Creepers gonna creep

My favorite news story so far this week:

A trailer overturns on a major road in Massachusetts, releasing two cows. Traffic is stopped as the cows meander around, and nobody seems quite sure of what to do. Suddenly, a guy gets out of his car, wearing a cowboy hat and boots, lassoes each cow and moves them off the road, then gets back into his car and takes off without revealing his name.

Hooray for local superheroes.

So we were going to do this cute little happy blog / sad blog / photo blog thing but I think nobody has the time for that. :D; So. RECAP, GO!

This year's Oregon Falconer's Association fall meet was in Madras, a sprawling little town in the middle of absolutely nowhere, Oregon. Very pretty scenery out there on the plateaus just east of the Cascade mountains. And it was warm! And sunny! We met a bunch of really nice people and their really quite excellent hawks. We had a lot of fun chasing cottontails for Phoenix, especially the one that went into a tube and then crawled out the top when it was lifted up, landing at my feet and making it about five feet more before it became closely acquainted with Phoenix's talons. We also had an excellent time acting like crazy ninjas around the banks of a pond right next to a golf course. That guy towing his clubs away while we ninjaed right past him was probably just as confused as the one who was swinging his hat at Magic when he rocketed past after a duck.

There's no way I can describe the beauty of these birds with words, and while photos simply can't do them justice either, I have a couple to share anyway.

Along with the successes came a couple of terrible events. Ayla, the first redtail we met at the meet, was killed later that morning by a territorial pair of golden eagles. And then later that afternoon, Layla, a gyr/prairie, stooped at a flock of pigeons, landed in someone's backyard, and was instantly shot by a man with a rifle. The news was jaw-droppingly unbelievable when we heard it over the walkie-talkies, and it only got more bizarre from there, as the man fled the scene by car after the sheriff was called, the entire house was full of unrelated Latinos who may or may not legally be in the US, none of whom claimed to know the gunman, and they were raising fighting cocks and may have been operating an illegal cockfighting ring, which would account for the startling swiftness of Layla's death. It's likely that their yard is littered with dead hawks, or that their barn is stuffed with them seeing as how that's where the guy tried to hide her body, and that if they could catch him, he'd either be facing several thousand dollars in fines and possibly jail time, or possibly, deportation. But the chances are he'll get off free, which is so completely wrong. But if they can't find him, there's not much to be done.

HOWEVER. In true falconry style, the worst events of the day were coupled with the best - my personal best event, anyway. Yes, I now officially have a SPONSOR! I AM AN APPRENTICE! Sort of unofficially as I don't legally become an apprentice until I get my license, BUT. I'm taking the test on Friday afternoon (anyone want to come to Sauvie Island?) and then after that, all that's left to do is get my gear in order, get my license, stock up on food (lawl freezer starlings, my mom's gonna love that), buy a trapping permit, and then finally I can get a kestrel! So, expect to see lots more RL stuff in this journal now, because my RL just got a whole lot more interesting.

First official sponsor-apprentice shindig is tomorrow, I'm meeting Wayne after work and we're gonna go fly his falcon... somewhere... at something. The details are a little unclear still. But I know it will be awesome.

:DDDD