Getting started... location selected, posts being placed. 4/5/03
.
Baseboards for floor are level and in place. 4/6/03
(Posts will be cut down to same height later.) I drew this thing out on my computer (completely) before I laid the first board. Above is the projected final product.
.
Floor joists are hung and flooring going in. (yeah it was raining, so?) 4/11/03
(3/4" space between decking is for ultimate drainage. Next photo shows how I plan to keep the flooring material (rocks or bark; undecided) from falling through.)
.
Look, WALLS! 1/2" hardware cloth (zinc galv) is used to keep floor-stuff in. 4/13/03
.
Rafters are finally rafting. What a chore! 4/20/03
.
Starting to get the "bars" installed. Whew! 4/22/03
.
All of the "bars" are installed! The door has 2 latches and it has a spring that shuts it behind you! Starting to get the paint going, too. Uh, still need a roof... and a platform for the doorway... 4/28/03
.
A lot of credit goes out to this little lady. She sat upon her eggs and watched me hammer and saw directly under her nest, which is located under our deck. She & her mate are currently feeding 5 hungry chicks! (Barn Swallow? Not sure.)
(Awesome in-air photo!)
.
One of my side projects.
.
Yeah, another late night. 2 coats of paint, yippie! 4/30/03
.
There they are! 5 babies CRAMMED in for a nap. 4/30/03
.
Roofed! Then it poured rain! (you can see rain in the right-side frame) 5/03/03
.
Got all of the caulking done (not visible here), and started to frame the walk for easy door access. 5/04/03
.
Finished construction of walk. Yes, it's raining AGAIN! Later (when weather dries) I plan to paint the walk with no-slip additive in the paint. 5/05/03
.
Two of them have fledged (too crowded!). I checked later this evening and all were gone! Bye-bye birdies. 5/08/03
.
More engeneering. Yeah, I know, I still need to paint the inside (to protect the "particle-board" from the wet). I'm still waiting for dry weather to do the paint. 5/08/03
.
Mostly done with paint (had to buy another gallon). One more interior panel to paint and then add pumice (non-slip additive) and paint the walk. Added more perches; Ashley is demonstrating that the perches are not as small as they appear in the other photos. Also notice the (aproximate) 1,200 lbs. of gravel. I hope the floor holds! 5/12/03
.
Yep! The floor's gonna hold now! After installing this central support, the floor is very stable! I still have some finishing touches to do, but it's ready for inspection! I'll be sending the paperwork to the DNR within the next couple of days. 5/14/03
.
Well, I finally got all of the painting DONE, inside and out! This photo illustrates the no-slip surface and the method I used to indicate that the walk should not be tread upon. One should be able to walk on it by next Tuesday (few days to cure). Also in this shot is the small utility table I made to aid me in various procedures. 5/17/03
.
This came out so well that I just had to post it here. 5/23/03 (photo taken last Feb.)
.
<-- no image here
The State Game & Wildlife Official inspected today! (6/03/03) He said he would have the paperwork to the Feds tomorrow and I should hear back from them in a week or so. I'm keeping the fingers crossed!
I got my license today! (7/10/03) Yippee!!! (Almost a month later... oh well, hey, I got it! That's what counts.)
.
Well, to help keep kids, vandals, and the ignorant away from the hawk (when I get one) I took some security measures.
.
...And finally (or better yet, it's about time) I installed a food chute that allows feeding without having to enter the mew! (8/17/03)
.
Here's another project: This can be used as a weathering perch or a semi-portable field perch. (8/21/03)
.
My Dad and my friend, Jon, went to find tree-rats and Isabeau surprised us with a RABBIT!!! (12/25/03)
.
I've been meaning to get this up here... I welded this gem together a while back. Self explanitory... (01/14/04)
.
I've been meaning to get this up here also. I put this in a while back and just never took a photo.
This is Isabeau's high perch. She LOVES it! Now she can look down on everything like she's use to. (02/29/04)
.
March 1st... Isabeau starts maturing. Today she dropped her first feather! Oh, great, a teenager harboring
raging hormones while holding 8 sharp knives... look out! (03/01/04)
FYI: It is illegal to posess a feather from a bird-of-prey (or any other migratory bird) unless properly licensed!!
.
