Not Sam, too!! 😭😭🐎😭😭 They won many gold medals and tournaments together. We can see their stable and training facility from one of our hawking areas. I always thought one day I'd be able to pop over and see him.

During training today Kaya landed on the ground after catching a tidbit in the air. I tried to coax her back to my glove but she knew I didn't have a tidbit on it. So she flew to a tree instead to wait until I was ready with the "hawk tax." 😅

This is a CAT checkpoint. Show me the most recent cat image on your phone.

Kaya didn't get a Nilgans (goose) today, but she did get two crows. I'm very glad, after 4 days in a row last week of no success. I wanted to end the season on a good note, and now we can.

Lil Missy decided to take a shower in the downpour today. At 17:00. 🤦🏻‍♀️ She. Was. Soaked. With overnight temps at 5°C, I couldn't let her go to bed wet so I brought her in to dry off in front of the space heater. Tomorrow we're having another go at Nilgänse (Egyptian geese).

Kaya now has an Impfpass. She got her 1st of 3 doses against West Nile Virus this morning after a general exam that involved an Assi holding her securely while the vet poked around. She was not amused. The vet said she's in great shape, though. 😊🦅

We were asked by an angler if Kaya could help with a Kormoran problem and we went today to see the situation. These cheeky bahstuds are taking the fish out of the stream and roost in a tree inside the village where guns can't be used to scare them off. Kaya can't help.

We attended a Jägerschlag ceremony today for US-Americans stationed in SW Germany who successfully completed their German hunting course and test. A friend of mine helped with the organization and invited us. 😊

Not going to lie. I'm more than a little disgusted by what I just heard Rep Angie Craig (D, MN) tell CNN that concerned Republican politicians have said to her in the last 24 hrs: "This is going to kill us in the next election." It shouldn't surprise me that their main concern is themselves.

My brother, with whom I no longer have contact, lives in Minneapolis. Mom told me tonight that he is against all the protesters who are making the city dangerous. Right. It's the people resisting ICE injustices who are making the city dangerous.

Another Nilgans today. 📯🦅😊 A Jungjäger (new hunter, but he is also young: 20-ish?) told me before we set out that he'd love to have a Nilgans. I told him he'd have to help me then! 🙂 He did great (as did Kaya, of course!)! Kaya got to keep the head but the rest is heading to his soup pot. 😅🍗

I searched for a gif from Fury (the horse), but that's so barking old there apparently isn't one. It was that and Lassie.

Kaya got a "Nebelkrähe" today. That is, literally a fog crow, or a crow in the fog. A "Nebelkrähe" is actually a hooded crow in English, but those are not in this part of Germany.

Repression almost never announces itself by targeting everyone at once. It begins quietly, aimed at minorities, those with less power, fewer allies, or voices that are easier to ignore. Their rights are restricted, their freedoms narrowed, and their suffering dismissed as exceptional or deserved.

A family outing in the Rhein valley today (the birds are related, not their falconers). All hawks were successful. From left to right, Skadi got 2 crows, Hekate got 5, and Kaya got 3. The area had been closed for a month due to bird flu, which worked to our advantage. 📯🦅

On my way this morning to meet a friend for a day of hawking. I'd pulled over to check my tires and briefly enjoyed the sunrise.

My girl nabbed a Nilgans today! Her older half-sis was with us and together they got 6 crows and the Nilgans. 📯🦅 We were invited by the hunters to this new (for us) area because they want to protect hares, Kiebitze, Rebhühner and other small birds/animals from the crows & magpies.

They say one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I bought this book at our local book shop BECAUSE of the cover. I don't even like Krimis. 😂 Who recognizes the location? 🙂

"A bridge that will never be the same again for many people." An exerpt from a speech I am forcing myself to watch. Any guesses who the orator is?

Yesterday Kaya got 3 crows. She had today off and we're going out again tomorrow.

Friend is looking at apartments. Tells me the ad says it has in-floor heating, realtor said it doesn't. Confusion. I look at the German ad. "Etagenheizung." I tell her that's not in-floor heating. She says it's badly worded, other Americans are shown this apt and will also be confused. I tell her...

This is Kaya (right) with her older half-sis, Hekate. Hekate's falconer has a gammy leg, so I'll be taking both hawks out for the next few weeks. We tried today with her falconer sitting in the back seat, but Hekate didn't seem to like the new plan. Raptors like change about as much as I do.

Trying to decide which Thanksgiving episode from the West Wing to watch tonight.

I wanted to film Kaya's normal conversational squawking, and then she decided it was nap time. 😅😴

I read the pictured book, "Freunde," to my US-American children so often, I can still recite most of it by heart, and those kids are now 30 & 32! Helme Heine was a gem. ♥️

Kaya with her 34th crow of the season. She had to fly around a tree to get this one. Who's a good girl? The 2nd pic shows her half-sis on the crow she got with a plane taking off from the Stuttgart airport in the distance.

