Hitting the Trail!

Ha roo, pups and cool cats! It's me, Zim! Over the weekend, Ammy, Dave and I took Mom down the Hudson Trail. We haven't taken her there in quite a while so it was really exciting. Mom only had her iPhone, not the camera, but we have some pretty cool pix to show you anyway. Ready to get hiking?

Here is a shot of Amber and me at the start of the trail:

I was checking for squirrels. It's the best spot in town for squirrel sightings!

Here are all three of us on another segment of the trail:

Dave, me and Ammy

Ammy had just told us a joke. I can't remember what it was, but it was really funny.

At this other entrance, there is a cool chunk of limestone with a TON of good smells under it. Mom wanted us to hop up on the rock and pose - but only Ammy was willing.

"Let me know if you find anything really exciting!"

Actually, she was willing to go up there and NOT pose, so Dave and I could check everything out below.

"Hee hee hee!"

Is she a cool sister, or what? Oh... and she did give Mom a good shot after a while:

Mom took a shot of me walking. It wasn't that good of a photo, but once she applied some special effects, I thought it was pretty cool:

Zimmle Mawson, Explorer Pup

It was a great walk. I wish all of you could have been with us - I hope you enjoyed it through our photos!

Dave, me and Am - heading home!

Thanks for coming along!

Play bows,
Zim

Wildflower Monday

Hi everypuppy and everycat. It's me - Ammy! As I said the other day, we've seen so many beautiful things on our walks lately I just HAVE to show you! The following wildflowers (etc.) are from a walk Mom and I took with the boys. Are you ready to get going? Let's head out!

One of the best places to find wildflowers is up by our water tower, so that's where we headed! Oh - and guess who Mom put in charge of keeping the boys out of trouble?!?

Me.  Ammy!

That's right! I got to do some husky-herding! It was really fun.

Here's a tiny Aster:

They're really small and colorful and grow all over the place. This one has a bee doing his pollen thing with it:

Maybe the bee gives you some perspective into how tiny the flowers are!

We also saw lots of sunflowers up there. Here's Zim, helping show one off:

Mom said I needed to work a little harder at the "herding" thing. Hee hee hee. Zimmie had fun, though!

Ah-CHOO!

Mom said to say "Ah-choo!" after I showed you that and that many of the bipeds out there would understand.

In the non-wildflower arena, here are some very bright red Sumac leaves...

...and here is a pretty butterfly:

I think I better not mention who may or may not have tried to eat that.

Mom said it was time to head back to the house, so I got the boys into formation:

I love to herd!

"You guys did a really good job!!!"

It's important to compliment the herdees.

Oh! On our way down the hill to the house, we saw these pretty ornamental fruits...

...and these pretty tiny blue flowers that Zimmie likes:

Aren't they the sweetest little posies?!?

"Let's go, boys!"

(For more sunflowers, and for lots more wildflower pix, please visit our FlickR set Kansas Scenery!)

Thanks for coming on our walk with us!  I hope you had as much fun as we did!

Love,
Ammy

Serene Scenery Sunday

Tail wags, dear readers, it's me - Stormy! The Fall colors are really kicking into gear here, and everything just looks so beautiful! We have a lot to show you for this week's Serene Scenery Sunday post, so let's get right to it, OK? We can't resist showing you around! The following pix were taken here at Ao4 HQs on the day Ammy did so well at not posing for her portrait.

First, let's have a look at the Mums!

And a Mum-to-be:

The Burning Bush is starting to burn!

If you look into the back yard from up here...

Zim and me looking down into the back yard

...you can see our cool Zebra Grass in "bloom"!

The Japanese Silver Grass, up on this front level (behind Zimmie in that photo) is also displaying all of its plumes:

Mom loves the sort of rusty-red! After that, they get nice and fuzzy like this:

Our Japanese Maple is also showing off its Fall colors:

And in the back yard, here is the Purple Ash...

...and the White Ash:

(For more of our garden pix, please click here.)

I hope those Fall colors helped get you into a serene state of mind!

Tail wags,
Storms

Let's Go!

Hi everypuppy and everycat. It's Ammy again! Now... where was I yesterday? Oh, yes. Right about ...

"No... I will not look at the camera!"

...here. Hee hee hee!

As I said, Mom got my message, and took my brothers and me for a walk. (Dad was doing lots of work at Ao4 HQs and needed Stormy's help, so they stayed back.) Let's get walking!

"Let's go!"

