Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day!

Christmas Day was excellent! Anita prepared an amazing dinner and we invited a hunch of people over for a late lunch/early dinner. We ate, drank, and everyone had a great time.

Afterwards we played "Secret Santa" but the fun kind where you can steal presents from others. I got lucky and got a gift certificate for a restaurant in town, but Scott ended up with a stuffed animal backpack. Oh well. It was a really fun game.

Later in the evening we lit a fire outside and sat around talking, laughing, and having a teat time.

And of course yesterday was boxing day. We went over to the British camp for an afternoon of BBQ, and croquet. It's always strange to go over there, it's like transporting to Europe. The food was excellent and the weather was amazing. It was a great afternoon.

Chistmas Eve: A Farewell to Noël

This morning we had two flights. Afterwards we decided the weather was perfect for the release of our rescue bird, Noël. We got a few taxis amd off we went. Because of all the commotion she ended up throwing up all over the car, but mainly on me amd Scott. It was a lovely ride up after that.
Upon reaching the takeoff we found the conditions to be good, and native Himalayan Griffons circling. We took our chances and let her go...

After the initial shock, she quickly took off and soared beautifully into a thermal joining the other birds. It was an emotional moment. Even though we didn't have to do much for her, seeing our rescue bird returned to the wild was an incredible moment to be apart of.

Once Noël was safely soaring up and away, Scott and I took off, sharing a brief second of the sky with these vultures. Of course it was hard to tell which might have been our girl, but she was up there somewhere and so were we.

We flew around with Kevin and some wild Egyptians before doing the dreaded spiral down.
Back at Maya Devi, Anita was busy cooking and Jess and I were trying to help a bit. Luckily the power stayed on most of the afternoon, so we got a lot done.

Scott's 40th

 

Today was Scott's 40th birthday! We had a cute party with tapas, cheeses, and wines. It was a nice night, the weather cooperated for us. The party was a success and a great time spent laughing with friends. 
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve....I can't believe time has gone by so quickly! it was a bit hard to get into the spirit of Christmas, but now we are in full holiday mode. I'm very grateful to have such a great group of people who have welcomed me so warmly into a family. Especially around the holidays it's so nice to work in an environment where I can have both a true passion for the job, and true friends to spend the time with. I feel very lucky this season to have been provided this opportunity and having it work out so well.  
With that being said, my favorite Christmas gift this year is Noel, and we are looking forward to releasing her tomorrow (how fitting)! 

Noël

My first Rescue Mission!

Scott came back from the festival today. Overall we werent very busy because there was a strike and no taxis were running. So we had no flights. I did some falconry lessons and just kinda sat around in the sun all day.

Then around 5:30 two men showed up saying there was a big bird in someone's front yard. So we hopped on the motorbike and went over to lakeside. Sure enough a massive Himalayan Griffon was sitting in somebodys front yard. She Ed okay, but had rope around her ankles.

We asked what had happened and apparently she was sitting out in a rice field for a few days, and some kis started throwing things at her. So a few guys picked her up and brought her to their front yard. Not knowing what to do now, they called us. Which was great.

Trying to catch her was another story. She's very strong, and seemingly the picture of health, except that she wasn't flying. Scott grabbed her neck and I went for the wings, paparazzi taking photos like crazy. We got her into the taxi and were able to relax a bit.

Once we got home we did a quick examination and everything seems fine. She's got good wings, no cuts or bruises, and she feels like a healthly weight.

Poor Bob, we woke him up in the middle of the night to steal his aviary. We set him up in my bedroom and rearranged his aviary for Noel, which is what I'm calling this Christmastime girl.

I'll post pictures and updates on her tomorrow :)

Keeping Busy

Since Scott left we've been really busy, both with parahawking related topics and Christmastime.

I've made a bunch of paper snow flakes for the tree and to hang in the restaurant. We've also been doing a bunch of flights and some lessons too.

Scott being away makes me extra cautious about the birds. Without a second set of eyes I'm constantly checking and rechecking them, which has been a bit stressful. Of course this week was the coldest yet (at night mainly) so its been hard to properly keep their weights up. I've been feeding almost double!

I've also taken the birds up in the taxi a few times in the last few days, it's really fun to get to interact with the passengers before their flights and talk about the birds and conservation. I'm really trying to impact everyone I talk to. The groups seem to take in the information, but I hope they're also spreading the messages back home.

Talo has been really fun this week too. He's not teething so much anymore, and he's back to his normal happy self. He's starting to pull himself up and stand more often, so I think walking is coming soon.

Here are some really funny photos of the boys

Bob, just under estimating his landing and trying desperately to get to the glove...

And Kevin throwing the breaks on

Christmas Cheer!

Because it's the 13th, we've officially begun the 12 days of Christmas. It's a little strange because this environment doesn't completely support the typical Christmas spirit. For one thing, it's my first Christmas above freezing temperatures and snow. In addition, there aren't many stores or people in the streets selling Christmas items or talking about the upcoming holiday. Its easy to just forget the typical Christmas hustle.
And that's how its been going up until now. We've been doing some great flights with the birds and keeping plenty busy.

Scott and Anita left for Kathmandu this morning, Scott is going to Abu Dhabi for the International Falconry Festival, which is really great. In the mean time, I took today to search Mehendrapool for a Christmas tree. It was a hard find, but for a grand it was mine. I was also able to find some lights for it, and even a Christmas cd. I've been decorating and its turning out a bit better than expected.

The next two weeks will be busy, with Scott away and preparing for not only the flights, but the birds, and Christmas.

Missing everyone at home, hoping everyone is having a great holiday season!!