My mews' door started to jam on it's own latches and upon investigation, I found that the 4x4 that the hinges were attached to was twisting as it weathered. So I came up with this to torque the twisted timber in the opposite direction. The door no longer binds! This has been in place for a few weeks, now, and is working beautifully. (05/01/04)
.
Grab those old 3D Glasses and dust them off... make sure the red lens is over the left eye and take a peek at this! Awesome depth in these anaglyphic images of Isabeau! (05/03/04)
.
I laid these out just to see what exactly I had. It looks now like I have a bird-and-a-half! (07/12/04)
.
Isabeau's almost completed her molt. 3 tail feathers are not hard-penned and a couple of wing feathers still need to drop. Her molt started March 1st, but has slowed throughout. I threw her to the trees for one good chase a couple of weeks ago, but I'm waiting for the last few feathers to come full-in before I hunt consistantly. (09/20/04)
.
In her spare time, Isabeau helps any way she can. In this shot you see her diligently working at being a penholder. Very convenient, thanks, Isabeau! (10/13/04)
.
Look, Roy, I got it made and installed it on my truck! (10/13/04)
.
Here's another idea I've had for a while and finally put together. I don't know if anyone else has ever had the same idea, but it's so simple that I'm sure that somewhere someone has done it. (10/24/04)
.
I just got a new piece of vinyl cut for my truck today and installed it this evening. (11/08/04)
.
WHAT YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ON YOUR BIRD!
The reason I haven't updated this page is a story in itself - - - (I'll keep it short...) A few weeks ago, on a Friday night, Isabeau was getting hungry for the hunt the next morning. It was going to be in the 'teens so we brought the cats in at bedtime to keep them warm. I went into the kitchen (walking past Isabeau, teathered on her perch) to get a sip of water and one of my cats followed me without my knowing. He stopped and sat right on Isabeau's towel - then his big mistake... he stared right at the bird! Isabeau grabbed his face with talons in each eye socket and started pulling him back to the perch!!! I intervened and recieved a few scars of valor. Believe it or not the cat is just fine (he still has eyeballs)! His eyes just watered a bit and then was OK. Isabeau didn't seem that bad either, she had some minor scratches and seemed alright. It wasn't until Sun. evening that I noticed swelling in her right foot. Looking worse Monday, I took her to the Vet. She got a shot and I got some soaks and antibiotics to admin. Ended up going back to the Vet a week later for a checkup - foot getting better, but the infection went from the foot to the knee! In just a day it has become what you see in the photo above! This is an ongoing battle and the hawk is on permanent rest (NO HUNTING!) DRAT! (12/30/04)
.
It has been a great while since I've had the opportunity to update this site. I feel an obligation to the falconry community to put closure to the last entry showing the condition of Isabeau's foot and leg. I am glad to report that she is doing quite well. I had her hunting the last few weeks of the 04-05 season. She is only the slightest bit weaker in her right foot, but not enough to hinder her hawking ways. She has a small mass under the skin on her foot. The mass is left over from the infection and extensive swelling. In my opinion, that's much better to put up with than losing the foot - uh, yeah... would you agree? Even though the prior photos looks horrific, the final scarring of the leg is very minimal. Special thanks are in order for Mark and Jessica at the animal hospital for doing a fine job. Another special thank you for Dave Newby (of Custom Falconry), whom I met at the annual meet in Calaway, for teaching me the magic of salt. Hey, Dave, instead of packing, I just made a very very strong saline and injected into the infected tissue. I also made a "salt wrap" and kept it on her foot & leg for a couple of weeks. This did more wonders than iodine and antibiotics. (The poor circulation in a hawk's foot doesn't facilitate the antibiotics very well anyway, in my opinion. In order for the antibiotics to work, they must first penetrate the area of infection.) Thanks to all that have helped me...
Isabeau still has a good pair of legs to stand on.
*rim-shot* Heh, heh. (05/12/05)
.
This is the last squirrel that Isabeau caught as a falconry bird. Her next catch would be a rabbit (no photos of that one). Then on April 15, 2006, she earned her freedom and became her own. Isabeau and I learned a lot from each other. I miss her greatly, but she's right where she needs to be. (Oh-yeah, I received my General permit about 2 weeks after I set her free. Go figure.) (06/24/06)
.
E-mail me at "uke@mindspring.com" and mention "falconry" in the subject. Failing to do so may make your message get filtered out!
MORE LATER, PERHAPS...