Garden Time

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Yesterday after our walk, I got to spend some one-on-one time with Mom in the backyard.  Our gardens are just getting started, but I thought you might enjoy some pix from our stroll.

We started by the Wildflower Garden.

"Everything looks nice and fluffy in there!"

Nothing is in bloom, but the leafy parts look nice!

After that, we moved over to the Bee Garden!

"There are no bees in the Bee Garden."

Before too long, that place will be buzzing with bees!

We wandered around for a while, just taking everything in.

Me, D'Azul's Girl From Ipanema, striking a pose!

I proposed going up into the Friendship Garden next.  It's super peaceful there.

"Can you give me a minute, Mom?"

"I'm feeling very zen-like."

It's a great place to stop and get centered.

After that, I was ready to head in and get some water.

"Let's go, Mom!"

Thanks for walking with us!

Cammie!

Say Cheese!

Greetings to all! It's me, Maggie!  This weekend, we went on a super fun walk!  We took a route where we could either turn right to go on a medium/normal length walk, or keep going straight and take a long one.  Here's where we had to decide:

"Your choice, Cam!"
"Let's go to the park!"
"Awesome choice, Cam!  And look!  A slimy puddle you could step in!"

We usually let Cam decide.  She was totally game for a longer walk!

For the record, I jumped over the puddle; Cam ... did not.

Here we are in the park:

Me and Cam, in perfect step!

We practically had the place to ourselves; it was great!

At the junction of the big road and Hudson Trail, we stopped for a quick pose by some Irises:

"Smile, girls!"
"Yeah, whatever."
"I'm so happy, I can't help but smile!"

Mom asked us to please look at her - and promised a reward when we got home if we did.  I was in such a good mood, I couldn't help but cooperate:

"CHEESE!!!!"
"I don't think cheese is on my prescription diet, but ... CHEESE!"
"Close enough!"

We both got a Frozen Stinky Goodness Treat when we got home, so that's a big win!

We hope you're enjoying some cool Spring weather and nice walks!

Yours sincerely,

Margaret Thatcher

Serene Scenery Sunday - Après Birding

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Today I'll be wrapping up our most recent birding adventure.

When I left off yesterday, Mom was in the observation tower at the LSM (Little Salt Marsh).

"OOOH!  Northern Shovelers!!!  ❤❤❤  Oh.  And Pelicans.  Whatever."

After that, we drove out of Quivira NWR ...

... and headed home.  Before we got too far, we made a rest stop in one of our favorite places - Ellinwood!

"Let's go exploring!  Maggie, what are you doing?"

"I was trying to snarf something, but Dad caught me."
"Maybe next time!"

We walked around a little bit, then stopped for a water and treats break.  Here we are, sharing our water bowl:

"Slurp, slurp, slurp!"
"Slurp, slurp, slurp!"

I waited while Maggie got a little more.

"Slurp ... slurp!"
"Make sure you're well-hydrated, Mags!"

After Mags was done, it was snack time!

"Oh, tasty, Mom!  Wait.  Is someone coming?!?"
"Mmm, that was sooooo good!"

It's not that I didn't care that someone was coming, I had just worked up a really good appetite while we were birding!

Once again, we loaded back up, then headed home.

You've heard the term "Fields of Gold"?  How about this view out the window of our HR-V?

Fields of Gold, Kansas-style

What a remarkably beautiful part of the country we live in!

We hope you enjoyed coming birding with us!  If you'd like to see more bird photos, please click here to view our two-page album on FlickR.  Thanks for reading and have a wonderfully serene Sunday!

Cammie!

Let's Bird!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  As I mentioned yesterday, we drove down to Quivira NWR last week to do some birding.

"We're almost there!  I can tell!"
"I'm still half asleep!"

Once we got about here ...

The approach to Quivira!

... Mags and I were all set to help watch for birdies!

The first one we saw was right on the edge of the refuge - a falcon!

American Kestrel

Last month, Mom and Dad were very excited to see an American Bittern hiding in the reeds.  Well, guess what kind of bird they spotted next?!?!

"Slowly I turned ..."

Yes!  Another American Bittern!  It was very exciting!

There were lots of smaller birdies out singing!

