Meet Zac

I should have been well warned.  Zac's favorite activity at 15 months of age was chasing birds.  Sigh.  It was so easy back then, before he started catching them...

                        
                     A mere 15 years later, he's moved on to a red-tailed hawk.


I'm not sure where it began, but it encompassed many hours of internet research, many hours of poring over falconry publications, and many hours of drawing plans for and building a hawk mews.  Not to mention the state-required test taking and building inspecting.

       This is where Ruger lives when he's not  .ahem.  in our house...Incidentally, Zac has acquired some new cleaning skills.

So, each day when the weight of the bird is just right, Zac takes him out and "flies" him, or takes him out into the woods to hunt. 

It still amazes me that this not-so-long-ago wild bird will return to his glove.  Zac assures me that he's motivated purely by the ease and  predictability of food appearing on the glove, but it's obvious that the bird knows him, and ultimately chooses to come back, and I am .amazed.   Way to pursue your dreams, Zac!

Signs of Spring

It's that time of year when the very passage of time is greeted as a friend.  Spring is a week away on the calendar, but the smell of melting snow is in the air, mud is on the ground, and sap is rising in the trees.  Yes, the ice fishing huts have just disappeared from the lakes and rivers, and yes, it's been less than a week since I was rescued from the snowbank by a tow truck, but even so, spring is undisputedly on the way.  Zac even spotted the first migratory birds of the season today - a red-winged blackbird on the way to church this morning, and a couple of grackles on the way home.  And so, with that hope in our hearts, we'll curl up by the woodstove with the hatchery catalogues and the gardening magazines for a few more weeks...

Eggs Anyone?

After taking a winter holiday, it appears that my hens are back in business.

Perhaps the sign will help.

(Thank you, Lydia!  It was an awesome Christmas present.)