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

Robert Redford has died?!?! Somehow that doesn't seem possible.

I'm wondering if I'm not the only one whose bsky app is not working. On my feed I'm seeing mainly reposts from 2 or 3 people. 🧐

Bsky app doesn't work since yesterday. First I had to log in once or twice a week, then it was frozen and didn't allow me to log in, now it says it can't contact my server and I should check my connection. Works only from my laptop, forcing me to check less frequently. Probably a good thing.

Dinner tonight at the local restaurant. OMG every bite was divine! Lammrücken mit gegrillte Kürbisschnitten und Griestalern. Lamb, grilled pumpkin, and [I have no idea - something dumpling-like].

In our local Blättle I saw an ad looking for glasses, platters, etc. We have such stuff we haven't touched in the 13 yrs I've been here, so I called her. She came over tonight and I'd added some extras just in case. She took it all! I'm thrilled the stuff can be used/appreciated by someone else. 🙂

Goodness gracious, we have never accomplished this before! At the beginning of the season, 2 hawking days in a row, 3 crows total, and Kaya indicated she could keep going! We quit to end on a positive note. Today: 3 flights, 2 kills, & her 1st flight was extraordinary!! 🦅📯 Ruhetag tomorrow.

Die Saison ist eröffnet! 📯🦅 The season has officially opened for us, with Kaya's first success this morning! Three fabulous flights, great recall, and then one unsuspecting crow. New followers: Kaya's job is to hunt with us and she's great at it! My photos aren't gory but they show her at work.

"Put your shoes on, Karen. Let's go hawking!! P.S. Do you have me on a diet or are you and Dad just sh*tty hunters?"

Of course she drops a primary* wing feather after I'd given up waiting. 🤦🏼‍♀️🪶 The last feather she molted out was nearly a month ago, amd the last primary wing feather was longer ago than that. *Might not be a "primary" - I still don't know some terms in English. But it's an important wimg feather.

Baby pic and current pic. I thought I would miss her juvenile plumage, but I find her even more beautiful now. She still looks charmingly derpy when looking directly into the camera. 😅 She was Hawky McSquawkerson for more than a year! 🙉 That's not unusual for Harris young hawks.

On September 1, 2025, we lost a true legend. Graham Greene, Oneida from Six Nations Reserve, walked on at the age of 73. Over the span of more than 175 acting credits, he gave us characters that were unforgettable, complex, and real. redpopnews.com/remembering-... #redpopnews

Oh no! R.I.P actor Graham Greene! 😥

Current situation: sitting with Kaya's butt over a plastic sheet waiting for her to poop so we can collect another sample to send in for a check-up. We do this 1-2 times a year. We've been waiting an hour so far. ⏳🚽

My rolly-polly birdie will finally do her first free flight of the season tomorrow. I kept delaying it because she was still too high (in weight)! If she is 15g lower tomorrow than today, that will be perfect, but I think she won't quite make that. We'll fly her free regardless; she's ready.

Have any of you heard of "Postcrossing"? An article in today's paper told of the project connecting people around the world through postcards - old school happy mail, basically. The project is out of Portugal and started 20 years ago. I'm thinking of giving it a go. I've got oodles of postcards!

I like pie (ok, Kuchen). 😋 Not far from us is Schloß Glatt, a Wasserschloß with a lovely café specializing in cakes, which they serve as enormous slices.

There was an interesting question I saw from someone recently that was asking why there are no historians writing "for the other side." Essentially, why are there no "pro-Trump Heather Cox Richardsons?" The answer lies in our training.

Kaya has started her pre-hawking-season diet and is getting out for some light exercise as well. This morning while waiting for her other falconer so we could go out flying, she fell asleep sitting next to me. 🥹😴 I ❤️ it when she falls asleep next to one of us because it's a sign she feels safe.

A German in our falconry club's WhatsApp group posted a message today beginning "Guten Morgen Gruppen mit Glieder..." and I'm both giggling and feeling less bad about the mistakes I make while using my second language. 😅

Has anyone else seen Heather Cox Richardson's push to flood social media with # IamAmerica, telling how we represent America & support democracy? I can't help but remember the IamGermany account that brought so many of us together. 🫶🏼❤️🇩🇪

We spent the day with Kaya and our falconry club at the Landesgartenschau and spent many hours chatting with visitors about falconry and hawking. It was a long but enjoyable day. (This is not Kaya, it's a saker falcon belonging to a different falconer.)

It's raining!! Kaya loves her rain showers! 😍☔ Alt text: A Harris hawk on a perch in her aviary with her wings and tail spread out as she enjoys the pouring rain.

Gotta love it when the German word search topic of the day is apparently "things you can put stuff into" and the second word on the list is "BODYBAG". 😂😂

Our outing today. First a walk to and up a lookout tower, then lunch at a Hofgut where the owners are also falconers and don't mind we bring the birds along. My friend's bird is a Saker falcon, Emil. There were many wild raptors flying about: red kites, common buzzards and kestrels.

Kaya's older half-sis came for a visit this afternoon. I spent a season with Hekate & her falconer while I learned the ropes step by step. They were good teachers! I decided I wanted a Harris hawk from the same line and contacted the breeder. Kaya was an only chick & the last chick from her mom.

What are you all reading this weekend? We're reading this one. 🙂📚

The comments for the win, though. 😂😂 "ICE? More like ICYHOT" made me snort. 🤣 For the record, I find ICE and what they are doing detestable and not in the least funny. It's all the comments about the aches & pains of aging that have me laughing.

MiL's 80th birthday is today. We planned to give her 80€ Gutscheine for 3 different places she orders online. 1 doesn't have Gutscheine available at all. 1 has them but they can't be used for online orders, just by phone, email, or...wait for it... . . . . FAX. The 3rd one is Amazon. 🙇🏼‍♀️

They are watching a podcast together. 😅

PSA: The "What it means to be a liberal" letter that director Ron Howard supposedly wrote (but did not), which is making the rounds again, was written in January 2018 by novelist Lori Gallagher Witt. Some dude named Ron Howard (not the director) shared it w/o attributing it, and here we are.

When we (4 yrs experience) are asked by the president of our falconry club (30+ yrs experience) if we can replace him in September for a presentation for families he agreed to do but now can't, should we feel flattered or suspect an ask-them-they-never-say-no motive? 🧐😅

What's with this having to log in every few days? Is anyone else experiencing this here?

Flashback for August 2, 2025 28 points 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Play here: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...