After trapping and releasing 2 hawks handling these birds has become as familiar as brushing teeth. Wish I caught on that fast!
"Though I have trapped two now, they were released. It is funny that a year ago holding a hawk in my arms felt like something from a storybook. Now handling wild adult hawks feels as normal as picking up chickens. There isn't fear, nor is there a lack of awe, just comfort. These birds just feel a part of me now."
I've never know of anyone who could become an expert on a subject quicker than Jenna.... No doubt she will be hosting a falconry workshop in short order!
ReplyDeleteOh yes...
ReplyDeleteI do believe she mentioned in a post that a book deal was riding on her capturing a hawk. Gotta love those "how-to" books written by people with little to no experience. As I said before, I pray every night she does NOT capture a hawk -- for the hawk's sake. Animals die through neglect and ignorance at her farm with appalling regularity.
ReplyDeleteREALLY hope there is no bird. As far as books go, she ought to just write books in the fantasy genre.....oh wait, that's what they are!
ReplyDeleteShe trapped a hawk this morning. A beautiful wild bird..... I sincerely hope she respects it and history doesn't repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteOh shite. Was that on facebook? I didn't see anything on the blog.
ReplyDeleteOh God. Another one bites the dust.
ReplyDelete"Just as top athletes pay close attention to what they eat and their caloric intake, their weight, their fat, and their muscle mass, falconers pay close attention to their birds. An athlete cannot perform to his full potential unless he maintains the right balance of these and exercises daily. So must a falconer work his bird to keep her in top form exercising her daily and carefully measuring her food to track her caloric intake. She must have enough fat reserves and energy to successfully chase game for, sometimes, hours on end. A starving bird cannot do this."
ReplyDeleteUh Oh. This is from a falconry site, it also says most birds are released back into the wild after a season or two of hunting. I hope someone tells her that.
It'll be dead long before she releases it.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for the bird, but even more sorry for all her other animals that will be ignored while she chases her Celtic fantasy. Poor Merlin. Poor Gibson.
ReplyDeleteAnnie and Jasper are already long forgotten.
The picture on the blog reminds me instantly of those pictures of prisoners from Gutanamo Bay... Hooded and bound. Hawks are beautiful and belong in the wild. The whole idea of capturing them and the whole art of flaconry is just kinda whack. I mean, using one animal to kill another? How is that sport? How is that skillful? I respect people that hunt and fish, with bow, gun and rod. But falconry... the sport of kings. Because they can just ride around and let the bird do all the work. She's hardly a king, she can't even afford her castle, let alone the work and effort that is going to go into "training" this bird. Pretty much just keeping it locked up and denied it's life for awhile. The whole "they die in the wild so this is better" crap doesn't seem to work well with squirrels or raccoons or wolves or any other animal.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of those poor people that saved a fawn from it's mother who had been killed on the road. They raised the little thing and it was sweet and well cared for and the government came and took it away. Why is God's green acres is a hawk so different than a little fawn, that would have died anyway? What a messed up society we are.
My heart aches for that bird. Her smug smile says it all, she's on to her next rainbow chasing fantasy. Just so so disappointed.
I couldn't agree with you more. Smug indeed.
DeleteI'm not a violent person at all, but I just want to smack that smug grin right off her face!
DeleteTerrible news. My only hope is that it either escapes or that the first time she lets it fly, it just keeps on flying. "Celtic fantasy" is such a great term for it, but all she really is is a poseur and a wanna-be who doesn't believe she should earn a living and instead lives off sob stories and the resulting donations. And the creatures under her care can and do suffer for her follies. Ach, I am glad Meredith's blog exists, my husband is sick of me yelling at Jenna through the computer as I read her blog lol. I will be taking a break from that now though, because I just can't stand to hear about this poor hawk. Hopefully her "mentor" will stay on her like flies on s$it though, and make sure the bird is cared for properly.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it better!
