Meet my new friend, Mouse. The introduction was a little rocky; I was down at the farm when a large ball of feathers and talons swooped head-on into me. I've been charged by moose, chased by sea lions, run into bears, and had dozens of other wildlife encounters when I lived in Alaska, but being attacked by a hawk was a new experience... so I advanced to a more strategic position rather quickly. (Umm, yeah, that's pronounced "ree-treet-ed"...) One more pass and she settled on an old steel tank frame. Upon looking closer I saw jesses on her legs - she wasn't a wild bird, but a lost one. With a remarkable lack of foresight I stuck out my arm and whistled... and she flew over and landed on my arm. OK, I have a large, hungry hawk on my arm... no glove, no hood, no tether, no food, no clue... next? After about an hour with the hawk on one arm and cellphone in the other hand, I tracked her back to a nearby wildlife rehabilitation center, and took her home. She'd been loose for a month after a large snow had damaged her cage. She's home and safe now.

If you've never had the fortune to have a bird of prey sit on on arm, I humbly suggest visiting a raptor center or display that has a 'hands on' program. As a human hunter looking into the eyes of one's Nature' most efficient hunters, sitting that close, watching the talons flex on your arm... well, just go do do it. You'll understand.

LG

Doomsday Clock, Part II

Huh. I was wrong on the Doomsday clock. It really comes as a surprise given the current dialogue on world affairs. Maybe I'm not reading enough between the lines?

Doomsday Clock

So... they're going to move the hand of the Doomsday clock, are they? Lessee, despite the, umm, 'unseasonably' (unreasonably?) cold winter thus far (at least where I live, and in much of North America, and, um Europe, and actually, well, Asia too, all caused by global warming), Copenhagen failed to hand over world domination to the greens, so let me guess which way it's a-goin'. Of course, I guess from certain perspectives, Climagate does look a bit like doom...

Getting the show back on the road

OK, so it's been nearly two months since the last post. Since I shut down the old blog I've been busy with school and life, but now... classes are done, it's too cold to do my research, and without the research I can't finish the dissertation, so I'm going to try to be a little more conscientious about posting. And about shooting. And fishing. The shooting and fishing have just about fallen out of my life the last couple of years of school, but it's time to get reacquainted! I dug out my reloading equipment and my fly tying stuff, so I'm getting ready...

On the list of to-dos:

The Rolling block (.40-65)
The Sharps (.50-140)
The Spencer (56-.50)
The bamboo flyrod - needs a new finish, guides re-wrapped.
The Ruger LCP - needs bunches more ammo run through it (as do most of my pistols!)

One thing at a time, though; tonight I'm finishing some long-promised honing strops for friends.

It's good to get back to work on things that matter!