Hunting season is here!

Things have been pretty busy, not to mention a bit  hectic occasionally, but it has been fun. However now that it is over, it is time for the best, for me, part of the year. Time to go hawking.

I had been slowly taking some weight off  Hope, to prepare for the new season. It has too hot to get out in the Sage or to take weight off of a hunting bird. Well the season  has changed- seriously. Of course with the cooler temps comes the winds.

I flew Hope on the creance about three times, even though it was obvious that it really wasn't needed. I tried to take her out, here by the house on Saturday. She fell right back in to the routine and rode the perch well. We did, after a lot of walking manage to get one Jack up. She was so excited that she crashed right into John,  bounced off and continued after the Jack. Then Monday I took her over to the ranch and we got three Jacks up, but the wind and her soft muscles were too much for her to make a catch. I am fighting a nasty cold, so I was happy with her effort and was glad to quit.

Today the forecast was for winds in the 20's, so I didn't hold out much hope for her to be successful. The Rabbits around here seemed to have the odds stacked against them last year and the populations suffered severe losses. I was hoping that my regular spot about 20 miles away would still have a decent population that I could exploit.

Hope weighed 920 this morning when I picked her up. A former apprentice, Pat F. was visiting, so she and John H went with me to at least make a try at hunting her.

I drove into the field, parked, got out and made about 15 steps and she flashed off the perch after a Jack. It managed to evade her, so she came back to the perch, and we continued. We hadn't gone very far when she took off after another Jack and this one she caught, much to my surprise.

When I got there, I couldn't see her, but the rabbit was sticking out there trying like crazy to pull the talons out of her butt. I was totally amazed when I saw how she had grabbed it. One leg on one side of a large Sage, the other leg on the other side, and upside down as well. dI had a hell of a time getting her untangled. I eventually tossed a chunk of rabbit in front of her beak, and she let go to get it.

To be quite frank I was pleasantly surprised that she was so determined to catch a Rabbit. It was not a small Jack either. The wind rather than a hindrance was today a big help. The Jack didn't have a chance to turn into the wind, and she was experienced enough to use it to be on him before he knew he was in danger.