Serene Scenery Sunday

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  Before I get to today's serenity, I'd like to thank all of you for your kind words about Stormy.  Losing both of our sisters, especially so close together, has been hard - but we're doing OK!  We'd also like to thank you for honoring Mom's wishes not to blog about our loss - and a very special thanks to those who let us know that they walked their special pups to celebrate Stormy!  Isn't walking together the best?!?!

So today is both Serene Scenery Sunday and the first day of Spring, so Zim and I thought we'd share some flowers with you.  Are you ready?

Here are us boys with a special arrangement of live plants and crisp yellow flowers:

Zim and me (Dave)

We like that bright splash of yellow in with the greens!

"Hey, let's go in for a close-up!"

Zim had a great idea to take some close-ups right at the same time Mom decided to put them up on the table. She must not have wanted to bend over too much to shoot the other photos.  Here's the best one she got:

Aren't they gorgeous?

Here are some more flowers to help you find that Spring serenity:

Zim and me again.

Zim was trying his best not to get too close, so Mom would leave them where he and I could enjoy them. Even though he was real cooperative, she put them up on a table, too. That's OK, we can still see them up there. How about some close-ups?



We love the strong, bold colors!



This next one is called a "Snapdragon":

That very name got me and Zim all excited, but apparently there are no real dragons involved.

Mom had to do one with the lomo camera effect! Here it is:

One more shot of the big one!

If you'd like to see more, please click here to visit our FlickR set.

I hope those pix helped you find some serenity.  They sure have brought us comfort and inner sunshine!

Luv,
Dave

Sad News Once Again From Ao4 HQs

Once again, as the "mom of the Ao4", I am taking over the blog post for the day, and once again, I have some sad news to share.  Monday, just two months after losing our Ammy to Lymphoma, we made the tough decision to let Stormy go.  Today is our 14th anniversary of adopting her; God blessed us with her company here on Earth for a good long while, but it was time to give her back.

Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal, about 1 September 1995 - 14 March 2011

We released her from a body that just couldn't do what she wanted and needed it to do any more.  She fought the good fight, and as our vet said, she maintained her dignity the whole time.

She's free from her earthly pains now, and that is a comfort to me.  She has a young, strong body, and I'd love to think she is chasing around Heaven with her Ammy puppy and Booter.  She has met our Jesse and Lucky now, and all of them are playing happily with all the other dogs God has called Home to Him.  She can eat heartily, she can hear, and has no fears of thunderstorms or flies or anything else.  And no doubt she has adopted every puppy up There as if it were her own.

From 1999, Booter with Stormy and Ammy

Stormy was one of the most remarkable leaders I've ever seen - strong and tough, but with a heart of gold.  She was decisive and led by example, never asking her pack to do something she wouldn't do.  And she showed restraint - just because she could do something, didn't mean she did.  One of her most endearing traits was her maternal instincts.  Puppies simply melted her heart - and seeing her adopt every one that she met melted mine.  She was my confidante and in a way, I think I was hers.  We shared some very special times and I'll never forget them.  One of my favorite memories is of her first walks with me. She'd look up at me with those Harp Seal Eyes of hers in such a happy, almost unbelievable manner - "I can't believe we get to do this together!"  She (and I) always loved her walks - even on Monday.

When we lost Ammy, I asked you not to post about it to your blogs.  Ammy would not have wanted sadness spread around.  Stormy was the same way, but was more direct about it.  So in keeping with Stormy's nature, I'm spelling it out - please, do NOT take any photos of Storm off our blog or anywhere else and post them to your blog.  Please do NOT blog about us losing her.  Please let this be the post - the one post - to talk about the loss.  Please honor my request this time.  If you would like to say something to honor her, say it to me - either in the comment section or zip me an email.

So... how best to honor Stormy?  Truly?  What she would love is for you to get up right now, hook your pups up to their leashes and go for a walk!  And that's what I'm going to do now.  Hook up the boys and head out on an adventure.

