Road Block

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  So there Maggie and I were the other day, trying to get cool on the tile floor, when ...

"Excuse me, girls!  Can I get through, please?"
"You're not going to get up, are you, Maggie?"
"Nah.  Just ignore her.  She can step over us!"

I mean ... we had just gotten comfy!  

Have a good weekend, everyone - and stay cool!

Cammie!

Is That You?!?

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags.  The other morning after our walk, Cam and I went out on the upper deck with Mom before it got too hot to be out there.  I was walking around, checking everything out when ...

"Hey ... what's this?!?  I smell something on the underside of the deck!  I ... I hear something!"

It was really odd ... but I did have a vague idea of what it was!  I decided I should call for backup, just in case there was trouble, like they do in the really cool detective shows I like to watch.

"I need to call in the big guns!"

Fortunately for me, Cam was right there, and was ready to investigate!

"Is it what I think it is, Cam?!?"
"Yes.  Yes, I think it is!  Hey!  Hey, you down there!!!"

Can you guess what -- or should I say who -- it was?!?  Long-time readers of the Ao4 Digest will probably get this one -- it was Bart!

Our great-brothers and great-sisters first posted about him in 2007.  Bart is a little Brown Bat who lives under our upper deck!  We can see him from the lower deck, but Mom hasn't gotten a decent shot of him yet this year.  (Please click here to see a shot from a couple of years ago.)

Mom always is very careful to wash all the guano off the lower deck before we go down there, so we've never really gotten a good smell of him before -- but we did now!  This calls for one thing, and one thing alone!  A round of Crazed River Otter Games!

"BOOM!"
"Oh, no!  It's a crazed rive--UMPH!!!!"

Cam was a little quicker on the draw than I was, but I jumped right in!

"Gotcha, you little crazed river ott---"
"BOOM!"

What fun!  Who'd think you could have a bat AND crazed river otters on the same deck - right?

Mom is always happy to see Bart.  Little guys like him can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects per hour! He's a great friend to have "hanging around" Ao4 Headquarters!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher 

Sweltering

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  We've been going through quite the heat/high humidity spell here lately.  Our temps have been over 100 and the heat index at about 110.  Some might call that "sweltering".  Anyway, it wasn't quite as stifling this morning, which was great.  Even better was a "find" I made on our walk:

"This feels so good on my feety-feet!"

Now that's a great way to beat the heat!

Stay cool, everyone!

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Mags and Cam

You've Got Mail!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  The other day, Mom called Cam and me over and said we had received a postcard!  How exciting!  Cam checked it out first, then I gave it a good snoofing:

"Ooh!  A photo of Chatsworth - in SNOW!"

I knew right away it was from my dear friend Princess Leah!  I was super excited, so I ran into the living room!

"Play bows, Leah!"

She said the snow-covered lawn at Chatsworth looked like a perfect place for a round of Crazed River Otter Games (CROG), and wow, is she ever right!  I got so excited thinking about it that I broke out in zoomies!

"ZOOM!"

That lawn looks like an even better location than our living room.  Especially covered in SNOW!  (Chatsworth, not our living room.  I've never seen that covered in snow, though it does sound interesting!)

Anyway, Mom thought I should pose with the postcard.  Cam was previously engaged on the bed (ahem), or she would have joined me.  Based on a comment Princess Leah made on our blog yesterday (something about knowing about the silly "No Siberians On The Ottoman" rule), I came up with the perfect place to strike a pose!  Check it out:

"Thanks for the great postcard, Leah!"
"OK, good, Mags.  You can get down now."

"Get down"?  Is she joking?  That thing is comfy!

"Nah, that's OK, Mom.  I'm good."

Seriously.  Why would she even think I'd want to get down?

Thanks again, Leah -- from both me and Cam!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Monday Musings

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  So ... did you all see Cam's garden tour yesterday?

"I can't believe Cam and Mom went out there without me!  
And that my sad, sad song didn't break their hearts and make them come back in immediately!
Wait ... where'd they go?  I can't see them ..."

"Oh.  Oh, hi, Mom.  Back in so soon?"

Yeah.  So, anyway ... I thought you might enjoy a few more photos of the gardens.  Oh, no.  I'm not going out there - it's hotter than blazes now.  Let's send Mom!