DeleteFalconry is one of the most highly regulated of all sports -- Jenna's sponsor must carefully supervise her hunting with the hawk for two years before she goes to the next level, and he is also responsible for making sure the hawk is being well treated. Some sponsors make the apprentice wait a year before they will sponsor them, after watching them hunt with the sponsor to see what their intentions & motivations are. That sounds better to me, than Jenna's sponsor accepting a total stranger who just shows up one day at his house. Sponsorship is not just helping someone get the license -- but also the practice of falconry and taking care of the bird. Hawks can be difficult -- maybe it doesn't want to hunt on one day -- or acts difficult. The falconer must somehow learn to read what that means. That's why I don't see Jenna being successful as a falconer -- it would mean leaving her farm for long hours to go hunting with her sponsor and the hawk...hours tracking through the brush looking for the prey. Meanwhile, the animals back at the farm need to be fed and watered. You are also not supposed to court publicity or try to enlist other potential falconers. That means no taking the hawk to renaissance fairs, or advertising falconry lessons (unless you are an accredited school). The North American Falconry Association is trying to maintain the sport at a very high level and because these wild birds are owned by the federal government, they don't want people to casually take up the sport. Falconers who develop a relationship with their birds really love the sport. They love mucking about in muddy fields on cold days and spend hours pampering their birds. Sorry -- I just don't see it with Jenna.
ReplyDeleteYes, and she can't use him for hunting without being supervised by her sponsor.
DeleteBut, we have to remember the rules don't apply to her. She's always done her on thing regardless.
Secondly, I don't see her having success at this because she never sticks with anything long enough. She gets bored and moves on to the next exciting thing. Her blog is full of it if you read carefully enough.
Homesteading - not much going on
Farming - nope, not much either
Sheep dog - No sheep worth working. Turned him into a truck dog.
CSA's and crafts for selling - just a pig or two
Even her books show worn out lack luster stories that have been rehashed here a dozen times.
Two years to be officially certified is a ling time for someone with such a low boredom thresh hold.
Good points, also, most states strictly forbid using falconry to generate profit, so no "workshops," either.
ReplyDeleteI bet she doesn't know that.
DeleteI bet you're right considering she didn't know she needed a federal permit too, when it was right there at the beginning of the page, in black and white. What are the chances she read through all the rules and regulations, although you would think all of that would have been covered on the test.
DeleteAlso no book deal ...
DeleteWriting a book/article would be OK, but not teaching a workshop or taking the bird to SCA get togethers, fairs and so forth. Actually, the laws are written to prevent exactly this type of person from getting into the sport. Someone who immediately thinks of using it to make money, indulge in a fantasy life or enhance their own image.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing holding us back is fear....
ReplyDeleteFear of what? Capturing a hawk? Huh? Seems that the thing holding them back was the lack of young hawks.
Ugh.
Gee, huge vote of confidence there for the mentor. Last time he trapped red tail hawks was back in 1969? Hello... That is like 45 years ago? What? So he hasn't done much mentoring then, eh? Goodness. Can't stop watching....
ReplyDeleteThere are probably umpteen definitive books writing about falconry. But why do I fear a "hawk days" style book about how to get your first hawk and the day to day, etc weeks of being a new falconer? Good grief....
ReplyDeleteDid you see how she changed her smile in the new pic? This is GREAT. Keep reading Jenna, you are learning a lot about yourself.. Please, get a job... Now THAT would be something to smile about. Soon this blog will have more hits than yours!
ReplyDeleteDo you mean she photoshopped herself?
DeleteYou know Jenna, you *really* need to grow up. Guess what? Most of us don't even read your posts anymore... More dreamy dreams... It would be WAAAAY more exciting if you actually grew up, got a job and paid your bills than catch a wild bird... and played around some more... Maybe you should move back home, so you could stay a child.. Out in the big world, you ain't makin' it my dear...
ReplyDeleteSo let me get this right...you take a perfectly healthy wild bird, capable of taking care of itself, wrap it in leather put a hood over it's head and starve it until it is so hungry it will take food from your hand or die of starvation so it now becomes totally dependent on human hands.
ReplyDeleteYou change a wild animal into a captive animal. One that was able to take care of itself in the wild to one that is not. And when you're done playing with it or it loses it's allure it will never be able to return to the wild because you have trained it to rely on a human.
Some fantasy. Some sport!
If it had been injured and would not otherwise be able to care for itself that would be a different story, but this hawk was perfectly fine. Capable of taking care of itself. I don't understand the mentality that makes someone want to destroy wildlife for their own selfish pleasure.
Supposedly, once they've been trained to hunt for humans, they can be released, and usually are after a season or two of hunting. They've been tagged and tracked and they've done well and gone on to breed in the wild. It's still cruel, and there is no need for it.
DeleteAnd , she has a workshop this weekend so everyone will be gawking at it because she won't have the good sense to keep them away. Poor thing will be scared to death.