Thank you for listening and for letting me share my very special friend with you.
KZK

Wordless Tuesday

Play bows,
Zim

Monday Madness

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  What a night last night!  There I was, getting in a little pre-bedtime nap...

Me, Dave, at about quarter after 7

...when I heard Mom and Dad talking in pretty excited tones. They kept looking out the windows, so I went over to the front door to look out. This is what I saw:

The view out front at about 8:15

Woo! Given that Dad had golfed Saturday and we'd had temps in the 70s, it was quite the surprise!

I gave it until about 9, then had to go check it out!

It was dark; sorry for the poor quality of the pix!

Stormy took Mom out at about 10 thirty and this was the scene:

Still coming down like crazy!

At about 11:30, it was even better! Here's another snowy collage starring Stormy:

Isn't that great?

Zim thought Mom should check it out at about 2 this morning. This is what they saw:

Again, sorry for the poor quality of the pix. For some reason, it's hard to get nice shots in the dark. But THIS... THIS was the scene once it got light out:

Dad had already shoveled. We got at least 8 inches of heavy, wet snow. Here's a look out back:

Pretty great, don't you think?  What a night!

Luv,
Dave

Serene Scenery Sunday

Tail wags, dear readers!  It's me, Stormy, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  I have lots of lovely photos to help you find that inner Zim calm, so let's get right to them!

The other morning, Mom and I came outside to find a gloomy, blah day. But as we looked around, we saw these tiny, beautiful splashes of yellow in the trees! Look:

Four and twenty Waxwings...

Aren't they lovely? The ornamental fruit trees were filled with Cedar Waxwings, stopping by to have a snack!

Don't they look sweet?!? They were across the street in our neighbors' tree - then they came into our next-door neighbors' tree. I thought we should go have a closer look!

Mom said we needed to approach slowly and quietly. I did my best to accommodate:

Me, tip-toeing over to see the birdies!

Here are some of the shots we got:

I love how yellow the tip of his tail is!  And check out this next guy:

He has a mask like us Siberians do!

This guy on the right's snarfing down one of those fruits:

Dave gets told, "NononoDAVIDno!!!" when he tries to do that.  (Even though our tree is gone - click here for the story - our neighbors have plenty of fruit-dropping trees.)

I was happy to walk around under the trees while Mom shot her pix ... and then ...

"Look out below!!!"

...then I thought it would behoove us to move along.

"Come on, Mom, let's move over a bit!"

It's been a while since we've shared one of our sunsets with you - so here's a look at our Friday evening skyline:

Sunset over the Flint Hills

Gorgeous, isn't it? I hope you feel nice and serene now!

Tail wags,
Storms

Haik-Woo #42

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me - Dave.  Many thanks to all of you for the kind comments on my last Haik-Woo.  I just never know when inspiration will hit!

Me.  Dave.  Waiting for inspiration to hit.

 As I mentioned, it did hit again - not while I was laying around brainstorming in the living room, but the afternoon Zim and I were at the Kansas Ocean!  The beautiful scenery and calming waters helped me clear my mind and find just the right words!

This Haik-Woo is dedicated to my sister Stormy.  She is an amazing leader and teacher, and is just really nice to hang out with.  I give you ... Haik-Woo #42.

Seriously. We can all learn so much from her! Woo.

Luv,
Dave

Photo Finish Friday

Tail wags, dear readers.  It's me, Stormy, here with Photo Finish Friday.  This week, my theme is the Harp Seal Look.  Even though I teach the Harp Seal Look here at the Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal School of Siberian Studies, I still work constantly to perfect my technique.  I thought I'd show you a few of my practice sessions!

In this one, I'm standing right in front of where our treats are kept:

Unfortunately, I forgot to look Mom right in the eyes. That part is crucial! I had to try again.

That was a good one. I was over in the breakfast room, so Mom wasn't sure what I wanted. That can work to your benefit. As I recall, I got to go outside and got a treat. Bipeds will fall totally under your control and do anything they can to please you if you master this look - trust me!

