us! What a great success story! Andrew, thank you for helping Shelley and so many others like her get to loving fur-ever homes!

For all you do for Sibes in need, Andrew, we salute you!

The Army of Four

Thank You, Koobie!

Woo, everypup, it's me, Dave! Who all is going to that cool Scots-Irish festival in Pennsylvania this weekend? Not ME! - the biggest fan of bagpipe music in all the world -- that's who isn't! It's one of those "we live too far away" things again. Woo. This is really getting old: first the Hike N Howl, and now a weekend full of bagpipe music!

Oh, well ... Mom said we can't go to PA, but we can listen to bagpipe music. I got all our CDs together, and we're going to spend the day in the Quilt Studio. That should be cool!

Speaking of cool and Pennsylvania ... our very sweet friend Koobuss presented us with this lovely award:

What a really nice thing to do! We are deeply honored, Koobie! Thank woo so much!

It was hard for us to decide who to pass it along to ... but given the theme of the weekend, we're going to give the award to our favorite Scotsman - Marvin! We love his blog!

Thank woo again, Koobie! Hey... since you're in PA, are you going to the Scots-Irish fest? Or are you really going to the PSU-Notre Dame game like another puppy mentioned? (Mom is a graduate of that PSU thing!) Anyway ... thank wooooooo for the blog award! And Marvin - we luv your blog! We thoroughly enjoy your stories and pictures and your many cool adventures! Woo!

Luv,
Dave

PS: I hope all of our friends who do get to go to the Green Lane Park festival have a REALLY great time! Wooooooo!

Slow Day

Woo, everypup. It's me - Dave. Is anypuppy doing anything exciting today?

We had a major storm-with-a-small-"s" come through last night. It must have been really cool because Storm-with-a-capital-"S" and Mom stayed up all night to enjoy it. The rest of us slept right through it. Woo. Storm knew Mom wouldn't want to miss something so cool!

We went for really nice walks this morning, but now not much is going on.

If there's anything I should know about, let me know ... OK?

Luv,
Dave

Ask the Ao4 XXIV - Ao4 Unleashed!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Before I get started on our Ask the Ao4 post, I'd like to mention that it is our 1-year blogaversary! We've made so many new friends over the past year and have learned a LOT of things - especially about our computer! We'd like to say a special thank roo to our very dear friends Tubey and Meeshka (and their humans) - they were our inspiration to start blogging and offered a lot of encouragement and technical support. Huge thanks, too, to Opy, Charlie and their humans for giving us such a warm welcome into the Dogs With Blogs community! Charlie's dad has been a great help with technical support, too - and has made some very cool graphics for us! We also appreciate the interaction and support of our readers and fellow bloggers! You truly make this a more complete, enjoyable experience! Thank roooooooo, all!

Here I am in the backyard yesterday

Our wonderful friend Holly asked, "I have a question for the A04. Why are you always hooked up to your leashes when you are outside? Do you ever get to just run and play out there without them? Or, are your humans afraid you will escape?" Good question, Holly! We addressed this briefly in Ask the Ao4 VI - Leashes, Love and the LabraDave. (Hee hee hee!) Jazz & Dixie had asked if it was true that Sibes could never be trusted off-lead. Zim told them that it is certainly true and went on to explain that we are leashed unless we are in the house or are in the safety of our backyard.

Our backyard has a 6-foot fence with a concrete strip underneath - so it is Sibe safe... given that the gates are shut and locked. Our front yard is not fenced in, so any of the pix of us out there are going to show us with our leashes on. Sometimes we wear our leashes in the back yard, though Mom just drops them. That's usually because we've come from a walk and Mom drops our leashes or if Mom is trying to get us to cooperate for photos. Like the picture of Stormy at this link, Mom led her over to that part of the yard, then let her do her own thing. She just didn't unhook the leash. If we're just playing out there ... no leash. Except sometimes for the boys because they don't listen when Mom says it's time to go in. :)

Here I am exploring the yard yesterday. See how high the retaining wall is?

When we first had the backyard re-landscaped, we didn't know not to jump off the walls ... so the boys and I had our leashes trail behind us so Mom could grab them, give a little tug and a "no no!" if we were going to jump. (I still like to jump UP onto the walls!) Stormy knew not to do it; she's very smart!

Here I am, contemplating jumping.

See that pine tree down there? Oswald or one of his family members lives under it. They're EVERYWHERE!

I didn't see him or smell him, so I went off to check out another part of the yard.

