Family Reunion

Hawk had a great time at the family reunion.  It was held in Cuba City, at my uncle and aunt's farm where my mom was raised and where she met my dad whose family had a farm next door.  We got to visit with our cousins who we spent so much time with as kids because there were only my mom and her brother in the family (sadly, they had 1 other brother who died at age 3 of pneumonia); my cousin Jane made my wedding veil.  Five of our 7 siblings were there.  Unfortunately, very few of my parents' grandchildren and great grandchildren were there, but we had fun with the ones who did come and we were happy they were there.

Our nephew Craig and his wife Jen have a set of adorable 2-year-old twins who thought Hawk was about the most horrible little creature they could imagine.  They would not let their daddy put them down for a long while after Hawk arrived.  The youngest member of our family, Celia, who is a 5 month old baby, was just the opposite, she loved Hawk's kisses, and interestingly, you could see him be extra gentle with his teeth and Celia's tiny fingers.  There is hope for him yet!  Hawk, however, was much more interested in my aunt's stray cat who has made his home on her porch.  Living in the country, I remember we would very often have stray cats and dogs walk into our yard (or perhaps dropped off nearby by people who no longer wanted them, sadly).  This cat looks to be very happy at my aunt's home.  I believe it was the first cat Hawk ever met, and he learned they do not particularly like to play and they do like to hiss and swat curious puppies across their nose.  Hawk kept his distance after one swat from the cat, but could not stay completely away.  This new thing he discovered was just too enticing.  The cat showed nothing but disdain and disgust for this overzealous beast who kept running away with his water bowl and dumping it all over himself.  You could almost see him sneer "stupid puppy!"

Hawk was loving discovering new things at the farm.  There were some delectable things called cow pies that he just had to sample. The kids were blowing bubbles, which he had already experienced before, but they were still fun to chase.  He met a bunch of new family members and put on his most innocent and sweet demeanor.

Then we took the kids down to visit the cattle who were up by the farm fence.  Hawk got a look at them and they got a look at him, and both species were scattering away.  However, cattle are ever so curious, and they kept inching closer to this crazy black blob who was doing his best to get out a big dog bark, but all that came was his puppy squeaks.  This only served to make the cattle more curious, and soon they were peering down at him through the fence, both the cattle and Hawk keeping just enough distance to feel safe.  Hawk finally decided, after many treats when he was calm, they were not so bad and sat quietly up by the fence just watching.  He is really observant like that.  When we walked away, Hawk did so with his tail down and kept peering over his shoulder to make sure those huge things were not coming over the fence with us.  Maybe they were nice while we were there with him, but he was still not completely convinced he was safe.

He also heard lots of sirens as there was a structure fire just down the road from my aunt and uncle's place.  He really could have cared less though.  Being 4th of July weekend, we also heard lots of firecrackers and fireworks in our neighborhood, and I guess the first encounter paid off--I sat and fed him treats every time one went off to end our Oregon Summerfest carnival.  Since then, he has not really cared about all those loud noises from the fireworks.

By the time we were on the way home, Hawk was again fast asleep in the car.  He got just enough sleep to be ready for playtime when we got home.  I think Monte enjoyed his day of rest at home while we were away.