Xxx

Broken Primary

Kevin broke a primary in flight, a complete accident. Luckily the feather wasn't fully dettached and we are able to reuse it. I've never imped feathers before, so it was a good learning experience for me. The first step of the process was already done because we could use the broken feather and not need to find a substitute. This saves a lot of time. The next step is to file down a piece of carbon fiber into a small toothpick like piece that can be inserted into the shaft of the feather.

The carbon is strong, light, and easily filed down to the appropriate size.
Before making any permanent attachments, we checked that the piece fit snuggly into both sides of the broken feather. Add super glue, and place the carbon piece inside to secure the two sides together. The picture below is an example feather I practiced on.

Fancy Dress!

Thursday night we had a "fancy dress" (aka costume) party at Maya Devi as a going away party for Adam. There were some pretty nice costumes, mummys, 80s inspired, military. Scott was Rocky X, the come back. Anita was a girly nerd, and I was white trash. It was a great night.

The next day was pretty rough on everyone, a bunch of the pilots didn't fly and most spent the day recuperating. Bob and Kevin had nice flights though. We ordered Thai takeaway and ate an early dinner at home. I was in bed by 7. 

We only had one flight today, so I had time to disinfect the aviaries and get some other cleaning done. 

Unfortunately for Kevin, he was a little over eager for food and ended up in an awkward position between the glove and glider, resulting in a broken primary. It wasn't a bad break, and we can fix it, which is really a relief. 

There was also a lunar eclipse tonight! Just watched it and it was beautiful

Monkey business

Recently we've been quite busy, but not only with bird things.

A few nights ago someone came knocking on Scotts door with a monkey. He said "that's not my monkey" and went back to bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up to find the monkey outside my hut. It proceeded to go into my bathroom and drink water out of the tap. It then ran into my room and ate my chewing gum. Afterwards I tried to get it out, but somehow ended up with the monkey on my head. I quickly changed my clothes and went downstairs, still wearing the monkey.

Our next door neighbors have a monkey which looks identical to this one, so I went over there and asked "is this your monkey?" he replied "that's not my monkey" and I said "well it's not my monkey!". This is really funny to us because Talo has a book called "that's not my monkey". It goes through a bunch of monkeys and reads "that's not my monkey it's tail is too velvety", or its eyebrows are too bushy, etc.

Anyway so I dumped the monkey next to the neighbors monkey and thought they could play and be friends. Unfortunately Scooby also wanted to play, which scared the new monkey. It started chasing me, I started running away and hid in Scott and Anita's hut.

The rogue monkey then was terrorizing Maya Devi, scaring the birds and stealing bananas and rolls off the counter in the kitchen. After a short chase, Graham was able to secure the monkey with a leash and bring it back to town to find the owners.

Always an adventure

Highland Games at Galem

Yesterday claudio, Elli, Noa, Graham, Al, Yeti, Annalena, and Junior went to Galem, a small village outside of pokhara. We drove about an hour and a half and them walked the rest of the  way up to the mountain top. On the way up I was lucky to see a lammegeirer yeti had me a little nervous she's clumsy and walks a little too close to the edge for my comfort. 

Upon arrival we were greeted warmly with a sort ceremony. Ten we listened to a bunch of speeches, all of which were in Nepali, and then it was time to eat! Dhal bhat, of course, with goat curry. 

After lunch the games started. The kids games consisted of a race, and then a race with a spoon in the mouth with a piece of candy on it, the objective is not to drop the candy.

After the kids turn it was time for tug of war. We had a men's team and a ladies' team.  The men looked like they had a chance for a while, but ultimately Galem took both the men's and women's title for tug of war champions. 

Next was shot put for the men, and musical chairs for the ladies. Annalena won musical chairs! And I think Graham won shot put, which resulted in a chicken as a prize.

After the prizes had been awarded, a trophy and goat for the winning men's tug of war team, we headed back down the mountain and back home. What a great experience. 

This morning I got to fly with Bob, which was amazing again...dont think that could EVER get old. This afternoon the clouds rolled in but we had a great BBQ with friends.

Oh my December!

I can't believe its already almost been two months since I've arrived in Nepal. Time is just moving so quickly. I'm loving everything we do, each day is it's own small adventure.

Here's a photo of Kevin:

Yesterday we were training some new pilots to fly with the birds. Scott and Elli aren't always available, so its going to be helpful to have more parahawking pilots to fill in. After a brief falconry lesson and bird handling session, they were off to Sarangkot with Elli and Scott as passengers. 

It was a little stressful because the sky was busy, with both birds and paragliders. Finding the new gliders was the hardest part for me, but having behind such a great thermal was a little too hard for Kevin. Instead of following the gliders he spn right around to gain some more height. How could be blame him? The gliders went back for him and the flight ended smoothly. Overall a successful first flight for Damu and Shankar

Unfortunately PM flights weren't looking too good, cloud cover moved in and the wind died. We had a group too, so instead of flying Bob posed for some pictures to raise money for Himalayan Raptor Rescue and vulture conservation efforts.

The last two days we've had power cuts at the absolute worst time, just as the sun is going down and everyone's showering or getting ready for dinner. I just popped on over to Scott and Anitas because they have a generator/inverter. We watched some tv and then had dal bat made by Elli and Nani. 

Today was a pretty normal day. Kevin had a good flight. Unfortunately for Bob the native Egyptians were a little annoyed about him being in their territory, so he got chased around a bit. I don't think he was too phased though, I also gave him a little head scratch earlier that probably made him happy. 

I was able to get a shower in early, so I had time to dry my hair with the electricity :) the little things that make me happy.