That's pretty much been the story for the past week......I was able to get the kite off the ground for the last few days, but other than that, we have just been flying around since my last update. Surprisingly though, he has been doing remarkably well! On Saturday when I took him out, he ended up flying the highest he has ever gone (including to the kite), and was pumping like a mad man the whole time. I have still been pushing his weight up too, and unlike earlier when he acted like a tard when heavy, his behavior is actually improving as it goes up now. Who knows....maybe he isn't such a dink after all?!?!?!
The one thing I do know for a fact though, is that this kiting deal is not as easy as everyone around here makes it look........................I have spent a bit of time in kite fields over the past few years, and it's always been a really straight forward process. Put the kite up, attach the bait, send it to the heavens, bird flies up and grabs it, and then comes scooting down the line......piece of cake right? WRONG!!!!!! So Monday, I'm sending the bait on up, and the line is just flying off the real. Once I decide the quail is where it needs to be, I slow the reel down, lock it off, and head off down wind. I make it maybe 50 yards or so, when I see the quail coming on down the line...................dang it! So I go back, re-clip the bait (a LITTLE bit tighter this time), and let out more line. Lock it off, head down to the other end of the field, and away he went. He performed beautifully, and once he made it up there, latched on to the quail and started flapping toward the ground...........................................................................................and didn't go anywhere! I ran the line down as quickly as I could, and once on the ground, he didn't seem the least bit phased (big sigh of relief....). So this puts us at yesterday. Wind is whipping out of the South at around 10 mph or so, and I'm feeling greedy! Elmo is ready to rock, and the lack of wind is what's been holding us back, so today I sent that kite about twice as high as we have gone so far. I walk my happy butt down to the other end of the field, unhook him from his gear, strike the braces, and I'm about to pull the hood when.............stupid quail comes sailing down the line! Dang it.....again!!!!! I look at my watch, and I'm going to be late for work either way, so I trudge back to the kite, and clip up the quail again. I'm still greedy of course, so I put out a ton of line again, and off we went. Elmo did his job, but guess what? The darn release didn't let go again! Second day in a row, and then I had to sit there and wind up all that stupid line. It's one thing if you put that much out, and the bird flies on up there and gets all stupid strong, but when half of it's a waste, it just puts you in a bad mood! Today though, everything worked like a dream. We had a nice wind out of the southeast (8 or 9 mph), the bait released properly, and Elmo received a nice work out. Hopefully, I can start replicating today's successful bait release more consistently, and we can continue making good progress.
So that's where we stand right now. I was blessed this week by a good buddy of mine, who invited me to use one of his training fields. See, this is the deal.....most of the days with "no wind" actually do have wind......it's just really high up, and the trick is getting the kite high enough to get into it. His suggestion was to let out five hundred feet or so of line, hook it to the subi, and drive it on up..........that was a great call of course, except that I can't drive through any of my training fields. When I told him that, he offered me the use of one of his field, which was pretty freakin nice of him!!!!!!!! It got me thinking about my falconry so far, and about how much fun I have had. I have caught quite a bit of game, and when it comes down to it.....it has had absolutely nothing to do with me. I have been surrounded by some of the best falconers out there, and for some reason, they all really want me to do well [I think it's my charming personality, but my wife says everyone just feels sorry for me..:-)]. I am given the best advice, I'm set up for success in every way/shape/form, and through different hawking sessions with different people, have had the opportunity to see some really incredible falconry. When I first started out, I just thought that that caliber or hawkin was "standard." If you have had the time to look through a lot of the falconry forums/blogs/etc/etc out there right now, it is a little disheartening to realize how many falconers never reach their full potential (or get it out of their birds) simply because they don't know any better. All the falconry they have ever seen was sub standard at best, and in their minds, that's how it's supposed to be done (so to them, they are doing really well). I thank my lucky stars every single day, for the fact that I was not in that situation, and ended up where I am today. Am I a good falconer? No. Do I feel like I have at least somewhat of a grasp on what I'm doing? No. But do you know what..............at least I know that :-). So this is my shout out to all of my falconry brothers out there (you all know who you are). Thank you so much! You hawk your balls off, catch tons of game in great style, and take great care of your birds........you all have set a standard that someday, I hope to attain. Well, that's about it for now. Until next time my friends, you all be well!
-D-