Eastern Meadowlark

For more info on why we have salt marshes in the middle of the country, please click here.

Guess where this guy was?

Red-Winged Blackbird

Yes!  At the BSM!  How did you know?

Here's his female counterpart:

Female Red-Winged Blackbird

There were blackbirds all over the place - to include this variety:

Yellow-Headed Blackbird

Isn't he stunning?!?

We saw two kinds of Grebes this time!

Horned Grebe

For a better shot of his "horns", please click here. He's the one second from the right.  And ...

Eared Grebe

They can be tricky to differentiate.  Mom was stoked to capture both kinds!

She spent some quality one-on-one time with this birdie:

American Avocet

We ran into lots of his friends further down the road:

Chorus line of American Avocets

While we're looking at long-legged birds ...

Black-Necked Stilt

Here's an artsy shot Mom did of a Heron:

Great Blue Heron

And because he was so cooperative, here's another portrait of him:

Great Blue Heron

I hope he doesn't mind that Mom caught him with his mouth open.

We also drove down to the LSM (Little Salt Marsh), where Mom climbed the observation tower.  She took this shot from up there:

American White Pelicans and Northern Shovelers, the most handsome ducks in all of duckdom

Mom snuck that last part about the Shovelers in there.

Tomorrow we'll wrap things up with where we went after the LSM!  Thanks for coming birding with us!

Cammie!

Road Trip!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!  Last week, Mom and Dad said we were going to take a quick road trip!  Everyone got loaded into the HRV (Husky Recreational Vehicle) and we were set to go!

"Not everyone's ready.  C'mon, Mom!  Daylight's a-wastin'!"
"Is Maggie's seatbelt on OK?"
"I double-checked, Cam.  She's good to go."

Safety first, you know -- seatbelts save lives!

Before too long, we stopped at a nice rest stop on the interstate.  After a short walk, we loaded back into the HRV.

"OK, Mom!  We're all set!"
"Do you know where we're going, Cam?"

I told Mags I was pretty sure we were headed to Quivira NWR, Mom's happy place, to go birding.  We decided we should get some rest before the fun started!

"Get some shut-eye, Mags!  We'll all need to keep a sharp lookout later for birdies!"
"Got it, Cam!"

We took another break before hitting Quivira, then it was into the birdie zone!  We'll share some of those pix with you starting tomorrow!  Rest up - there are lots of birdies to see!

Cammie!

Hypothetically Speaking

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Hypothetically speaking, if someone posed this nicely while out on a walk, without treats ...

... don't you think those someones should be compensated with, say, two treats when they got home?

Just ... hypothetically speaking.  Or asking for a friend.  One or the other.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Wordless Wednesday

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

Another Frozen Treat!

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie!   The other day when I wrote my post about Prescription Diet Treats, Mom got to thinking - we do have some cans of my prescription food, so why not make treats out of some of that?!?  Sounded great to me!

Now, she learned a lot when Zimmie first went on a prescription diet - mostly from trial and error.  She did try putting small scoops of his canned food on a cookie sheet and baking it.  That lead to about 3 straight days of open windows, the exhaust fan going, and the oven door being left open.  All part of "how stinky goodness got its name", apparently.

That gave rise to the idea of using a food dehydrator outside on the deck, and that was a smashing success.  My canned food isn't sliceable like Zim's was, so unfortunately for me, that option is out.  (Plus the dehydrator was really stinky, so Mom got rid of it.). Anyway ... here's what Mom came up with for me!

"Hey!  What are you making!?!"
"Yeah!  Smells nice and stinky!"

Mom popped open a can of my prescription food and spread it into my personal Frozen Stinky Goodness tray!

Spreading the stinky goodness

Apparently, even though she had washed her hands before starting, she didn't want to use her fingers to spread the canned food around.  Probably concerned about cleanliness.  To make it nice and smooth, she used a little hand-held spatula:

All nice and smooth!

After that, she put the tray into a well-sealed zip-top baggie and stuck it in the freezer.  She said we'd have to wait a few hours!  That was really hard.  What to do with all that time on our paws?  We recommend a bit of this:

A round of CROG - Crazed River Otter Games

To watch on YouTube, please click here

Before we knew it, Mom had popped my new Frozen Canned Treats out of the tray and into a zip-top baggie.  Don't they look wonderful?!!?