I hope that answers your question, Holly! We really DO go un-leashed in the backyard ... but when Mom is trying to get us to pose for pictures, it's easier to get us where she wants us with our leashes on! Thanks for asking!

Love,
Amber

Magic Beans...talk

Ha roo, pups! Zim here! I thought we should talk a little bit about my Magic Beanstalks today. Amber helped me with the title of today's post ... can you tell? Ha roo roo roo!

As you may remember, Aunt Janet sent us some magic beans back in April. Mom and I planted them so the rest of the Ao4 and I could have an escape route, should we need a quick get-away from the Giant! We've posted a few p-updates, so you could follow our magic beanstalks as they grow. We've had a few challenges, with the heat, drought, BUNNIES and bugs ... but they're really coming along. Everysibe has been helping keep an eye on them, which is really nice.

I went out to do my own inspection the other day and thought I'd show you how exciting and cool the magic bean vines are getting! Here I am by the one at the base of the stairs to the lower deck.

Hey! I see little flowers! They're starting to bloom!

I checked the leaves over real well to see if there were any bugs on them, then couldn't resist tasting some of those pretty buds!

Mmmmm, tasty!

I have no idea why, but Mom started that funny "nononoZimmieno!" thing. Whose magic beanstalks does she think they are!?!? I mean ... really! Here's a shot of it from this morning, after we watered:

And here is another one of the pots:

Aren't they looking GREAT?!?! Here are a couple close-ups of the blooms:

We saw a hummingbird on them yesterday, but couldn't get a picture. It was really cool - those are some FAST birdies!

Before we know it, they'll be full of big purple BEANS! I wonder if Mom will cook some for us this year? I love beans!

That's all the magic beans....talk for today! Have a good one, everypup!

Play bows,
Zim

New Game, Part Deux

Ha roo! It's me - Zim! Am and Dave gave some great answers in the new game going around yesterday, didn't they? I really liked the vehicles they both chose! Time for Stormy and me to give our answers.

To recap, here are the rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions. They must be real places, names, things ... If you can't think of anything, skip it. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. You take the first letter of your first name, and then answer the questions using only that letter.

Hey, cool! Let's get started, Zim!

OK! Here are Stormy's answers!

What is your name? Stormy

4 letter word: Star
Vehicle: Sled (at far right)

TV Show: Star Trek

City: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Boy Name: Sergei

Girl Name: Svetlana
Alcoholic Drink: Stolichnaya vodka

Occupation: Soldier

Something you wear: Socks

Celebrity: Sam Alexis Woods (I love puppies ... even biped ones!)

Food: Salmon
Something found in a bathroom: Shower stall

Reason for being late: Sleeping!

Cartoon Character: Snoopy

Something You Shout: Shhh! Quiet!

Wow, great answers, Storm! Mom uses that last one all the time around here. Ha roo roo roo! And I love that "soldier" answer! COOL!

And now ... the moment you've all been waiting for. Me - the Z-man! Do you think I'm up for the challenge?

My turn? Cool!

What is your name? Zim
4 letter word: Zero
Vehicle: Z (350 Z)
TV Show: Zorro (pictured at far right - isn't he COOL!?!?)
City: Zeandale, KS (It's just down the interstate from us!)
Boy Name: Zach
Girl Name: Zoë
Alcoholic Drink: Zinfandel ("Zin is in"!? Who knew?)
Occupation: Zookeeper
Something you wear: Zipper
Celebrity: Zsa Zsa Gabor
Food: Zucchini
Something found in a bathroom: Zap Tile & Grout restorer
Reason for being late: Zzzzz...
Cartoon Character: Ziggy (at right)
Something You Shout: Zut alors! (It’s French for …. well, look it up!)

This was a great challenge! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be ... mostly because Dad helped me. Ha roo roo roo! (Thanks, Dad!)

Cool game - we hope everypuppy has as much fun with it as we did!

Play bows from Storm and me,
Zim

New Game

Woo, everypuppy! It's me, Dave! We saw this cool new game on the bee-woo-tiful Malagal Holly's blog and our special pals Guinness, Shiloh & Misty's blog and we wanted to play, too! Stormy said it would be too much to post everysibe's answers in one post, and told us to go two at a time, alphabetically. That means me and Amber first. Well... Amber and me. Woo.

Me and Amber, giving the game some thought

Here are the rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions. They must be real places, names, things ... If you can't think of anything, skip it. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. You take the first letter of your first name, and then answer the questions using only that letter. Cool! Let's go! Ammy first!

