Sunday, November 22, 2009

For Peter's 13th birthday we had a private session with the falconer Gary. He was brilliant with Peter, and was very passionate about his birds.





He started with a history of falconry and some information about the different types of birds, then we got to hold some that we weren't going to fly, including a lovely little merlin.





We then moved out into the arena where we were able to fly the bigger birds, such as the Harris Hawk here. Each of us got a chance to have the hawks land on our arms, then fly off, and land again.













Gary also put the birds though their paces flying from post to post.





They are so accurate in their movements, that even though it looks like they are in for a crash landing they elegantly pull up at the last minute.





















Gary threw a piece of meat up into the air and I managed to get a photo of the hawk flying up to get it, then following it down and getting it before it hit the ground. I am amazed I got any photos of it as it all happened so fast! The little black dot is not a speck on the screen, it is the piece of meat!









































This is an Eagle Owl from India. Owls have to be hand reared to work with humans, as they are normally solitary hunters, unlike the hawks who are usually parent reared. Hawks know they are hawks, and will work with humans as they are used to working cooperatively to hunt. On the other hand, this owl thinks he is human!






He took a liking to Peter. We had been told not to hoot at him as he was approaching his mating time, and they didn't want him to latch onto a human. However, he did seem to like Peter a lot, and Peter said it was all he could do to resist hooting at him!





As we were the only ones there, Gary had no problem setting up a couple of shots for me. I still haven't got to grips with the camera though so they are not the best, and the weather didn't help, but it does give you an idea of the wing spans of these beautiful birds.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Lego Anti-gravity platform

The whole platform



Detail of top


The glowing red eyes that come into place when the inner platform is raised by the pnumatic lift


Detail of the guards



View of the control room from the back


Detail of the control room from the side


Left hand side with Scarabax in the front and a flying Visorak



Overview of the inner platform


Detail of the inner platform in the lowered position


Detail of the inner platform in the partially raised position


Detail of the pnumatic controls for the inner platform


Detail of the anti-gravity platform from the side


Detail of the anti-gravity platform from the front

Saturday, May 23, 2009

We Have Chickens!

Please join us in welcoming the four new members of our family: Verandha, Porch, Tikka and Kenntucky! Below is a photo of them in their new home, The ARC:







Hey Bob and Fred, get out of The ARC!



That's better! They have settled in very quickly. This probably has something to do with Peter feeding them worms!




He has them eating worms from his hand already.

They are ex free range hens, so they are in lay already, but also in very good condition.

Roll on the lemon curd and omelets. Well, not at the same meal maybe!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009


Our wedding anniversary 'china'