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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 4h

This is true. 🙂 She can be a dear and a goof, and a little baby feepy bird when she wants a treat. But she's also a killer.

I do love floofy puppies, though!! 😍

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 5h

😂😂

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 5h

Falconry is not always pretty, that's for sure. 🙂 But I make sure her catch is unalived quickly, in line with a German hunter's responsibility. Nature is crueler.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 7h

Kaya gives me the side-eye while snarling, "Do not you DARE try to take this magpie from me. It's MINE!!"

When she did "trade," she unheaded the deceased magpie, keeping the head in her claws, so we let her have it and quit for the day. 😅

A Harris hawk is mantling over her kill on a dirt field in the bright sunlight. Her falconer's bag is under her in part because she has a grip on that as well, and her falconer's glove is lying on the ground next to her.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 17h

The equivalent in the US might be roundabouts. 😅 So many Amis hate them and don't know what to do. Germans think, "How can this be difficult??"

With right on red, Amis think, "How can this be difficult/dangerous??"

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 18h

Part of the problem is that it's so rare in Germany that drivers here don't know what to do. Recently I was in a car with a German driver at a red light with a sign saying turning right on red is allowed, and the driver looked left but turned w/o stopping. 😳 I told her the stop is still required.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

He knew how to pronounce it.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

I have not! I'll try it tonight. But he's half British and has spent a lot of time with Americans, so his accent is messed up.

He has us wetting ourselves with laughter when he pronounces "butter" like an American. 😂

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

I agree. I keep hearing "Now is the time to..." because of some insane thing the blowhard said. Yeah, whatever. "The time" was a hella long time ago. It's all wind.
"Surely THIS will be the last straw."

No, it clearly won't be.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

My German husband did not believe me at first when I told him how "hyperbole" is pronounced.

I say "coxswain" incorrectly, too, though not often. 😅

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

Oh damn...This is like standing at a street corner and watching someone else cross at a red Ampelmännchen! Maybe I can do it, too?? But it would be so wicked... 🫣

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

Do you maybe need a new pair of running shoes anyway? Birthday coming up? Early Christmas present? 🙂 You can't run without running shoes!

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

Any mention of the TSA, especially a video like this one intending to be serious, reminds me of the sultry SNL skit from years ago: "A Holiday Message from the TSA." 😂

"We make it our business...to touch yours."

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

Great article! I pronounce most of them correctly, and here's hoping I remember the ones I was getting wrong!

What about "remonstrate"? Where does the emphasis lie?

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

I muted the miscreant-in-chief's name last night and this morning I'm enjoying Bsky again!! 🙂

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 1d

At least in Germany (Europe?) flies have a small chance of getting out, since we don't have screens on every window like in the US. 😅 Still, though...

This meme makes me laugh every time, though. It seems only slightly exaggerated! 😂

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 2d

It's so hard to choose between staying informed (I double-check rather than just believing what I read) and having some mental peace. I think you're right, though. At least for a while, I need to mute some words.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 2d

I think she's actually just happy I was able to pry the crow's beak open to release her toe! I could tell from her angry screaming that she needed me.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 2d

I'm seeing so little that isn't politics here. I love the German/English community I've found, and I appreciate being kept informed although it's exhausting.

I'll keep posting about Kaya for those who are interested and want something other than politics. She was successful again today.

A Harris hawk on her kill (a crow that had been tearing up a farmer's field with his friends) with her head up and some plucked feathers in her beak. She is mantling over the crow, which means spreading her wings over it so other birds of prey don't see and try to steal her prize.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 4d

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
New Berlin, Wisconsin

Actually, most town names in Wisconsin, not that many tourists seek them out. 😂

Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 5d

Absolutely - we all would. No prey just lies there without trying to free itself. Kaya has learned to hold on and keep her head away from the crow's beak while she waits for me to get my arse over to her. 🙂🦅

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 5d

Teamwork. We falconers find the quarry (though often Kaya spots one we missed), I let Kaya go, if the odds are in her favor she gets it in her talons, and then she hangs on, tries to avoid the crow's beak, and waits for me. I dash to her, dispatch the crow quickly and give Kaya a reward.

A Harris hawk on her kill while her falconer knees in front of her and quickly kills the prey. Today I first had to pry the crow's beak from Kaya's leg. Once Kaya has her talons in her prey, she won't let go. In nature the prey animal would eventually die, but slowly, while being eaten. The falconer's job is to take care of the prey quickly to minimize its suffering.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 6d

Hä? The clips of Robert Irwin on Dancing with the Stars have been fun! Now I'm seeing there's been a sh*tstorm because he ripped his shirt off during a dance? 🤦🏼‍♀️

Americans and their hang ups... I saw it as daring and fun, and a bit silly. But the outrage & the partner's guilty conscience? Come on.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 9d

"My towel!! Mineminemine!"

I had hidden a thawed mouse under the towel, which she already found. She likes to keep the towel for a bit while she makes sure she didn't miss a second treat.

A Harris hawk standing on the ground holding a dish towel in her talons and looking off to the side.

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Kaya's falconer @amiimschwabenland.bsky.social · 9d

Friends from the Homeland, whom I haven't seen since 2018, are on a Rhein cruise and docking today in Breisach, where some family members live. So we're driving there to meet up with friends and then family!

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