michaelhphotography

A Mom and her son

A Dad and his son

Now that Hawk is around, Diesel’s calmness is a blessing I did not appreciate. Diesel can lay around all day sleeping while I am at work, and then sleep another 8 hours when I head to bed as soon as I get home. Hawk on the other hand…..cannot do that. He lets me sleep for about 4 hours before a whine from the crate comes into play. It’s funny, as I type this, Hawk is asleep at my feet. He only does this when I am awake. If only he could do it while I am sleeping, we’d be perfect. But, although it is frustrating at times, Hawk is well worth it and so is Diesel. Knowing that they both have an awesome home beats the frustration.

But back to the Hawk. His favorite toy is his duck. I let him have at it with the duck and after about 10 minutes, I checked on him and this is what I saw in the hallway:

RIP duck.

About to get frustrated with cleaning yet another one of his messes, I look behind me and see this:

Frustration just went out the window with that look!

Then there is Diesel. He just lays around all day (unless Hawk is pestering him non-stop to play)

Still laying, just on his side now

Diesel is use to the camera being up close and personal. He just continues to do what he does best. Lay there.

Tired of laying yet?

I think not

Someone decided to follow in Diesel’s footsteps

I think I need a nap now

Jake and Brooke were in town and called for pictures! They had another addition to the family and needed some family pictures. We headed out to on a Sunday afternoon to two locations. One is Windmont Park and the other is one of my secret locations. Here are a few from the afternoon:

The family:

The rescue I got Hawk from put on a fund raising event at Petco in Davenport, IA on 07/18/09. There was TONS of giveaways, games and events going on. You could also get your dog microchipped and washed and the money would go towards the rescue.

We took Hawk for a ride so he could get chipped and washed. First the wash (he doesn’t look happy):

Now the dry (Still not happy):

While there, Hawk’s other brothers made an appearance. It was awesome to meet their new owners and the dogs. They all had a little brotherly love and started growling at each other right off the bat. All three dogs are going to be very big dogs. Diesel is going to have his hands full with Hawk (he already does now!)

From left to right: Joey (formerly B.J.), Griffey (formerly Radar) and Hawk (a.k.a Hawkeye). Don’t mind Hawk’s little straight ear thingy he’s got going on. He’s a goofball sometimes.

Griffey’s close up.

Meet Hawkeye. He has found his forever home.

I found Hawkeye on petfinder.com through K9 Kindness Rescue, INC. out of Davenport, IA. I filled out an application for him and was contacted by his foster household shortly thereafter. His story is that he was found wandering around a tire store in Georgia with his brother. A good samaritan took them in and got them all cleaned up and checked over by the vet. Debra Frakes who runs K9 Kindness said she would take them but needed a way to get them from Georgia to Illinois. That is where Pilots N Paws (http://pilotsnpaws.org/) came into play. They are a group of pilots who fly rescues around the United States saving them from being euthanized. A pilot flew from Joliet, IL to Georgia to get Hawkeye and his brother. When the pilot got to Illinois, he could not fly to Davenport because visibility was zero. So the pilot decided to drive Hawkeye and his brother to Davenport so they could get to K9 Kindness.

You have to check out their Pilots N Paws website. They are just one of those organizations that are just plain awesome. They also have a photo gallery. I keep looking through to see if I can find some pictures of Hawkeye and his travels to Illinois.

Speaking of plain ol’ awesome organizations…K9 Kindness was amazing to work with. Debra is truly passionate about adopting animals and makes 110% percent sure the dogs are being adopted into a good home. Thank you Debra.

Hawkeye arrived at my house on Sunday, the 5th of July. He is very affectionate and always watching me to see what is going on. If I am in one room and move to another, he is right there following along. Diesel and Hawkeye get along very well and have spent countless hours chasing each other in the backyard.

Expect many more pictures to come of Hawkeye and Diesel.

I owe this picture to Amanda. She is the one who convinced me to plant garden onions in the garden. I use to HATE onions but as of lately I have been on an onion kick. I love them. I had some grilled onions on a burger and that started the onion kick.

These garden onions rock! They smell so good and can be used in cooking so many different ways. I even chopped them up and roasted them on the grill in a aluminum foil tray. I used them to top a ribeye steak. So good!

Everything else is still growing in the garden, but pictures will come of the feast of vegetables.

Good ol’ Diesel. He makes me laugh. A lot.

9 kids total and each of them have an awesome and upbeat personality. None were camera shy and had no problem getting up close and personal with the camera (as you’ll see below). Overall it was a great photo shoot and we all had tons of fun!

Someone in the middle isn’t very happy with the whole group hug idea…

But once freed from the clenches of the group hug, he is better!

I took these photos for Shelbi and her mom, Sarah. Shelbi wanted to be in the running for the Henry County Beauty Pageant but the organizers of the event said they already had the max amount of girls entered for the pageant for her age group. That stinks because Shelbi would have won for sure! She can just win for 2010.

Here is the competition for 2010. The 2009 winner might as well give up her crown now!

**Update 05/07/09** Shelbi’s Mom called and spoke with the organizers of the event and they allowed her to enter the pageant. Good luck Shelbi!

On the way to the lake…Diesel showed just how well he can flap his gums at 55mph.

Waiting to explore all the good smells while I get at least one decent picture of him.

Surprisingly…Diesel never went hog wild chasing after the geese. He liked to stalk from a distance.

This is the first time I have had the chance to let Diesel swim in a lake. It’s safe to say he enjoys it and will get plenty of water time this spring and summer. He looks like a beaver in this picture.

Now he looks like a moose after forging a river.

Interesting to see how goofy he looks mid-shake.

This one reminds me of when they launch a ship into the water for the first time. Nothing like a HUGE splash of water.

And lastly, Diesel off the starting line heading out to get the stick I threw into the middle of the lake.