I had hoped to update my blog a bit earlier in the month but there was the small matter of Christmas which got in the way. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.
For me the Christmas break consisted of taking the afternoon of Christmas Day off and then it was back to work to on Boxing Day to go and do a display for the guests over at Cameron House. Some things in the centre just don't or can't stop. For example the cleaning and the feeding of the birds. This needs to be done. So I was in the centre on Christmas morning checking all the birds, putting birds out on the front lawn to be fed and cleaning all the pen and aviaries. Once that was done it was then time to feed the rest of the birds, get things ready for the next day, clean the food prep area and then back home. That is pretty much how Christmas has been for me for the last 10 years and next year will be the same.
Well I am now through the Christmas rush and it is the end of 2012. This year was a big year for me. Stathblane Falconry has been running for over 10 years now. I mentioned in some of post earlier in the year that it doesn't feel like 10 years yet when I start to think back so much has happened. Even if I just think back over this last year a lot has happened. On the whole 2012 has been a good year with alot of highs and a few lows but thankfully not too many low points. The biggest low point was the weather and the rain. While it is good to look back on past achievements and events, New Year is also a time to look forward.
Things in the centre may be just ticking over now that Christmas is out the way and January is a time where I feel I have a bit of time for myself but at the same time I am finding that I am already thinking about the coming season. I am starting to think when I need to start getting things ready for the coming season. When will I start to bring certain birds weights down who have had the winter off. Even though the first big event is not until April I will be getting birds flying again in February to work on fitness and routine. As the weather improves so do the number of bookings so I will need to get birds ready to deal with that as well.
When I bring a birds weight down to it's flying weight so I can start flying it again I like to reduce the birds food slowly which in turn reduces the birds weight slowly. It doesn't do the birds any good to put it onto a crash diet. This will probably start the second half of January so that I can start flying them in mid to late February and work on fitness over March so they are ready in April. When working with the birds it is not just a case of dropping weight and expecting the bird to fly. It takes time to get a bird ready and to build it up so that when it comes to flying it I can get the best from it.
The one thing I do want to happen in 2013 is for it to be a drier. This last year I feel I have been constantly fighting the weather. It feels like it has rained almost every day. Thinking back over the summer this year there were quiet a few big events that fell foul to the rain. Luckily most of the events I was at were OK but it was a concern at a lot of them. I remember speaking to organisers in the run up to certain events and them saying that due to the rain they are now doing plan B and in some cases as the planning was so far on or it was so close to the event and they couldn't cancel it was case of plan C. Not good. Fingers crossed that 2013 is drier. The sun doesn't need to shine all the time just for it not to rain so much. The last 2 years have seemed to be a lot wetter than normal.
I should also mention Minnie. In my last post I mentioned that Minnie had been going a bit bald and she was diagnosed with an ovarian tumour which had to be removed. After the operation she lost even more fur up to to about 80% as her hormones settled down. The fur did start to grow back just as it was starting to get cold and now it is all back. You would never know she had the operation. She has a proper thick coat and and is rushing about the hutch with the other 2 ferrets. Hopefully the operation will allow her to live another 2-3 years.
Anyway I am going to finish up this blog entry. It is the end of 2012. Overall it has been a good year. It could of been better but it could also been a lot worse. Two falconry businesses in Scotland went under this year. 2013 will bring challenges but it will bring opportunities. It will bring new experiences and new adventures. I am looking towards 2013 with optimism.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Happy New Year to everyone and hopefully we will see you over 2013. Have a great time this evening
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