Falconry Apprenticeship

E13 is moving right along with his apprenticeship in falconry. We are so excited to see him start down this road. This summer he received his packet and we began getting things checked off. He and Dan took the hunter safety class a few weeks ago and achieved success. They are both card carrying safe hunting ready. In order to have a falconry license, you must also have a small hunting license (since you will be hunting with your bird of prey) and a hunting license requires a hunter safety class. So, we can check that class off!

We've been waiting patiently for our master falconer's hawk to get her flight feathers and then E13 will get to watch him work with his bird and get to know what its like to be around them and care for them. He's also started studying for the falconry exam.

In the meantime, there are some other apprentices ready to trap their hawks and we were invited along! One is waiting on his federal license so he's not quite ready, but another was ready to trap a hawk and had her trapping permit in hand. She had previously worked with a red tail and was working with a kestrel for the past year and it took off on her during the height of migration season. She needed a new bird. We set off on an adventure Monday morning to follow and learn. It was an amazing experience!

There were a lot of red tails soaring above the trees- we got out to take a look. Of course, we were armed with binoculars, though we could use a better pair.

The traps are set with rodents and birds inside because they irritate one another and the movement will attract the attention of a hawk that is perched nearby. If you look closely, you'll see lots of nooses on the top of the cage. When the hawk flies down, it's feet will get caught up in the nooses and that's it!

We followed them around and it was down this farm lane that they were finally able to successfully trap a red tail. The others kept flying away when they'd spot one and jump out to lay down the trap.

The state game farm raises pheasants for hunting- lots and lots of pheasants!

Hawk trapping does require patience. This apprentice falconer held out and tried one more time. She reached success after 3 hours!

We were surprised to see the falconer emerge with the bird being held like a baby. They stay very calm for several hours after being caught.

Once caught, they weighed the bird to see if it was male or female. This one is a male...is he handsome or what?  The falconer puts an aba on the bird. This covers the wings and calms the bird down- then the hawk gets a hood. The hood keeps them from seeing lots of movement- especially before it is trained.

A view from outside the arboretum not far from our trapping site. It was such a lovely day I couldn't resist!

Here are a few things we learned while out with the falconers on Monday morning: (we counted over 20 things, but we won't make you read them all)

•  Hawks can get into it with squirrels. If you look at the feet of a hawk and they are scarred and messy, then the bird is a squirreler and some falconers look for this in a bird.
• Squirrels can bite a hawk so hard that they sever tendons, cause infection, and tear muscle in a hawk's feet.
• If you accidentally get a turkey vulture in your trap, they will spit vile green yuck on you!
• You can only trap juvenile hawks.
• Adult hawks are called haggards.
• This hawk was hatched in April or May of this year and is now on it's own.

We are looking forward to the next trapping adventure when the apprentice J has his trapping permit. The game farm is a great location to get hawks so my guess is we'll be there again next time. If you'd like to learn more about the sport of falconry, The Modern Apprentice is a great website. E13 has begun studying for his NY state falconry exam and since I'm helping out, it's been very interesting!

Catalog Math

For another math moment we have some decimal and money practice with a favorite catalog! I assigned the kids various questions like, "How much would it cost to purchase the book with the doll and the accessory kit?" Or, "If you bought, these three sets, and you paid with $40, how much change would you receive?"

The American Girl catalog...of course!

And for the boys...LEGOS! Of course.

This was a great addition to our unit on decimals and money. Who doesn't love wishing for things in a catalog? Thanks Deleise for the great idea!

Sewing Camp October- Boys Allowed!

Sewing Camp met on a Sunday a few weeks ago for our October date. The girls came over in the afternoon and we even had materials and time for some little brothers to join in on the fun.

R11 is working on her first apple.

J6 has been dying to try the sewing machine. He is standing working the pedal and I'm steering. A grand start to his sewing experience!

J6 has always been a fan of cutting. This was a bit tough, but he did well.

Just look at all this busy!

The girls worked on the skirts they began in August. We are in the home stretch!

Camper E13 made many apples of different styles and she made a garland with hers.

I9 did his own sewing which went very well. He's also been hand sewing up a storm and recently completed a nerf dart pouch and a stuffed cat. His stitches are looking pretty good.

The fall fabric stash...we picked this up at our favorite reuse sewing shop and it's provided a lot of fabric choices for fall sewing fun this season.

Our sewing pal, Mrs. R, had prepared these for her sewing school class and gave us the leftovers.

The finished product for R11.

I9's apples...he did a great job!

J6's apple- isn't that nice?