You can see the smile on my face, can't you?!? Oh, how I love to go on walks!

We saw all kinds of beautiful things that we'll share with you over the next few days! When we got up at the crest of one hill, Mom stopped to take a few shots, so we fanned out into a security detail.

Dave, Zimmie and me - Ammy!

I think we had all 360 degrees covered!

Here's a collage of us walking:

We had such a wonderful time! Thanks for coming along with us!

Love,
Ammy

Photo Finish Friday

Hi everypuppy and everycat! It's me - Ammy - here with Photo Finish Friday. Yesterday was a gorgeous Fall day here in Kansas! Lots of sun, chilly in the morning, and everything turning pretty colors! Mom took a lot of pictures of leaves and mums and stuff, then decided she wanted to take portraits of all of us. I think you can understand that with a bit of a chill in the air, we really didn't want to stand around for photo shoots! Stormy's were all blurry, the boys ... well, OK, Mom got a couple that were pretty good of the boys, and me? This was my reaction:

I don't look too pleased, do I? (Hee hee hee!) I really thought we should be walking instead!!! So I did this:

"No.  I won't cooperate!"

And I sent Mom a mind-meld message about that walk... which of course we took!  One of us will post some pix from that tomorrow!

I hope all of you are having fun in the cooler weather!

Love,
Ammy

Guard Duty Help

Ha roo, pups and cool cats. SGT Zim here. As you may know, we all have various jobs around Ao4 Headquarters, and Guard Duty is one that we all share. It's good that we all pull this duty, as it helps us understand the challenges in the job and really just how tough it can be.

I was on Guard Duty by the front door the other day, working hard - maybe over-doing it just a tad. I thought I heard someone out front, but I wasn't sure.

"Uh oh. I think there might be someone out there."

I did what I had to do -- called for reinforcements!

"I don't see anything, Zimmie."

If Ammy doesn't see anything, you can be sure nothing's there. She's the BEST!

"OK, thanks, Am. Just wanted to make sure!"

It's great to have highly skilled, highly trained pack-mates - it really helps take the burden off!

Play bows,
Zim

Wordless Wednesday

Tail wags,
Storms

Treat Dispenser

Ha roo, pups and cool cats. It's me - Zim. Did you catch Dave's post yesterday? Yeah. We're all pretty tuckered out from the big weekend, but I've still got lots to do, and not enough hours in the day to do it all.

For example, I'm supposed to be putting on some weight, as per my vet's orders. But seriously. How's a guy supposed to recover from entertaining his uncle AND find time to eat? Mom's helping. Really, she is helping me multi-task. Here's a little video we put together showing how I can have a great daydream AND get a little snacking in all at the same time:

(If the clip won't play, please click here to view it on FlickR.)

I'm a highly trained professional. Do NOT try this at home!

Play bows,
Zim

Columbus Day 2010

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave!  Today in the States we're celebrating Columbus Day, a day to commemorate Christopher Columbus landing in the "New World".  At Ao4 Headquarters, we always try to do some cool exploring and make new discoveries to mark the day.

This year, Stormy put me in charge of our Columbus Day post, but I'm actually a little worn out from entertaining our dad's brother all weekend.  (Zimmie and I did our Siberian best to put a good show on for him, filled with wrestling and zoomies and stuff like that.)

I better come up with something, though; I don't want to disappoint anyone. Hmm...

I've discovered Stormy's bed is mighty comfy...

I wonder if that counts?

Luv,
Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats. It's me, Zim, here with Serene Scenery Sunday. Before I get into my Zen of Zim Zone, Mom sends many thanks for the compliments on the stained glass quilts in yesterday's featured photo. Yes, she made them - you can read the whole story at this link, if you're interested!

Now... let's get serene! Our gorgeous Kansas sunsets always put us in a real serene state of mind. Here's one from Wednesday evening:

6 OCT 10 sunset

Someone was burning something. Or sending smoke signals. Possibly both. It added a nice accent to the sky.

Mom's mums are blooming now! Here are a few shots of the white ones:

Here's a look at the sort of rusty-red/gold ones:

Don't those flowers make you feel all warm and cozy inside? Yeah. Me, too. Know what else makes me feel all warm and cozy inside?

"Why, yes... I would like a treat!"

Zim's Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats. Fresh out of the Stinky Goodness Machine. Just deee-licious! And make my tummy nice and tranquil!

Have a great Sunday. Keep it serene!

Play bows,
Zim