Like a batch of chocolates!

I couldn't wait to try one!

"Yes, please!"

I LOVE these!  I even like them better than the other Frozen Stinky Goodness Treats - they have a little crunch to them, but aren't quite as hard.  Another culinary masterpiece by our mom!!!!

Being on a prescription diet isn't always easy - but when I have treats like this to look forward to and enjoy, it's a lot easier!!

Cammie!

Some Days

Hello, everyone.  It's me, Cammie.  Pickles can be tricky to deal with!  Some days, you have to grab them with both hands.

"Or paws.  Whatever."

As the Romans once said, "Carpe Pickle!"

Cammie!

Prescription Diet Treats

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  I know we normally do a serene post on Sundays, but what could be more serene than posting about treats?!?  ... besides eating them, of course!  So today, let's talk treats!

"Does it get much more serene?"

Several days ago, Maggie had a bath.  She was really good during the bath (shower, actually, but whatever) AND the blow-dry.  She and Mom thought she deserved a special treat afterwards!

"C'mon, Mom!  I was super-cooperative!"

Mom had a nice, big treat for Mags ... but what about me?  If one of us gets a treat, the other has to have one, too!  And I'm on a prescription diet now!!!  Fortunately for me, my prescription food does have a coordinating treat - but not all diets do!  Knowing that I'd be bored not getting something extra, Mom went into the Ao4 Digest archives and dug up a recipe she used to make for Zimmie!

Knowing how to make these might help some of you out, so we thought we'd post how Mom makes these again!  (You can read Zim's run-down of them at this link!)

First, get about a cup of your prescription kibble.  Pour about twice as much boiling or hot water on it, cover it, and let it sit until the water has soaked in.  You might have to add more water - you'll know!  Mush it up with a fork.

At this point, your Mom or Dad might start referring to this as "stinky goodness".  Trust me, it smells SO GOOD!!!

Put it into an ice cube tray or a special mold.  As Zim mentioned, your biped might want to choose a tray or mold that won't be used for anything else.  Ever again.  Fortunately for me, Mom still had a tray she used for Zimmie's!

Stinky Goodness, ready to go!

It's OK if some of the kibble is still chunky.  It won't look as pretty, but it will still taste REALLY good!

Put the tray or mold into a zip-top plastic bag, seal it really well, and put it in the freezer.  In an hour or so, you'll have Frozen Stinky Goodness Treats!!!

Mom made these ones in a special bone-shaped mold!

OK, the top doesn't look real professional or anything, but who cares what they look like?  Here's the flip side:

YUMMY and pretty!

Once the treats have frozen, you can pop them out of the molds and store them in well-sealed zip-top bags in the freezer.  They are a tasty, tasty treat -- Maggie even likes the ones made with my special kibble!

A few days after Maggie's bath, I also got to have one.  Guess what I had afterwards?!?

"I ❤ Frozen Stinky Goodness Treats!!!"

Mom also used to make Zim's Stinky Goodness Jerky Treats.  You can see the "how to" on those at this link, but here's the quick low-down:  Use canned prescription food.  Slice very thinly, using a cheese cutter - you know, the kind with the wire.  Set into trays of a dehydrator in a single layer.  If at all possible (these are my mom's words, not mine), set it outside to cook.  She says you'll thank her for that; I say what could be better than your house smelling like Stinky Goodness for a few days?!?! Use the "jerky" or "high" setting, and dehydrate until desired crispness.  It all depends on what the food is, how thick you slice it, how humid your area is, and how crispy you'd like it.  Mom cooked Zim's for about 4 hours or so.  Cool, then store in zip-top baggies in the fridge.  OH.  Right.  Well-sealed ones.

We hope this might help some of you who are on prescription diets.  My Frozen Stinky Goodness Treats give me something different to enjoy!  They're cold, they're crunchy, and they help me get more water, too!  Do your bipeds have any tricks up their sleeves to help you enjoy being on a special diet?  We'd love to hear about it!

Have a serene, treat-filled day!

Cammie!