Mom liked this next one so much that she did some special effects on the photo itself:

THE Harp Seal Look

And me? Oh... I got exactly what I wanted! Check it out:

"I'm not sure this is enough ... I'm sooooooo hungry ... "

See how I was able to take the treat and STILL do the Harp Seal Look? Oh, my, does that take focus! And you know what happened next, don't you?

"Why, yes, thank you; I WOULD like another treat!"

That's right - another piece of the wonderful chicken jerky our friends Mochi and Bali sent us!  It's so good!  Mom rations it; we hardly ever get more than one little taste!

I've taught my brothers to master the look - and you can learn it, too!  Just focus, look as sad as you can, and try to extend the outer corners of your eyes.  Zim is aces at it now; I'm so proud of him!  And Dave - it took him a while, but he's got it!    I'm sure you can do this to!  Give it a try - and let me know how it goes for you!

Tail wags,
Storms

We're Stylin'!

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me - Dave!!!  This is so exciting!  Our really cool friend Remi gave us an award!!!  It's the Stylish Blogger Award:

He said he gave it to us because we "always have very stylish neck gear!" Woo! Thanks, Remi! That's mighty kind - and means a lot coming from such a fashionable guy like you!

According to Remi, we're now supposed to tell you 7 things about us! Here goes!

1. My new Buff came in the mail. Remember the one that didn't "go" with my collar & leash? This one is much better. Check it out:

Me in my new Buff

2. Zim always knows when his cat friends are out. When he sees them or even senses them, he sits and waits for them to come over to him or to say, "Meow".

Zim.  Trust me - that Calico Cat was in the neighbors' bushes.

You can see his Buff pretty well in that picture. And guess who else decided she'd wear a Buff ...?

3. Stormy is wearing a blue Buff.

Stormy sporting a Buff!

She said she couldn't wear a Buff and cooperate for photos at the same time. It would be asking too much.

4. Remember the great living room re-do? Zim finally found a good head-hiding place.

Zim is in this photo, even though you can't see him

You can't see him, but if you could, you'd know that Zim has decided the big ottoman is perfect for doing his head-under-the-furniture maneuver!

5.  In addition to the cool adventures with Mom, Dad takes me and Zim on a long road march every morning.  We go about 45-60 minutes.  Here is Stormy, finding us guys!

Zim, Dad and me; Stormy in the foreground; Mom behind the camera

6. Supper-Dupper Time is one of my favorite times of day.

I have no idea why the photo is blurry. Ha woo.

7.  Remember I mentioned that I was working on a new Haik-Woo the other day at the Kansas Ocean?  Well, I'm just putting the finishing touches on it and I should post it Saturday!

OK!  Those are my 7 things!  Many thanks again to Remi for sharing this really cool award with us!

Have a great day, everyone.  And remember to keep it stylish!

Luv,
Dave

Wordless Wednesday

Tail wags,
Stormy

Sun-Day at the KSO

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  Did you like the videos Zim posted for Serene Scenery Sunday?  I thought I'd share some of the "still" pix Mom took with you of our outing to the Kansas Ocean (KSO).  We've had a couple rainy, gloomy-looking days here, so I thought we could use some bright sunshine!

Mom put a cool vignette around this one:

I was doing my serious look. Pretty good, don't you think? Mom wanted to get a good shot of Zimmie, too, but he was ...

"Birdie!"

...otherwise engaged.

We walked around a lot, then Mom took this shot of the two of us guys:

I like the Kansas Ocean in the background!

While Zim stared at more stuff, I stuck a couple poses! Here's one:

And here I am from another angle:

I look kinda pensive in those, don't I? I was trying to think up another Haik-Woo. The KSO was very inspiring! I noticed a problem on the way out, though. Could be serious. I think ...

"That's got to be one mighty big mole!"

I think the Kansas Ocean might have a mole problem! Woo.

Luv,
Dave