Props: proper respect, recognition – Urban Dictionary I’ve never given the opossum a second thought unless it happened to scurry across my path in the approaching dusk. Ghostly, ghastly, pallid and grotesque, there were so many more colorful things in life...
You may have been one of those people who excelled at sports (and if you were, I really do admire you), however, I was never among that elite group of fit, perky, energetic individuals that could kick &@!$% in their chosen field. For me, it was a series...
It’s well-known in historical texts and artifacts that falconry has been practiced for over 3,000 years and possibly even longer as it pre-dates written records. Places such as Arabia, China, Mongolia, Japan, Germany and Europe (to...
We picked up a beautiful passage hawk 12 days ago. A falconer and his wife who live south of us had trapped her and put out an alert in the falconry community to see if anyone was looking for a Red-tailed Hawk. My husband was! He had been trapping all month (with help...
The hawk is a symbol of vision, creativity, wisdom, observation, power and truth. The hawk soars freely above and as Warren beautifully described, “…there is hope for those of us who turn to the flight of the hawk and the truth of the light.” Evening...
A beautiful day in January with the hawks! Oz, a male Red-Tailed Hawk and Sadie, a large female both were lucky and caught a squirrel.
My husband recently decided to let Gracie, his first red-tailed hawk, fly free. Only 20% of most hawks in the wild make it to maturity (due to many reasons including disease and poisoning from eating tainted rodents). A hawk that has an opportunity to be with a...
I came across this beautiful poem about the Kestrel, which is a small falcon only a little bigger than a Robin. It’s distinctly colorful and when it hunts, it “hovers” in the currents of the wind. It was written by Gerard Hopkins and published in...
Enjoying a beautiful moment on a cool yet sunny spring day with my husband, two dogs and Gracie. I took a bunch of photos and here are the best of the bunch.
On a recent hunting trip in South Georgia, these falconers and their hawks hunted together for squirrels, a common prey for the Red-tailed Hawk. The photos illustrate three different hawks (Gracie, an immature female, Scout, an immature male and Heath). If you look...
I’ve always been amazed whenever I’ve seen a water buffalo protecting their young or banding together against an adversary. They’re courageous, extremely protective and utterly indomitable. Here’s my first attempt at drawing one. My original...
Last Saturday, January 15th, 2011 3:50 a.m. – the alarm squawked, or was that my husband? He had been up since 2:30 in anticipation of a state annual falconry “Field Meet” where falconers convene to hunt, share stories, styles, tips and tricks....
When I hear my husband’s falconry tales, I listen in amazement and wonder how I’m going to explain the next adventure to my readers. I have to admit that his take on the story is usually a short, to the point, ex-New Yorker recap of the situation. However,...
I dropped my husband off at the mews yesterday. It was lunchtime, a typical day and nothing unusual was in the wind. I walked into the barn with him and then into the mews while he was deciding whether or not to fly her. Gracie was sitting on her...
Well, yesterday was the big “if you love something set it free moment” where you quickly find out if your hawk will fly the coop or will return to you for some glove love. My husband went hunting with friends and their hawks and took...
For the first time in more than 100 years, our southern state saw a white Christmas. We all went out to enjoy the snow and our Lab and Golden couldn’t get enough of it! Although their play may look ferocious, they adore eachother and just had some...
Our Red-tailed Hawk is evidently a very deep sleeper. Watch this video as my husband opens the giant hood (her crate) and tries to wake her up – slowly and carefully. He doesn’t want to startle her – there’s nothing worse than a...
The scene: 27.9° wind chill of 18° gusts of 14 mph As you may have heard, a cold, bitter blast of winter weather hit the south this morning. Despite the cold, it was still a beautiful day and my husband decided to head to the football field for some lure...
If you have one of these hats, I apologize in advance for any offense to your sense of fun, style or Christmas spirit by this post. This hat came into my possession recently and unexpectedly as a gift for my H to wear during the holidays. In addition to its...
She was at the 30 and… … to the 40 to the 50 to the 40 to the 30 to 20. I’m faking it – I really don’t know anything about football, but I do know that I was on a football field yesterday afternoon. Ok, fine. I...
