A Toast !

We where supposed to go hawking with my sponsor today but the southerly front moving in brought high winds 20-30 miles an hour. The day has been both humid and hot with temperatures reaching in the mid 80's the air-conditioning kicked in at 75. Even my bee's came out to investigate what was going on swarming about the front of the hives and being blown off course when a hugh gust came crashing through.

Steve told me to stop by if i was heading that way so the family and i duly descended on the Armstrong house hold before heading for Chilies in Sherman. The girls have never seen ferrets let alone a hawk. So the trip was quite good i think Shelby would have quite happily taken one of the ferrets home with us. She was very impressed. The hawk however now that was another story, Sara made a dash behind her mother and my wife's eyes popped out of her head. Especially when she found out a Female Redtail is about twice the size of a Harris Hawk. However in the car to chilies they where all like wow wouldn't it be great ! There where all amazed at how Smash could rotate his head so he was looking backwards over his shoulder. IT was really cool seeing everyone talking excitedly about hawks, bee's and ferrets.

I was somewhat taken back by the generosity shown, Whisky is a particular passion of mine, especially if it hails from Scotland. I love the aroma and the taste , whisky is my nemesis. It was very touching to be given a 12 year old molt whiskey , unexpected but very much appreciated and welcome.

It's funny how you hear when you search for a sponsor, some of that selection is a certain amount of chemistry between both sponsor and apprentice. A bond and a relationship forms that grows over a period of time that develops into a friendship that is lasting. I was lucky i found someone with similar beliefs and experiences . Falconry is more than just killing which i think the none falconry fraternity will never understand. Its not about bagging game although that is a by product of the process. The more i read and get to understand its about so much more, It's about trust, honesty, chivalry and camaraderie. One for the thongs that impressed me with the Brewer book was a fascination with that actual prey he sought, understanding it , knowing about it, respecting it and managing it. Falconry shouldn't really be classed as hunting, its not like taking a bow or a gun and sitting up in a tree on a stand waiting for something to happen.

So to Steve, his family and his hawk's Dogs, Cats and Ferrets i raise a glass and say Thank you for letting me have a peak at a wonderful hobby, sport and life style that i would like to make my own. Cheers mate and here's to some good hunting !

I just finished reading Buteos and Bushytails by Gary Brewer. Squirrel Hawking certainly seems to be the way to go in this area , certainly for some of the year.

Oklahoma seems to be under a acorn and pecan dearth this year. Which will make next year seem very interesting. Squirrels in Eastern USA are starving because they cant store up enough winter feed which should have a knock on effect for next years population. I think a similar thing is in store for south Oklahoma squirrels.

Ok i digress from the book. I found it to be very difficult to read and in fact in some places it was a hard slog to get through it. I was also a little bit dissapointed by the fact it didnt have a lot of illustrations to back up what Mr Brewer was teaching, Or a how to make hoods etc. I think im going to have to read it again in the spring just to digust what was being advised. It was a little dissapointing especially after reading some of the articals he has written and are now avaialble online.

Not sure what to read next, it will either be one of the two Redtail books currently avaiable.

Cold Spell

Well the first real cold spell has been and gone. We have had tornadoes, Snow and Sleet for the past week. The bee's seem to have come through it OK with lots of orientation flights today. They haven't been delving into the sugar water which is on the Hive top feeders. I did notice them bringing pollen into the hives. We have another cold spell coming in with a rest bite of Christmas and then back to being cold.

I peeked under the hives and noticed about 10 dead bee's in each hive. Usual for this time of year. Some of the Cleaner bee's where dragging the deceased out of the hive.

I've been reading up on queen rearing for next season. I want to raise a few of my own queens for swarms that i catch and for the splits i want to do. so this winter we will be gearing up for that. Not sure which method to try yet but the Junter Method seems popular and less stressful than grafting.

Closing Shop

The bee's are closing up shop. One of my supers has a ventilation hole in it. for the past week the bee's have been filling it in.

Steve gave me some leather to have a go at making some hoods.
The first one i did was ok but i think the pattern i had for the second was was way to big ! I think the second one would fit an eagle rather than a red tail. The First one i am actually quite proud of and will probably use it for trapping next fall.

I just realized I'm no longer a newbie beekeeper.