Here's a better look at the Butterfly Garden, like Cam promised:

Part of the Butterfly Garden

You can see one of the Butterfly Bushes.  Or as our dear friend and favorite Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Princess Leah, likes to call them, Buttie Pillar Bushes.  In fact, the Latin name is Buddleia -- I mean BuddLEAH.  Ha roo roo roo.  You can also see some of the Butterfly Weed (the orange stuff), PowWow Wild Berry Coneflowers, and some Russian sage in the back.

Let's step back a bit and get another view!

The Butterfly Garden

In the front is the first of the Hummingbird Mint, or Agastache, Mom put in - and just beyond it, to the right, is one of the big Milkweeds.  Monarchs especially like that; we're hoping they get word that our crop is going strong this year!

Just down a tier from the Butterfly Garden is a tier with mostly Maiden Grasses, but Mom also planted one more Hummingbird Mint there last year.  It didn't do too well at first, but look at it this year:

Wowzers!

Mom's pretty stoked about that!

While I've got Mom out there ... let's head to the Friendship Garden and see if there are any butterflies hanging out down there.  They like the Coneflowers down there.  Check it out!

To view on YouTube, please click here.

We hope all of you and especially our friend Princess Leah liked that!!! And how about a still shot?

Butterfly on Coneflower!

Pretty cool, huh?

Speaking of cool, I'm hot and tired just thinking about Mom sweating out there in the gardens!

"Zzz..."

I hope you enjoyed another look at our gardens!  Stay cool, everyone!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  How about a tour of our gardens this week for Serene Scenery Sunday?  Let's take a quick look at the Butterfly Garden first!

"Looking colorful!  The butterflies will love it!"

The Butterfly Bushes, Butterfly Weed, the Coneflowers, and lots more are doing well!  We'll try to get better pix down there later this week.  Right behind that tallest Butterfly Bush is one of our flowers that's just starting to open!

Blackberry Lily!

It's a pretty cool plant!  We'll take more shots as it blooms more!

Down past the fence is the Friendship Garden ... so how about we walk down there and see how that's doing?

"Welcome to the Friendship Garden!"

I love the Friendship Garden!  Everything is looking pretty good in there, but I could use a shade break.  How about a quick rest under the Amur Maples?

"Just what I needed!"

From there, I can see to the bottom of the yard, where the Crape Myrtles are blooming!

Crape Myrtle!

And if I look toward the south, I can see my Daisies!

Bug on Becky Daisy

Since we're looking that way, let's head on over and take a look at the Wildflower Garden!

"Well, the Black-Eyed Susans and the Sedum right in front of them are looking good ..."

Some of the things Mom put in last year are struggling, but the Black-Eyed Susans have really taken off ...

Black-Eyed Susan

... as has the Yarrow!

"Moonshine" Yarrow

Some of the Sedums and Milkweed plants are doing ok ...

"... but the rest of you need to step it up!"

I've heard you should talk to plants to make them grow.

Oh. Right. If you look closely at the photo above, you can see Maggie in the top-left window!

I think that's enough for today!  Time to head inside and get some water!

"Race you to the water bowl!"

I hope our garden walk has made you feel nice and serene!

Cammie!

I'm The Innocent One!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Before I show you a couple pictures of Maggie and myself, let me just say that I'm the innocent one.

"No, really.  I am."

See, I was making sure no one broke into the house and stole the bed while Mom worked in the garden the other morning. You know. Guard Duty. Right. And then when Mom  snuck  came back into the house ... well ...

"Ha roo woo roo!"
"Ha roo roo roo!!!"

We may not have seen Mom come in.

"Nothing to see here, Mom!"
"Yeah, not any more!  I mean ... umm ... "

What can I say?  There's nothing wrong with having a little fun while you're on Guard Duty -- right?!?

Cammie!

Photo Finish Friday: The Boxing Edition

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  You've heard of Christmas in July, right?!?  Well, guess what the other day was?  That's right -- Boxing Day in July!  Did anyone else celebrate?  Here's how it went down here!

It all started when the doorbell rang and Mom brought these babies inside:

"For me, right?!?!  And one for Cammie, too!"

I couldn't believe it!  TWO great boxes!  What a celebration!

"Dad!  Are you going to come open these?!?!  Please?  DAD?!?"

For whatever reason, I'm not allowed to open boxes myself.  Go figure.

"I could have done that, Dad!"

It seemed to take him forever, but then he got the first one open!  I couldn't wait to start boxing!

"Oh, this is one AWESOME box!"

I gave Cam a shout out, and she came in to see our boxes!

