Great Walks

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Even though it's been ridiculously hot lately, we've been going on some great walks.  Just really early.  Earlier than I'd like.  But we do it to beat the heat.  Anyway ... here's a look at a wonderful walk we took the other morning.  Early.

"Hey, Cam.  Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Oh, yeah!"

"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"

"That was awesome!"
"So much fun!!!"

How about you?  Are you still able to get out on fun walks? 

Stay cool!

Cammie!

Fun In The Garden!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  The other morning, after our walk, Cam and I hung out on the deck with Mom for a while.  She drank coffee; we played a round of Crazed River Otter Games (CROG).  After she finished her coffee, she wanted to get "a nice shot" of us girls together.  We gave it our best!

"Hey, sure, Mom.  No probl---BIRDIE!!!"
"Do you have treats?"

It was great.  Oh.  And yes, she had treats, but they were the super-small kind, so right after Mom snapped the shot ... well, let's just say I  jumped Cammie  started another round of CROG.

After that, Mom thought "someone" needed to burn off some more energy before it got super hot, so she and I went into the back yard together.  That tells me she probably meant herself and I was along for the ride.  Don't you think?

I posed in the Friendship Garden for her:

"You brought better treats, right?"
"I have Fruitables!"

Yum.  I love those!

After the Friendship Garden, we walked around a bit, then I did a nice long "sit/stay" on the middle tier:

"How's this, Mom??"
"SUPER good, Maggie!!!"

Did I mention "fun" in the title of this post? Here's where that really kicked in! I had done such a great job staying and stuff (and we had already made sure any bunnies that HAD been in the yard had left) that Mom gave me the green light to GO!!!!!

"Go, go, Maggie!!!"
"ZOOOOOM!!!"

It. Was.  Awesome!  So much fun!  I've gotta tell you, though - after zooming around for a bit, I was tired!  I don't know if my mom burned off that extra energy she was talking about, but I was almost down to "empty"!  It was all I could do to start another round of CROG with Cam when I got in the house!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher 

Happy 243rd Birthday!!!

Hello and greetings to all!  Cam and Maggie here today to with the US Army a VERY happy 243rd birthday!!!

"The U.S. Army was founded on 14 June 1775, 
when the Continental Congress authorized enlistment of expert riflemen to serve the United Colonies for one year."
"HOOAH!"

It's also Flag Day here in the US! A day to celebrate the Stars and Stripes!

This calls for cantaloupe!  ... or popcorn.  Maybe both?!!?

Cam and Mags

Wordless Wednesday

Cammie!

PS from our mom: About that shaved tummy ... as part of her follow-up care with Oncology, Cam had chest x-rays, an abdominal ultrasound, and blood work the other day. Her cancer is still in remission! We are so very thankful to God and for the wonderful vets, students, techs, and staff at the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University. We are so very blessed!

Helping In The Garden

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Yesterday morning, Mom only had a little bit of watering to do out back, so I thought I should go help her.  You know - in the garden, as opposed to how I usually help -- from inside the air-conditioned house.

Anyway, as I watched her in the Friendship Garden, I came up with a great idea.

"Hey.  You know what this place needs?"
"All done, Mags.  Let's head inside!  Maggie?"

"A statue.  Like this.  We could call it 'Howling Coyote' or something." 
"What in the ... Maggie?"

"Tell me that wouldn't be a great addition!"
"Would the statue actually face the garden?"

Of course it wouldn't; is she kidding?

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Guess What Time It Is?!?

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Guess what time it is?  Or rather what time of year it is!?!  Can you tell by my face?

"Hi, Mom.  You have my complete, undivided attention."

That's right!  It's CANTALOUPE Season!!!!  The most wonderful time of the year!  The Kandy Cantaloupes are in and they are sweet, juicy, and ever so refreshing!

"And Cam's favorite treat.  Mom.  Maybe mine, too - right after popcorn.  You ARE going to share, aren't you?"
"Please."
"How can I say 'no' to you two?!!?"

It's really the BEST!  Do you like cantaloupes?!?

Cammie!

Sunday Funnies

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  We thought we'd do something different this Sunday, using some of Mom's pix from our most recent (23 May) trip to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.  It's a little something we call "Sunday Funnies" -- Cam and I are just going to do quick captions on some of the photos that made us laugh.  Ready?  As this Black-Necked Stilt would say ...

"And aaaaaa-way we gooo!"

Hey, look!  Another one!

"What?  Am I supposed to do something?  Quit following me, Camera Lady!"

Oh.  There's a Blue-Winged Teal!

♫ "I........ ain't got no body..." ♫ 

And look!  It's one of Mom's favorites!  The Snowy Plover!  I think this one is in training for a 10K.  Runners ... take your mark ...

... get set ...

... GO!

He was mighty fast, I must say!

This Northern Shoveler seems a bit sad.

"I thought I was Camera Lady's favorite birdie ..."
❤❤❤  "You ARE!!!  You ARE!!!"  ❤❤❤

Sorry.  That was Mom.

Sometimes, it's confusing to differentiate between all the little Sandpipers.  Mom was fairly certain she had a small flock of White-Rumped Sandpipers, then was SURE when this guy landed:

"Here.  Check it out."

Very nice of him, don't you think?  And a great name that FITS.  This brings me back to Black-Necked Stilts.  Don't you think a better name would be Red-Legged Stilt?!!?

Check out those gams!

This Canada Goose family was going for a swim, but the Great Egret on the bank looked a wee bit cranky.

"Hey!  I thought is was Adults Only swim time!!!"

These Coots might tell the Great Egret not to be too anxious to get in the water:

"SNAKE, everyone!  SNAKE!"
"EEEK!!!"

While we're being a bit boisterous ...

TURTLE!!!!!

