Wow, How Cool!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! It's me, Zim! We've received a couple awards lately and Storm said I could tell you about the first one! It's from our new friends at The Kitty City Gazette!

They love our site! Really!?!? Our site?!?!

WOW! How COOL!

Wowzers, kits (and Sharyn)! Thank you VERY much! We feel so honored!

Play bows and mmmmrrrrrow!

Zim

Honorary Kitty Cat!

Wordless Wednesday

Tail wags,

Storms

Update From the Studio

Woo, everypup and everycat. It's me, Dave, coming to you from our Studio today. I've been helping Mom with a big project lately, and a couple other little things. I was a little surprised to see Ammy come downstairs yesterday and start playing with one of MY Kongs.

Shouldn't she be out doing Meaty... Meetee.... weather stuff?

I mean, I heard the radio bipeds say we were going to get 8-10 inches of snow... and the local TV guys said 6-8 inches... and the AccuWeather guys and Weather Channel guys said we'd get at least two!!! Ammy explained to me that she went outside and did a weather check and that if I had read the post she put up on our blog, (oops, I was napping was busy helping Mom and forgot to bring the laptop downstairs) I would know that she said our flurries would change to wet snow.

"Did I mention any accumulation?" she asked me after I gave it a quick read.

"No... you said, 'flurries changing over to a wet snow...' You didn't say an amou-- oh, I get it."

Snowfall amounts in our area ranged from wet snow that melted and couldn't be measured to a foot of snow. The foot of snow was in a place called Morrowville, just north of us. Guess who got the "wet snow that melted and couldn't be measured"?

Woo. Ammy nailed it again!

I don't know how she does it.

Luv,

Dave

Just Real Quick!

Hi everypuppy and every cat! It's me, Ammy. Just a quick word about Zimmie's post from yesterday!

Many of you really enjoyed the photo of him all camouflaged behind that huge stalk of grass. In fact, you were very complimentary of his camo job and said you could barely see him. For those of you who might have been hesitant to say anything, I thought I'd provide a little visual aid:

Can you see him now? Whew, it took me a while to find him - I don't mind admitting that!

And now - as FaceBook friends of our mom know, I made a weather prediction last night; I smelled snow and said we'd get a minimum of snow flurries within 24 hours. The flurries started just around 0145 this morning. Now all the weather bipeds have us under a Winter Storm Warning until 0600 tomorrow, calling for anywhere between 2-8 inches, depending on the forecaster. I need to get to work and see if we're really going to get as much snow as they're calling for.

Hmm... flurries changing over to a wet snow...

The local radio bipeds are calling for more than the local TV bipeds, and those bipeds are calling for more than the national TV and webcast bipeds. Mom's waiting for my forecast.

Have a great day, everypup and everycat. I'm off to work!

Love,

Ammy

Resident Meteorologist, Ao4 HQs

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups, kit-cats and serenity lovers. It's me, Zim, here with this week's look around for peaceful scenery to share. How about we start in our backyard. Ready?

Guess what is still in bloom? Our day lilies! The leaves are all brown, but check out the flowers:

Pretty cool, huh? I like that splash of color in all the different tans.

The Rose of Sharon right above the lilies isn't blooming any more, but check out what it looks like!

Even during the off-season, you can find beauty! Speaking of beauty .... everyone loves roses! Look at ours:

It still offers intense color!

In Ammy's post the other day, you could also see a lot of our cool ornamental grasses - those always make me feel serene! You know what else makes me feel good?

Oh, YEAH!

Mom and I set off on a ride just the other day. We pulled over at one point to do a little exploring.

While out there, we looked over toward the west and could see some of our troops at Fort Riley out training! Well, not exactly our soldiers themselves, but look!

A Chinook helicopter, practicing a supply drop! Isn't that cool? Seeing our troops train and hearing them out on the ranges makes all of us feel serene; the more they train, the safer they are in battle. We call the sounds of them firing out on the ranges the sounds of freedom!!!

I thought I'd do a little training myself. Here I am, working on my camouflage:

I'm back there behind that big stalk of grass. Can you see me?

Ammy and I went on a great walk together on Veterans Day. Here we are, arriving back at Ao4 Headquarters:

Ammy and me!

The sight of home is always a good one!

Speaking of Ammy, she wanted me to toss in a couple sunset pix!

These are both from the 8th.

