Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Silly

Oh my...playing with my new GIF camera... 
(You may need to give it a second to load properly for the full effect.) 


howling!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Hana's Modeling Gig for Handmade Green

Our friend Julia, the designer and creator behind Handmade Green, recently asked if we could take some pictures of our beautiful girl Hana modeling one of her new Spring '13 martingale collars.  We jumped at the chance...a brand new Handmade Green collar...yes please!  Hana wasn't quite as excited about this as I was (...at times she convinces herself that the camera is a torture device.)  I kind of know how she feels...having your picture taken can be awkward.  But nevertheless, we managed a few photo shoots with the new collar, and I think we managed to get some good shots.  Here are some of my favorite pictures (not necessarily the best views of the collar, but cute)...

First we tried taking pictures inside - Hana was happy, but the lighting was pretty bad...

 ...next we went to the back deck and the lighting was better, but our kitty kept photobombing the pictures and Hana seemed convinced that the photoshoot was going to lead to her death...



...a few days later we went on a hike...got a few good shots of the collar but the best was this photo of both dogs in front of a spectacular rainbow...Here Pali is showing Hana how this whole modeling thing is supposed to work, ha!


Finally we did a beach photoshoot.  These ones had the best lighting and Hana was having a blast.  There's really no place she is happier than at the beach!


Thank you Julia for the collar and the modeling gig! 
The collar is awesome and we are stoked!
Click to visit the Handmade Green website and Etsy Shop!

Monday, January 7, 2013

A Mini Reunion/Borzoi Get-Together!

On December 29, a small group of us met up on the North Shore at the Peacock Flats trail.  We joined other Oahu dog owners for the Humane Society's monthly 'Paws of the Path' hike.  Really, it was just a good excuse to get some island Borzoi together.  In addition to  a couple of the Kawailoa Borzoi puppies, I invited Argus (aka Kolchak XVI) and his family to join us.  We managed to get five Borzoi together at one time!  It was fantastic!  Jazz (formerly Pali II) and his family came, including parents Lori and James, and dog-brother Miki.  Maria and her family also joined with Kuhio (formerly Lentil).  And Michelle and her son Matt brought Argus.  We brought Pali and Hana.  Hana was walked by Matt, and Marc and I traded off between walking Pali, and checking out all the 'zois.  It was so much fun :)

Here are pictures from the hike.  Some are really low resolution, but they are still great.  (I would have taken more but my camera died shortly after we started the hike.)


Starting the hike (the Peacock Flats trail is actually just a paved road, closed-off to vehicle traffic, which winds its way up the north side of the Waianae Mtn. range.)  Pictured from left to right: Michelle walking Argus, Matt walking Hana, Pali walking Marc, me.
Resting/water break at the first gate.  Pictured from left to right: James, Lori, Jazz, Miki.

Pali and Jazz sniff noses, joined by Lori and Miki.

 Jazz and Miki.

Jazz and Miki, Argus and Michelle.

 Michelle and Argus...this picture makes the hike look deceivingly mellow...it isn't.  It's all uphill (until you turn around, of course.)

 Argus!

 Marc and Pali, Matt walking Hana. 

Sniff circle.  Hana (left), Argus (right), Kuhio (center).  Argus and Hana have very similar coloring.  He fit right in with the Kawailoa Borzoi bunch.

Argus (left), Maria with Kuhio (center), Pali's schnozz.

Brothers Kuhio and Jazz, Lori in the middle.

Kuhio and Marc.  (Jazz in the back left.)

Matt with Hana...

Matt & Hana, Marc, Pali, and me...

...love this series of Kuhio greeting me.  He got up and his hind legs and gave me a hug, and smothered me with kisses.  Heart=melted.

Kuhio and Argus sniff-sniff.  Marc and Hana enjoying the reunion...

Proud Mama Hana.  Kuhio and Marc reunited...

 
Jazz & Kuhio.

The group, heading back down the hill.

Argus and Kuhio

Group picture!