We put ours on the pencil tree in our dining room.

This was definitely a very successful Sewing Camp Sunday. I think the short project allowed the girls to be very independent and to finish a lot of different designs. I'm working on the planning for Sewing Camp November and I'm giving some different ideas consideration including another short, seasonal item in addition to some other projects.

October Sewing Camp Project

We've moved sewing camp to Sunday afternoons for the fall and winter. It worked out pretty well a few weeks ago. This time, with the help of a sewing friend, we did a short seasonal project that was really very satisfying. The process is called reverse applique and it was a lot of fun! Here's a peak at the process. I'll share the camp pictures next time.

First you need a pattern, two pieces of fabric (wrong sides together), and two pieces of felt. you can mix and match, but I left mine matching.

You sew it all together right on top of the pattern line and pull away the pattern. That part is pretty cool.

You are left with this and you can begin cutting away around the outside leaving about a quarter inch outside the seam.

Then you cut away the felt on the inside making sure not to clip the fabric underneath- leave the quarter inch beyond the same to make that nice border. I also cut leaves from the scrap felt.

Next, I zig-zagged on the string which is a strip of tshirt- you just cut the strip from a shirt and you stretch it and it rolls like that. Very fine way of reusing old tshirts.

Next up is the leaf- I didn't do veins on this particular one, but in the next post you'll see some creative leaves from our campers.

Another choice of colors- we had plenty of choices that day, you'll see!

Two finished apples!

But then I got to thinking about how cool it would be to make a pumpkin the same way...

We're off to a good start!

Well...it sorta looks like a 1970s Christmas bulb ornament, but I did my best to dress it up with raffia and a cinnamon stick. It was an improvement, but only by a little! Some adjustments would be necessary to make this work well.

Stay tuned for some pictures of Sewing Camp Sunday! I'm already planning for our November Sewing Camp Sunday. Lately the girls have been choosing various projects. I'll share some ideas soon. Sewing Camp has been worth every bit of effort on my part. The girls are having fun and I always have a friend to help and the cost is just for materials- which is almost the best part.

Pumpkin Patch & Cornell Plantations

Last Monday we went on a field trip to the farm for a hayride and a pumpkin from the patch. On the way to our homeschool co-op in the afternoon, we decided to stop by the Cornell Plantations because we had extra time after eating our lunch. We had such a great time, the kids wanted to stop on the way home after co-op as well. Here's a picture tour of our fun day.

The patch...a view from the hay wagon on our way by. Remember- you are never too old for a hayride!

R11 found some pumpkin blossoms in the patch and politely asked the farmer if she could pick it for her flower pressing class that afternoon. She was allowed to pick it and it is pressing very nicely.

The visitor's center was closed on Columbus Day...or maybe they are always closed on Mondays?

I made sure to point out any laurel to J6 who encountered some mountain laurel while rowing Down, Down the Mountain (yup...there's a post coming eventually!)

OK Handbook of Nature Study fans...who do you think Comstock Knoll is named after? The author of our beloved nature study text was the first female faculty member at Cornell.

Thought some folks were enjoying a contemplative atmosphere, my kids were trotting through the gardens- taking it all in, of course.

Some areas had these information bearing books nearby where you could learn about the flowers and their cultural references.

Every garden needs a sundial! What time did I snap this photo?

I reminded R11, just in case. No flower picking for pressing here!

On the way home we visited the arboretum portion of the plantations- my personal favorite.

We witnessed a lot of goose on duck bullying and the kids really enjoyed just staying put and watching for a long while. That was cool. The day was gorgeous- 70 and sunny. Just lovely.

Ah autumn...easily my favorite season of the year. Especially on a day like this one.

We kept hearing a bell being rung in the distance and we couldn't figure out its origin until we toured the rest of the arboretum in the van. We found the bell. And let me say that just after this picture was taken I nearly went deaf. I9 hit it as hard as he could and none of us were prepared for the result! The hammer reminded me of the one in The Magician's Nephew.

A view from the top

I don't know what's taken me so long to visit the plantations, but we will make a regular visit routine for sure. I've heard it is really nice to go weekly in the spring to see everything coming out. I will look forward to that!

Autumn in NY is well underway and we are past the leaf color peak at this point. It's starting to look a lot like November and before long the snow will begin to fly! Last year our first snow was on Halloween. That is a little more than a week away.

In the meantime, we'll choose some seasonal art projects to do and share them when they are finished. Since this was a spontaneous trip that day, we weren't prepared entirely for sketching. So, stay tuned!