What is your name? Amber
4 letter word: Amen
Vehicle: Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV)
TV Show: The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (And here is the real story of Rin Tin Tin!)
City: Archangelsk, Siberia (It's the city our Weather Control Device is set to!)
Boy Name: Alexi
Girl Name: Alena
Alcoholic Drink: Ale
Occupation: Arbitrator
Something you wear: Anklets
Celebrity: Aaron Baddeley
Food: Apples
Something found in a bathroom: Antenna (on the radio)
Reason for being late: Alarm didn’t go off!
Cartoon Character: Arthur, from Babar the Elephant (Pictured at right!)
Something You Shout: Ah HA!

Now it's my turn!

What is your name? Dave
4 letter word: Dirt
Vehicle: DUCW (or Duck), pictured at right (Hey Davy, it's a 'Duck out of water'. Hee hee hee!) (Oh, Amber!) (Sorry. Hee hee hee!) (That's OK... it IS funny...ha woooo!)
TV Show: Dream House
City: Dallas, TX
Boy Name: Dmitri
Girl Name: Danika
Alcoholic Drink: Dirty Banana
Occupation: Detective
Something you wear: Diamonds (not me, but Mom does!)
Celebrity: Dave Thomas! (I was named after him!)
Food: Dumplings
Something found in a bathroom: Drain
Reason for being late: Didn’t hear you calling!
Cartoon Character: Dino Flintstone
Something You Shout: Dinner time!

I hope you enjoyed our answers! This was really fun - I hope lots of our friends play! I can't wait to see what Storm and Zim come up with tomorrow!

Luv,
Dave (and Amber!)

Sunday Salute - Husky Power Dogsledding!

Our Sunday Salute goes out to our friends at Mountain Maryland Kennels, LLC - the home of Husky Power Dogsledding!!! It's only fitting that since tomorrow is Labor Day here in the US that we salute some true working dogs!

Have you ever dreamed of going on a great dog sled run? Getting up close and personal with sled dogs? Watching huskies do what they were born to do? Book a visit with Mike and Linda Herdering, and they and their Siberian and Alaskan Huskies will take you on the adventure of a lifetime! Can you imagine?!!? You can have anything from an informative, fun-filled kennel visit (complete with husky kisses!) to a hands-on mushing experience!

Linda and Mike are two hard-working bipeds (like some of our favorite people, Mike is a retired Colonel!), and went through a lot of training and hard work before opening up Husky Power Dogsledding. They are both Wilderness First Aid certified, CPR certified, and expert dogsled drivers. They love to share their passion for dogsledding and dogs with others! Here's Linda, bonding with two members of the HPD team:

You can tell Linda enjoys her work, can't you?

The huskies of Husky Power Dogsledding are an incredible pack! We read all about each and every one of them on their website, and though we think each one is a star ... we have to confess that Smokey (pictured at left) stole our hearts. Look at that FACE! And the empty bowl! His bio reads, in part, that Smokey, "is about 5 years old, is the silliest pup to ever romp in a kennel. When it's dinnertime, actually anytime for that matter, he grabs his bowl and plays with it for hours." He sounds like our kind of guy! Actually ... they all sound like pups worth getting to know!!! SGT Zim really liked Gunny, especially because he thought maybe since COL Mike is a retired Marine, Gunny was actually a Gunnery Sergeant! We also fell in love with Nellie (pictured at right) - a six-year old who was rescued from a shelter in Alaska! According to her bio, "She’s one of the smallest dogs in the yard, but one of the smartest, especially when she runs." Stormy really liked that part!

Linda has a great group of pages on their website; they follow the life of three puppies who were born in April! It is so exciting to see them growing up! Though they are on the "Puppies for Sale" page, these little darlings are not available. Here they are at 19 weeks, doing a Christmas photo shoot!

We have to wonder how long the cute jingle collars and bracelets lasted? Ha roo roo roo!

The pups are gorgeous, aren't they? They've already put in some sled time. Seriously! Check this out!

COL Mike, with future sled dogs Rosie, Sabot and Zoomer

Ha roo roo roo! Is that a perfect picture? And though they're wee babes now, it won't be long before they'll join with the rest of the team to do this:

YEAH! Let's GO!

Doesn't that look like fun? A lot of hard work - but FUN!

For all you do at Husky Power Dogsledding, Linda and Mike and all the dogs, we salute you! (And our bipeds sure wish they lived closer so they could book an exciting sledding adventure!)

The Army of Four