Do they make you feel serene? Here's one last one of me, taken on Veterans Day.

Me, thinking about our troops.

Have a serene Sunday, everyone. Think about the things you love and that bring you inner peace!

Play bows,

Zim

Snooze-y Saturday

Play bows, pups and kit-cats. It's me - Zim. We've got a chilly, cloudy, damp day here at Ao4 HQs today. Now that I've had some exercise, there's only one thing on my mind.

Zzz....

That's right - curling up on one of our beds for a good nap.

OR... maybe use two beds, part of the floor... oh, not those covers on the bed by the dresser, though. Gotta get rid of those...

This napping stuff can be hard work in and of itself. I feel an additional nap coming on. Just for balance.

Have a great Saturday!

Play bows,

Zim

Photo Finish Friday

Hi everypuppy and everycat! It's me - Ammy - here with Photo Finish Friday! I'm going to use today's photos to answer a really great question we got yesterday from our sweet friend Sedona! She left this comment on Davy's post: "Dave, you are one Energizer Bunny! I see you have no fence...do you stay on your property or do you have an invisible fence? At the Meet the Breeds, the Sibe booth people said you guys like to roam... Jus' wonderin'! Your pal, Sedona."

GREAT comment, Dony! Whoever you spoke to at the Meet the Breeds event was 100% correct! We Sibes can NEVER be trusted off-lead. We don't just like to roam, we love to RUN and can cover over 50-60 miles a day. Combine that with the lack of leash ... and that's just not a good combo!

We actually do have a 6-foot high fence around our back yard, complete with a concrete mowing strip along the base for added security. You have to look really hard at the pix of Dave to see the fence. Because we live on the side of a hill, sometimes it looks like we're just out there, running free. Trust me when I say that's one of our mom's biggest nightmares! Anyway - I succumbed to a photo shoot this morning to show you a bit of our fence. Ready? Let's head outside!

Here I am, up at the top of the yard - the northeast corner.

You can see the fence behind me, and one of our gates. The gates are always padlocked - just so the meter reader or someone doesn't come in, then leave the gate open. Safety first! You can also see how steep our hill is.

Let's walk around to the other upper corner. We have a cool brick path that weaves through the yard. Dave got to pick out the pavers, since he's Mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind. I just thought I'd point that out. Anyway... here's the south side of the fence.

Right over there. Oh... hee hee hee. That shot is for the Basset Babes. Let's keep walking.

Here's the southeast corner - Mom's favorite part of the garden.

Halt! Who goes there?

I like posing on those chunks of limestone. Here's another one:

Stormy calls this pose my "Nanette of the Midwest" look. Hee hee hee!

Anyway, enough of this...

I'm outta here!

Let's go have some fun! (Photo above also for Martha and Bailey Basset!)

YEA!!!!! Run, run, run!!! YEA!!!!!!

I love to run. Oh. And you can see the western fence line in the background, and the other gate.

When we play with our toys with Mom, we usually play on the upper tier; because of the layout of the terrain, you sometimes can't see the fence! See how it disappears on the left side of this next photo:

That's my version of playing "Fetch". I love to run and chase after the toy, but I only bring it back part way. That helps Mom get more exercise! And here's one more photo -

Whee! Look at me - I'm FREE!

I'm not really free, but it looks like it, doesn't it? Maybe we have a magic disappearing fence?!?! Hee hee hee!

Thanks for a great comment, Sedona! And our thanks to the Meet the Breed bipeds for putting out some GREAT information that not only educates other bipeds about us, but can also help keep us Sibes safe!!!

Love,

Ammy

Camo Wubba!

Woo, everypup and everycat! It's me, Dave! Yesterday should have been called Wubba Wednesday, because that's how I spent part of the morning - playing with my very cool camo Wubba! Mom had walked and walked and walked the redheads, took Storm and me on a shorter walk, then decided I needed a bit more exercise. I proposed a good round of WUBBA! Here's how it went!

We did some of this:

Throw it, Mom! Throw it!

And some of this:

Here I come!

A bit of this:

Woo! Tuggy, tuggy, tug!

More of the above:

Me enjoying Wubba time!

And more of this:

Tired? Me? No way! Throw it again! Throw it again!

What great fun! And I was a bit tired afterwards. It was all I could do to play zoomies with Zim when I got in the house!