And a few more group shots :)


I can't wait to do this again!  


And lastly, I will add a few holiday pics for those that couldn't be there...
Roman and Boris snuggling, safe and sound on New Year's Eve.

Tasha under her Christmas tree!

And Misha with his Christmas Tree!
*****
(Okay, I lied, one more note...several people asked me about where I got Pali and Hana's collars from.  I got them from this online shop: http://www.siriusrepublic.com/  Highly recommended!)

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Kawailoa Borzoi on Instagram (@plumaei)

Are any of you on Instagram?  I am.  I use it mainly to post pictures of the zois and our cats, plus some landscape shots from hikes and other beautiful spots around Hawaii.  I thought I'd share on the blog a few of my recent pics from outings with Hana and Pali.  As you can see, we've been having lots of fun at the beach lately :)














...follow me on Instagram if you want to stay connected :)
@plumaei


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Birthdays!

Hana and Pali both had birthdays within the last few weeks!  Hana's was November 22nd, and Pali's birthday is today!  Reflecting, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that I have these sweet souls to share my life with.  I would be so incomplete without them.  They are such a part of who I am, and what makes me tick.  Pali is my shadow, following me from room to room, going to bed when I go to bed, rising when I do.  He bathes me in the warmth of his love all day long.  Hana is my little angel, sharing deeply touching moments with me throughout the day, making me laugh, filling me with joy when I look into her soulful eyes and feel her gentle energy.  The love of a Borzoi is something truly special - anybody who has been so lucky would unhesitatingly agree.


Wednesday, October 31, 2012

ROMAN HAS BEEN FOUND!

It is with unmeasurable joy that I am finaly able to write this post.  Roman has been found and is safe at home with his Mom Alexis and his brother Boris!  (If you are not familiar with the story - Roman's disappearance as a result of a hit and run car accident has been chronicled in detail on this blog here and here.)  

Roman went missing on June 10 when he was just 4 months and 2 days old...just a baby!  Four months and 20 days later he is finally back home.  This means Roman spent over half of his short life lost in the wild!  What a tale of survival!  I will quote the story from Alexis' roommate:

(From this morning:) Just got home with Roman, our roomie Alexis's dog who has been missing for almost FIVE MONTHS. He was spotted in a field a few miles from her home where he's been living on wild chickens and occasional handouts from nearby residents. We set the trap on Friday night but eventually all he needed was to see his mom... after all that time, he just walked right up to her! He was just a puppy when she lost him (he escaped her car which got totaled in a hit-and-run accident). He's super skinny but otherwise healthy and SO happy to be home. I love him already! Welcome home Roman!! ♥ :) ♥

We are all so overjoyed.  There could not be a happier ending to this story.  At first I was in shock when I got the phone call from Alexis...then I was in tears.  I'm still in shock, but I have such a wonderful sense of closure and peace now.  I am so thankful to Alexis for never giving up, and to all the friends who helped put up flyers and spread the word.  I'm thankful that Boris gets to be with his brother, and that Roman gets to be back with his family, warm, safe, fed, loved, and cared for. 

Miracles do happen. Sometimes you just have to wait for it.

And here is amazingly sweet picture of Roman reunited with his brother Boris...
 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Hiking Manana with Pali & Hana

Last weekend I got the chance to take Pali and Hana on a hike.  We went to Manana, a favorite of mine, stopping a few miles in at the beautiful helipad landing.  Hana was off-leash for the whole hike (she is SO good), and Pali got to go off-leash for a good portion of the hike too.  Pali is good boy too, but more independent than Hana for sure.  It makes me nervous to have both dogs off-leash right at first when their energy is super high and they are all riled up and wanting to run.  I've read so many times that you can't let a Borzoi off-leash in a non-fenced area...I'm careful about it and feel like I usually err on the side of caution, but my pups have earned their trust and I am so grateful to have such good babies.  Anyway, here are some fun pics from the hike...


The celebratory romp once Pali was released...