Holy cow. It has been 5 months since I have been on here! When did that happen!? I don't really know where the past 5 months have gone, heck I can't even remember what I did yesterday, let alone 5 months ago!
I've been busy. Life got busy. It got busy, and I needed to free up time for other things, and unfortunately, my blog had to sit on the back burner for a while! The birds and my dog are always my first priority, and through this tough winter, they have been the one thing I am focused on completely and worried about constantly.
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If you follow me on Instagram, you will know of a lot happening recently. It's where I post the most frequently, and somewhere I love to post. I have got two wonderful new additions to my family. Last year, just before Christmas, I collected two Gyr/Saker Falcons. I got them within two weeks of each other, and although it has been hard, I know that it will turn out great. They were both Parent Reared in a full seclusion aviary, so until they were pulled and equipped with anklets and jesses, they had never seen a human or anything outside of their aviary. I collected Apollo first, from a great breeder, and now a friend, and I couldn't be happier with him. He is gorgeous. I got the choice of two, one bigger and one a bit smaller. I decided on the smaller one. He was going to be my first actual falcon. It was tough for the first day, but he settled down and into the family so fast and so well, I still can't quite believe it to this day. He is great.
Two weeks later, we went to pick up my second Falcon. I was thrilled beyond words, so much that I didn't sleep that night before. I just couldn't wait to see her and find out what she looked like. All I really knew was that she was a Black Gyr/Saker. It was quite a long drive to get her, but I am so happy we did! She is striking. Just so utterly gorgeous, but I still can't get a good picture of her. She is one of the most stunning birds I have seen, and I am not exaggerating. I will admit the first two weeks were hell on earth. It took her a while to take to me enough to even hold her, and let me tell you, she was noisy! We're getting there, I'm trying to get her steady around the dog first, and then we will be focusing on lure work, and how fast she is going to hit it. Although she looks big, she is actually quite a slim bird, she weighs around 2lb 7. To me, all that means is that she is going to out-do me. She will be very fast and agile, which will definitely catch me off guard. I can't wait!
After having Apollo, it was kind of a shock to the system. He was so easy, and then we had little miss who thought she ruled the roost. Fair to say, she has been put in her place!
As if these two haven't been enough, I also need to get all the birds up and going for wedding and display season! I love this time of the year, it is busy, but so much fun! I just wish it was a lot warmer. As I am writing this post, it is currently snowing. In February. What is going on!?
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The birds aren't the only thing that has kept me busy, we have a (now) 13-month-old Labrador puppy called Ralph. He turned 1 last month and is the light of my life. I adore him. He has quickly turned into 'my' dog, and although he is the biggest pain in my ass, I couldn't live without him.
He's fab, apart from the fact that he doesn't listen to me when we are out. In the house, I am his favourite person, he is attached at my hip, and I teach him everything. He knows so many tricks and will do them outside. However, he has somehow got into the habit of pulling on the lead and also doesn't have any recall. Like any! It's just so hard to say no to that face though! We're getting there, it's just going to be a bloody long process!
If you want to follow him, check his Instagram out: @Mousey_Ralphy.
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I do post a lot on my YouTube channel, although I have slacked a little lately, I am getting back into it! If you want to go see my daily vlogs, see Apollo and Athena more, then go subscribe to my channel so you don't miss when I post! @BOPAndOthers
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I am going to be trying my hardest to post more on here, I adore my blog so much. It's my one place that I can somewhat 'braindump' and I don't know how I went so long without it!!
I will see you soon
Konnie
xo