ReplyDeleteIt's like having a crowd in your barn during lambing season. The ewes get stressed with all the unfamiliar smells and noise.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteI feel a bit better about the falconry thing after talking with a friend who works for our state's natural resources department and takes care of many raptors, including a bald eagle. I asked if falconry is very stressful, and she said not really, and she said redtails are so very smart that they adapt very well. I still wish she hadn't caught one, but I feel a bit better about the situation at least. I just hope it gets properly cared for....
ReplyDeleteI can agree with you on feeling better about OTHER PEOPLE who trap raptors. Most of them are utterly committed to their birds. They are absolutely anal about the care of their birds, and don't begin the sport on a shoestring and begging other people to help them pay their expenses. When has Jenna been committed about anything she does? When has she cared enough to become excellent at anything? How many times has she stated that she doesn't care about excellence? She just wants to be good enough to get by. To me, you have no right to capture and keep a wild animal with that attitude. Personally, I feel that way about domestic animals too, but we've seen how she does that.
DeleteWell said redhorse
DeleteThe post on Capture Part 2 is one of the creepiest things I have ever read, especially the part where she describes capturing the wild hawk and says she had to hurry up because she didn't want any "debate, small talk or fuss" from people going by. Excuse me? You're man-handling a wild bird and you don't want anyone to ask questions? It illustrates everything about her blog -- no questions about the weird stuff she is doing. Remember when she got upset when a man chastised her for leaving her dog in a hot car and the man saw that the dog was panting and she said that was just because he had been running? Sure. He was probably desperate for water.
ReplyDeleteHer last column is Hunger Games -- that's right, trying to feed the bird is now a movie that she imagines herself in. But to clarify something -- falconers are not trying to deliberately starve their birds when they first get them. They are used to hunting wild, so it takes a bit before they accept food from their trainer. During the off season, they have to purchase foods that the hawks will eat -- one of their favorites is quail, another is mice and rats. But they will also eat rabbits & small pigs. And, family pets, like cats and small dogs -- so I wouldn't want to be a family pet at Jenna's -- if you do something wrong, you might get fed to the hawk.
I thought the same thing when I saw the "Hunger Games" post. She really seems to believe she lives in a movie floating between HG, Brave and Braveheart. She even mentioned in one post that she wasn't as good a shot yet as Merida.... really??? Comparing herself to a cartoon character!
DeleteYet another mouth to feed.
ReplyDeleteOh but she can be just like the movies now! It's another dream come true!!! Thanks to you all for paying my bills!!! She's a wack job.
ReplyDeleteMy goal is greater sustainability and self-sufficiency in a world where those two things seem to have gone out of fashion.
DeleteThat's from her first post of the blog in '07
That is clearly not where she is going since her model for success is writing, workshops, donations and her clan memberships. All dependent on her popularity with the masses. A few pigs shares is not going to make that happen without the other inputs. I guess her focus has changed. I suppose many people's focus and ides do over the years, nothing wrong with that, but still, most people don't preach about homesteading and all that, when they only play act at it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it kind of reminds me of Pioneer Woman in a way. I know in real life Pioneer Woman is rich (married one of the largest landowners in the US) and can pretty much do what she pleases, so her blog is, like CAF, probably missing a lot of reality (wealthy reality, in PW's case). Yet she is still FUN to read and get recipes from, even though you know it's not all real. Woginrich's blog is more like a 12 year-old child shouting "LOOK WHAT I AM DOING NOW!" ("I ride in a KILT! I train a HAWK! Look how different I am from other people!" ) The thing about homesteading activities is that it really is doing the same thing, over and over, at the same time each year. And if you're trying to support yourself with a blog, that must present difficulties, because it is somewhat routine and even boring after the first couple of years. Hence the need to constantly move on to new things I suppose. I definitely preferred her writing when she was not keeping the blog/farm to support herself, and instead had other income coming in to help with that. It all just seemed more fun. There just wasn't the sense of desperation I get in it now.
ReplyDeletePioneer Woman's husband works a ranch with his brothers that has been in his family for several generations. Before she started getting paid to blog, they were actually in danger of losing some of the ranch. She has made millions in book deals and advertising, but they still live in the same house, though they have built the lodge and bought thousands of acres of ranch land. They do take better vacations, and her children will probably go to college anywhere they want to. Her husband still works the ranch every single day.
DeleteIt has also taken PW over 10 years to build up her readership and get paid the big advertising bucks. To do that, you really have to listen to your readers, not turn off the comments because a few people get fed up with stories of your animals dying unnecessarily and begging for money and then quitting your job. PW got lucky to some extent, but she also delivered what people wanted and she didn't get impatient and start begging for contributions, or comparing her blog to a PBS channel.
