Sat 31st, Halloween, no treat!

I decided to fly Jessie this morning and Peg this afternoon, by ourselves. No Sly, no Karen. She is a bit tired and decided that she wanted a day off, but wanted to watch Jessie fly.

I couldn't resist a different view of the Mountain as usual.

I climbed the bank to check the pond to make sure that ducks were present.

Indy decided that she wanted to go with us, and she has been acting like a young puppy again, so I decided to take her. We have been giving her a supplement recommended by our UPS gal. It is a powdered Glucosamine with Chondrotin and another vitamin supplement that contains every thing from Flax seeds to omega 3. ( www.1stchoicenutrition4pets.com ) It has really made a difference with her. She used to drive me nuts following me around and panting so loudly that I could only hear her breathing. She has quit the heavy breathing, so one would assume that she is not in as much pain as before. She has been sleeping better and even playing with Curly. One of the problems that I had with her before was that I couldn't wake her at night to go outside. She is still deaf and half blind, but she is happier, and that is what counts. Today is her 15th birthday. She still doesn't like to have her picture taken.

Karen thought that Indy would do better if she stayed with her, rather than following me up the side of the hill and over the other side, if Jessie caught something. So Curly and Betsy and Jessie and I, started around and up the hill to the cliff edge. At the bottom of the hill I turned Jessie loose to get her pitch.

I lost sight of Betsy, and that was a mistake apparently because soon there were ducks in the air squirting out over the dam with Jessie starting her stoop. I lost sight of them against the side of the hill and heard her hit one into the ground. It was quite loud, but for whatever reason she continued flying and came back and landed on the cliff face in front of me. Betsy had come back by then, so I called them over with me to wait for her to take flight again. She didn't take very long at all and took off taking a higher pitch than before. We walked up to an apparently empty pond. There was only a diver left on the pond that wasn't about to fly. I began throwing things at him, but he refused to leave. Curly saw that, and ran around the cliff and the first thing I know there is a Mallard Drake getting flushed out of the reeds. Curly found him and went in after him. Jessie stooped and smacked him down about 10 feet off the bank. For whatever reason she strafed him rather than close with him. He eventually made it to the water and she came up and landed on the cliff about 6 feet in front of me. Not sure what is going on in her mind. This is a bit, hell, a whole lot unusual for her. I have no idea why she would knock a medium sized duck into the mountain side and not go down on him, or knock a Mallard into the ground and not finish the job. She was also reluctant to come to the Quail that I offered her after she landed on the cliff face. It takes her a while to accept any kind of change, so it could still be the new hunting time. She is flying well, and strong, just seems to be unused to the time. I know that she still expects to be fed in the evening even when she has a bulging crop. She is a strange Peregrine.

I walked back to the truck while Jessie was eating. ( a reduced meal. Tomorrow she will be a bit hungrier. ) Karen, asked where Indy was? I looked up and she was retracing my footsteps up the hill. We both yelled to get her attention. I did tell you she was deaf, didn't I? Karen started after her while I took Jessie to the truck and tied her to her perch with the rest of her meal. Karen was way up the hill, losing ground. By this time the air was getting tinged with a touch of blue. I took off at my best fat mans stride to try to catch up, and reached Karen up on the hill at about the same time that Indy walked back to the truck. We were relieved enough that the trip back down was a lot happier. Indy follows me every where, and even though she is pretty deaf, seems to be aware of where I am at all times, and does her best to be with me. Most likely should have left her at home. Karen got the job of picking the Cockle burrs out of her coat. She had one in the middle of each of her feet between the pads. Karen had to hold her down while I cut them out with scissors. A long haired dog in this country is not a good move. Betsy of course wanted to be combed, but had nothing on her little flat coat.