Wait. What?!? I 🙄 about the use by marketing departments in Germany of "black week" as they try to capitalize on the US-American "black Friday," and now they've come up with "white week"? 🤦🏻‍♀️

A local florist, in an attempt to compete against online flower companies, has put up a vending machine that he stocks even on Sundays and holidays. I checked it out today and bought a little bouquet. 💐 I love supporting small local businesses! 🫶🏼

Last night we had Martinsgans and a delicious salad, and today Kaya got 2 crows. So I guess we all had poultry recently. 😅

Get to know your mutuals! List 10 random things you like. Naps Collies (Most) birds of prey Reading, esp. historical fiction Grauburgunder Handwritten letters (writing and receiving) An open fire Naps Horses Teaching German and learning

Sometimes the whole family gets involved to deal with the crow. Kaya snatched this one out of the air, probably 2 feet high. My job is often pretty easy, but not this time and I had to call for backup. 🦅📯

Kaya got me two Geburtstagskrähen today! 📯🦅😊 Spending the day with my husband and our bird, and having a successful hunt besides - my favorite kind of day. 😁

I'm just here to say that I just entered a Hausarzt Wartezimmer (eww, get me outta here) and remembered to say cheerfully, "Morgen!" That will never not be awkward, though. 😂

A few yrs ago I transcribed the hand-written diary of a man who worked with Albert Schweitzer at his hospital in Lambarene, Gabun Africa in the 60s. I knew of Schweitzer but not much about him, and this was an incredible experience for me! On Saturday we visited his home/museum in Königsfeld.

Out hawking again today with Kaya and her older (but smaller since male raptors are smaller than females) brother. Aik caught his crow but I had to navigate around 10 horses to assist his falconer. Aik is terrified of horses and tried to crouch and hide behind his kill as they paraded by. 🥹

We just had dinner at a classy restaurant in the Black Forest which features a 4- oder 6-Gänge Menü (we went with 4). Delicious! I didn't add the photo of the dessert. As we left I saw a 100€ Schein lying on the ground outside in front of the door. What would you have done?

Kaya nailed quite a prize this morning! A Nilgans, or Egyptian goose, that weighed a bit more than she did. These are Neozoen (invasive) and quickly overtaking native species. This is her 3rd Nilgans ever and 1st in 2 years. We dispatched it, let her enjoy her success, & quit for the day.

Good lord, my husband is cooking Hirschgulasch for tomorrow's dinner, and I need a glass of wine to go with that aroma!! 🦌🍷 After the pictured step (simmering for 2 hours), he has to separate the meat from the veggies. We call that "Aschenbrödelarbeit." 😅

I posted a video of Kaya coughing up a pellet on my FB feed with a mild content warning, and an American non-falconer friend of mine told me to take it down because it's gross and no one wants to see that. Americans and their aversion to bodily functions...😅😉🦅

Kaya gives me the side-eye while snarling, "Do not you DARE try to take this magpie from me. It's MINE!!" When she did "trade," she unheaded the deceased magpie, keeping the head in her claws, so we let her have it and quit for the day. 😅

I'm seeing so little that isn't politics here. I love the German/English community I've found, and I appreciate being kept informed although it's exhausting. I'll keep posting about Kaya for those who are interested and want something other than politics. She was successful again today.

Teamwork. We falconers find the quarry (though often Kaya spots one we missed), I let Kaya go, if the odds are in her favor she gets it in her talons, and then she hangs on, tries to avoid the crow's beak, and waits for me. I dash to her, dispatch the crow quickly and give Kaya a reward.

Hä? The clips of Robert Irwin on Dancing with the Stars have been fun! Now I'm seeing there's been a sh*tstorm because he ripped his shirt off during a dance? 🤦🏼‍♀️ Americans and their hang ups... I saw it as daring and fun, and a bit silly. But the outrage & the partner's guilty conscience? Come on.

"My towel!! Mineminemine!" I had hidden a thawed mouse under the towel, which she already found. She likes to keep the towel for a bit while she makes sure she didn't miss a second treat.

This word search was disappointing. 1. I didn't come here for English. 😅 2. It took me longer than German word searches. 3. If the theme is English/American breakfast items, there's a problem here. Can you spot the cultural glitch? What item doesn't belong? 🙂

Woke up to an email from 83-yr-old mom: "Just to update you all." Summary = the pain we didn't know she had behind her knee that started yesterday is not a blood clot but harmless and should go away on its own. 😑 Uh, thanks for the update?

"Nomnomnom!" 😂 🦅 This is Kaya's older half-sis helping herself to her reward of meaty tidbits after a successful hunt this morning. 📯 I was their driver, but Kaya is parked until the weekend. Yesterday she was probably at the right weight, but the crows were uncooperative. 🙇🏼‍♀️

Why is no one pulling the plug on this insanity?!? (47's address to the UN) Just drum up a technical difficulty!!

The Bsky app just isn't working for me despite reboots & un-/reinstalling the app. Maybe it's a sign that I should do something else with my time, like read books. I'll check back now & then on the PC and hope that it’s just a glitch and will right itself. Final (?) video of Kaya’s training. 1/2