I think she also shows a great deal of generosity in providing links to dozens of other blogs and blogging about products and crafts from other people who benefit from the exposure. Jenna used to do that, and used to ask for help for other farmer/homesteaders. That being said, I don't like her blog as much as I used to either.
Wow, have you noticed? No pleas for money or woe is me or anything for a WHOLE WEEK!!!! Wow.... amazing. Yes, I liked PW before in the old days as well, but lately, it's a little too fantastic for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree, her blog use to be great. So full of inspiration, ideas and information. Now it's just a pitiful, desperate effort to make money/beg money from her readers while not working nor homesteading. Very sad, if she had just been patient and worked hard she probably could have made a living writing but she has betrayed her readers and that ship has sailed.
ReplyDeletePW may have married a guy with money, but that man actually works his butt off every day. And, as for PW, home schooling four kids is not easy- she makes no excuses from where she came from, etc. Her cookbooks, her blog, all of that is through hard work. She is succesful because she worked for it and people enjoy her message. Her blog makes me smile coldantler blog makes me barf.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how innocent Pioneer Woman actually is, she has caused quite a bit of controversy herself. It came out that she doesn't actually home school her kids, but has tutors come to tje ranch to teach them, there was also some recipe stealing and use to call her handicap brother a "retard". She has removed controversial blog posts and will delete negative comments.
ReplyDeleteJust recently, the Pioneer Woman used the same racial slur joke that Paula Deen used-- "I is what I is..." but the Food Network didn't make a peep. Probably because they are now desperate, having gotten rid of Emeril, they need someone else that gets a lot of hits on their blog. I also know the PW censors comments. Just recently, the Pioneer Woman's best friend Hyacinth put up photos of her new guest bedroom. I thought it was terrible -- that it looked like a 1960's brothel in a cheesy Las Vegas Hotel. Nope, they didn't post it. If you don't want honest comments, then don't post photos of your home.
ReplyDeleteWell, the first hawk picture is up. How long before she makes a mockery of all the honor and tradition that goes with falconry? Oh, wait, she's already done that.
ReplyDeleteRegarding PW, people will always find ways to tear others down... But, I have it on good authority that this PW thread was started to deflect the disgust with Jenna.. so, let's keep it in mind. You cannot compare the the two in any way.. As to the first hawk picture- yes, lookit my new pet that I can ride my horse with sitting on my arm in my cloak and next week I just KNOW I will meet my very own Braveheart!!!
ReplyDeleteShe's going to be in for a shock the first time she tries to ride and hunt with a hawk. I know from experience that any large bird flying toward or away from my horse will send him off the deep end. I don't even know how I'd manage to have a bird on my horse's back without him freaking. They are aware of every fly in their vicinity, he'd know if a bird was riding him.
DeleteI had a feeling it was a rabid Jenna fan that started the PW thing. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so, I read some of Hot Flash Homestead, and she takes on JW on her blog. I was the one who responded and kept the subject going, and I didn't do it to help JW. I think it just offers a contrast of blogging styles and uses.
DeleteYes, I brought it up, and maybe I shouldn't have brought it up here. But my point was that, although I know there is a lot more to PW's story than she writes about, it is still an enjoyable read. She's positive, funny, and generally entertaining. The Cold Antler Farm blog, on the other hand, just seems totally removed from reality and (perhaps because its writer is somewhat removed from reality) always seems to be on the brink of complete disaster -- a freezing cold house, no money, and no safety net if disaster strikes. No longer a fun or even educational read.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteredhorse:
ReplyDeletewell, I guess we will see!!!
Here's your chance! Those of you who were ripped off by JW's wood CSA, art work not getting done that you already paid for.. Join the Clan for free! (dripping sarcasm here...)
ReplyDeletefrom the "Ahem" post...
"3. If you feel like you already donated in the past and would like to join, email me for an invitation. I will happily send it."
"wool" CSA...
DeleteItalic, I am sorry that you are in prison, a puppet on a string... A magnificent wild animal imprisoned to help your jail warden sell books and get attention. I pray every day that you get loose.
ReplyDeleteThat poor Hawk- did you see his feathers when she stuck the camera in his face? Did you notice that his breast is concave? Do you see how already she is selling him? God, she is disgusting. Someone asked why she has him, yes, Jenna explain why you have him.
ReplyDelete