"Happy Boxing Day in July!"
"Yeah ... I don't actually have to box, do I?"
"No, you're good, Cam."

Sure. Mom didn't think Cam needed to get into a box - but I did!  I moved over to the bigger box, to let her have the lower one.

"Take the shot, Mom!  I'm sure Cam will jump right in!"
"Can we wrap this up?"

As soon as those words left Cam's muzzle, she knew she could have chosen them more wisely!

"Go for it, Mom!"
"This is NOT what I meant by wrapping it up!"

Happy Boxing Day in July to all of you!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Greenies Night!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cam.  There's a very special night that comes around a couple times a week here at Ao4 Headquarters -- Greenies Night!  I think I've shared with you before that I really love Greenies; I get very excited!  I can read my mom's mind and know exactly what night it is!  Here's what happens!

I pick up the vibe that it's Greenies Night, then lead Mom over to the pantry. That's where they are!  In the pantry.  I help her get the box out, like this:

"There they are, Mom!"

I'm sure she wouldn't know where they are without my help!

While she gets them out of the box (it takes her forever!), I start singing!  Maggie knows my "It's Greenies Night" song and comes running!  Once she's joined me, I quiet down and we line up.  Like so:

"Ready, girls?"
"I'm so ready, Mom!"
"Cam first!  Then me, OK?!?"

We take them nice and gently, then we run into the living room, flop down on our beds in there, and have at them.

Sorry. No pictures of that. We're f-a-s-t. I mean, we chew them thoroughly and all (or else Mom wouldn't give them to us!) but we're mighty quick about it.

We love Greenies Night!  Do you have a special treat night that you love?

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Independence Day 2017

Independence Day celebrates the day the original 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, establishing the United States as a separate nation, free from the rule of Great Britain.

"No offense to our British friends."
"We are proud Americans!"

Here at Ao4 Headquarters, we celebrate the birth of our nation by honoring those men and women who fought for and continue to fight for our freedom!

"God bless those who fought for our country!"
"And those who continue to fight for us today!"

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."  Psalm 33:12

"Let's celebrate our freedom!"
"And the fact that Mom has treats in her hand!!"

Maggie!

What?  Isn't that part of the "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" thing?

Have a fun and safe Independence Day!   🇺🇸

Mags and Cam

Cool Down!

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie! Cam and I took our mom and dad on a nice walk this morning, got a nice drink, then went out onto the deck to cool down for a bit. You know. Like this:

"Uh-oh."
"Play bows, Cam-a-roo!"

Such a nice, relaxing time!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Snoozy Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  It is hot and thick here today, so after our walk, we had a nice drink, hung out on the deck with Mom and Dad for a bit, then Cam got to go inside.  And me?  I spent some quality time with Mom and the super-duper, fur-nado making, Sibe fluffer. Yep.  Just me, Mom, and the Master Blaster.  Maybe not a ton of fun, but I must admit, she got a ton of floof out of me and I do feel cooler.

Having said that, I think it's time to do this:

"Zzz..."
"Zzz..."

Until lunch time, anyway!

Stay cool, everyone!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

An Everett

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Since we took you on an "Ocean Walk" Monday, today we thought we'd take you with us on an Everett.  Or Everett Loop.  I'm not sure which one we usually call it - but it's fun, so let's go!

It starts out by going downhill.  Eventually, anyway.  I like that.  So does Mom.  Then we go up Everett!  (That's where the name comes from!)

"Up, up, up!"
"This is awesome!"
"Is it Everett or Everest?  Ha!  Get it, girls?"

There are some pretty flowers in pretty gardens along the way:

"I think these are Blanket Flowers."
"Gaillardia grandiflora, if I'm not mistaken."

Mom planted Blanket Flowers last year, but they didn't come up this Spring.  We think maybe she accidentally bought the annual kind.  Oops.

How about a quick pose while we're out and about?

"Smiles, everyone!"
"Hello!"

Well, yes, we smiled and looked at the camera.  There is a logical explanation!

"She's got Zuke's!"
"Wow, I love those things!"

Another hill to go up:

Me and Mags at the top of the hill!

And then we can head downhill:

"Those Coneflowers are looking mighty good!"
"Keep your eyes peeled - there could be a bunny hiding down by that pine tree!"

A couple more turns, then we're almost home!

Maggie and me, arriving at Ao4 Headquarters

We hope you had as much fun as we did on our Everett Walk!  Come on in and get cool -- the drinks are on me!

Cammie!