Sorry to yell.  It's one of the few things that really sets us off.  Both Cam and I have a thing for turtles.  (We normally are VERY quiet.  But check that link to see our reaction to turtles.)

Here's a little challenge for you:

How many Great Blue Herons can you find?

Check out this American Avocet ...

This American Avocet is out standing in his field.

Ha.  Get it?  Out standing/outstanding?

"Ha yip yip yip!!!  Good one!"

At least that  Black-Necked  Red-Legged Stilt thought it was funny!

One last photo from that trip, since it IS Sunday ... a nice Serene Scenery Sunday shot for you!

The Wells Methodist Church, built in 1901

We hope we gave you something to smile about -- and added a little serenity to you day!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

(And Cammie, too!)

PS:  To see our full album, please click here.

I'm Here For You

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.

"I'm here for you, Mom!"

You know ... especially if she has too much of that fruit or anything.

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

The Pool's Open!

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  Today is the opening day of Pool Season here at Ao4 Headquarters!!!  As Mom filled the pool, I helped out a whole lot!

To play on YouTube, please click here.

For some reason, when I start helping, not only does Cam leave the immediate pool area, but so does Mom. I can't figure that out!

Anyway, I made sure the pool was good to go ...

"Yeah!  This is great!!!"

... then called Cam back over. She took a quick dip ...

"Oooh!  It's cold!"

... then while Mom put more water in, we posed for our official Start Of Pool Season photo!

Cam and me, poolside!

After that, since we were wet like River Otters, we thought we'd get in a little Crazed River Otter Game!

"How about a little CROG action?"
"I thought you'd never ask!"

Come on over, everyone!  The pool is OPEN!!!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Distracted!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  The other morning when we were out on our deck, I spotted something very interesting!

"Ooh!  It's the neighbors!"

It was the neighbors!  They were working in their garden.  I thought Maggie and I should stare at them together, so I silently called her over.

"Look, Maggie!  The neighbors!"
"Awesome!"

We stared for a bit.  It's in the Siberian Husky Rule Book to stare at people.  Especially people working.  It's what we do.

Just when I thought things were getting interesting ...

"I think they're putting in a stone pathway."
"Yeah, I thi--BIRDIE!"

She gets as distracted as Mom does sometimes!

Do you like to stare at people?  Do you get distracted?  Or are you focused?

Cammie!

Wordless Wednesday

Cam and Mags

Sunflowers

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie!  A week or so ago, we showed you the planters on the upper deck and told you Mom had planted Sunflowers in them.  Our friends Murphy and Stanley asked about them, as their mom loves Sunflowers!

They are only at this stage right now:

Me and the Sunflowers!  Or ... future Sunflowers!

There are two varieties in there - Little Becka and Orange Hobbit; Mom started both from seed. According to the packet, the Little Becka ones are supposed to bloom early, "with large, fiery copper-red, pollen-free flowers with dark hearts, yellow halos, and golden tips." They are only supposed to get 2-3 feet tall and be compact. The Orange Hobbitses are also a compact variety. The are supposed to be heavily-flowered and reach 1-2 feet high, with vivid orange flowers.

"It's our first time growing these!"

See ... the last time Mom planted Sunflowers, she put in Maximillians, and they got huge. I mean ... HUGE. I mean ... yeah. They were a bit out of control. For those who would rather not click the hyperlinks, let's flash back to Cam in the garden, September 2016:

Cammie and the Maximillian Sunflowers that ate Manhattan

See what I mean?  Huge.

Anyway, we still have a few of those, but Mom moved them into the Wildflower Garden and we'll see how they do. In the meantime, she's anxious to see how these smaller varieties do!

Oh. And in case anyone is wondering ... I am NOT the one who took a few bites out of those leaves! Nor is Cam.

"They do look mighty tasty, though..."

I could have, but I didn't.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wall Posing

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  Maggie and I took time out from a backyard play session to do some posing.  We thought you might enjoy our wall posing.

Mom went down to the bottom of the yard to shoot this one:

"How's this, Mom?"
"Yeah.  Pretty good, huh?  Sitting, looking at the camera, not jumping off the wall ..."

Not that either one of us would do something like that!

Then we gave her our best for this closer-in shot:

"Here's my Regal Look!"
"Here's my Prime Minister Look!"

Mom was pretty impressed.  Of course, it was hot and sticky, we'd already been walked, had some play time, and were pretty much ready to go inside for water and to relax in the air-conditioning.

Oh.

Right.

Did I mention she had treats?

Cammie!

Serene Scenery Sunday: Wide Open!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  As Maggie mentioned yesterday, now that those two mammoth trees are gone, our views have really improved!  We thought we'd show you around the upper deck!

Mom and Dad rearranged the stuff out there a bit.  How about we kick things off with Maggie and me posing by the Sunflowers?!

"How's th---Maggie?  What are you doing?"
"I don't feel like posing."

Right.  Well, I didn't really, either!  I wanted to get on with enjoying the deck!  So ...

"BOOM!"
"URFFF!"

That was fun!  And see?  We feel like we have even more room out there now!

Anyway, after a great round of Crazed River Otter Games, we settled in to enjoy the expanded view:

"Mags, you should come over here!  I can see all the way to Colorado now!"

Maybe not that far, but I can finally see our yard and the hills beyond!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the deck:

"I see a squirrel in our garden!"

It is so nice - we have wide open spaces again and can enjoy our views of the gardens and our Flint Hills!

I thought we should head inside ...

"After you, Maggie!"
"Thanks, Cam!"

... but Maggie wanted to stop and show you the inner deck:

"It's more airy and cool in here now, too!"

Taking those two trees out has really brightened things up, and now we can enjoy our wide open spaces again!  (Not to mention not having two top-heavy Ash Trees causing root damage and threatening to fall on our house!)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Cammie!