Luv,

Dave

Veteran's Day 2009

Today in the US, we celebrate Veteran's Day - a day to honor all of our service members, especially those who have served in combat.

Here at Ao4 HQs, we understand that freedom is not free. We thank our veterans for their selfless service, dedication to duty, and their courage. It is because of our men and women in uniform that we enjoy the great freedoms we have today.

May God bless our veterans, watch over them, and keep them safe.

The Army of Four

Dealing With the Puparazzi

Tail wags, dear readers, it's me - Stormy. That's right - the puparazzi. We can all relate. You all know our common plight - you're there taking a nap on Guard Duty in the bedroom, totally focusing on your mission ... when the puparazzi comes in and disturbs your peaceful slumber. I suffer from these photo ambushes, too. But you can take control of the situation! Here's a little "how to"!

Take the other day for instance. There I was, guarding the bed...

Zzzz... mmm, tuna ... salmon ... tilapia, mmm ... zzzz....

...when in comes the puparazzi.

Can I help you?

Oh, sure. I understand - I mean, I was doing a really good cute pose, but honestly - enough's enough!

Is she still there? I don't even want to look.

Me, rolling my eyes.

See what I put up with around here? Sheesh.

How would you like to see these pillows meet an early demise?

I sent Mom a mind-meld message that unless she wanted to see a little display of my handiwork rearranging the pillows, quilt, covers, etc., she might want to put the camera down and let me get back to my nap Guard Duty.

And that's how you get a little peace and quiet, pups and kits. Just remember - you are the ones in charge, not the puparazzi. Take control of the situation!

Tail wags (and happy birthday to the US Marine Corps!),

Stormy

Working For My Mom

Woo, everypup and everycat. It's me, Dave. As many of you know, I serve as my mom's Guide Dog for the Color Blind. She's been incredibly busy in our Studio lately - which means I've been busy in there, too. She's been making bags like crazy (really exciting news to tell you soon reference one of them!), and is currently working on a really big project I'll tell you about eventually - and is re-writing a tutorial as she goes. Woo. And who has to make sure all the fabrics go together? That's right - me. Davy.

I told you about some of my duties last week; today I'd like to impart the importance of looking at things from different perspectives. Colors change in different lighting, different settings, and depending on how you look at them. So when Mom asks me to check things out for her, I have to view the fabs at different angles.

Looks good this way... let me try something else...

I like it from here, too.

I think some tummy rubs might help me see things more clearly...

Ah... sweet bliss!

Err... I mean...

Yeah, that looks real good, Mom.

That's for the tutorial she's doing. I don't think she'd be making much progress if I wasn't helping her.

We're back to work this afternoon. I better rest up. Have a great day, everypup and everycat.

Luv,

Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday - The Red & White Edition

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! Zim here, with another Serene Scenery Sunday. This week's theme - red and white! Let's get started!

We have a really cool Japanese Maple Tree by out front door. The colors have just been incredible this year! Here's a little collage I put together for you:

Aren't the reds intense? You can click that, if you'd like, to go to our FlickR site and see more.

Let's balance that out with some white; here's a look at our Mums:

And even more Mums:

We like these because they look like small snowballs - promises of cool things to come!

Let's get back to red! We've shown you our Burning Bush before, but once it sheds its gorgeous red leaves, it gets these vibrant red berries:

Aren't they cool? The birds really like them.

Did the red and whites help you feel serene? How about one more dose?

Me and Ammy

Ha roo roo roo! Have a serene Sunday!

Play bows,

Zim

Cat-ch up Caturday

Tail wags, all! It's me - Stormy, with a few miscellaneous things to share with you.

On behalf of the Ao4 and especially Zim, we'd like to thank our very beautiful and dear friend Huffle for presenting us with the Blogger Buddy Award!

We just love it and feel quite honored! A big "thank you and meow!" to Zimmie's bestest friend.

Speaking of "BFF"s, now that we can send photos with text messages on the iPhone, my sweet BFF Tia and I have been sending pix back and forth. Here I am admiring a portrait she sent me last week:

"Tia... you look so regal!"

I love that technology helps us keep in close touch with our friends!

In other news, Zim wanted his kit-cat pals to know he's made another friend in the neighborhood.

"Ha roo, kit-cat!"

He looks for him every time we pass that street! I'm so proud of my Zimmie for being so good with kitties!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tail wags,

Storms