Old Things and New Experiences

Yesterday I didn't post. Instead, we got back to our bed and breakfast at about 6:30, and I crawled into bed and was asleep by 8:00. I guess I was tired.

As far as what we did, though, was see a lot of old things. We saw some old abbeys in ruins...

...just after we had seen this magnificent place, the partially-restored Portuma Castle.

I kept thinking of Pride and Prejudice while we were there. Can you even imagine the kind of lifestyle of the family who lived and entertained here?

And if you have a hard time wrapping your head around that, get a load of this. Our next stop was the gardens of Birr Castle. Just the gardens, because the castle is still a private residence. That is, THIS place:

Today we went on to our next residence: Ashford Castle. We're staying here for just a night. And here it is:

That white flag out front very modestly says "first in the world." It has been nice, that's for sure--our bags magically appeared in our room and a woman knocked on our door asking if she'd like her to turn down our beds (I was so curious about what this would entail that I wanted to say yes, but they were currently covered with bags and such, so I said no).

If nothing else, I have sure never stayed at a hotel with one of these before:

We spent a good part of the day doing some of the activities offered here at Ashford. First up was an hour of falconry. Our instructor was incredibly knowledgeable about the birds. We actually worked with hawks rather than falcons--she explained they are social rather than solitary animals like the falcons, which take months to trust you.

I was fascinated by the things our instructor told us about the hawks.

• They are trained with food. With everything she talked about, it looks like the hawk's whole motivation is maximum food for minimum expenditure of energy. They save energy in crazy ways--they don't fly or move unless they see prey, for example, and they even stand on one foot to save energy when standing.
• The hawks are hierarchical. Older hawks and female hawks are higher on the hierarchy. We took out two hawks--one for me and one for Natalie. She had us send the older one out first on the first flight because of this hierarchy.
• The hawks like to be at the physical high point of an area. In the wild, the alpha female would be at the top and force all the others to be below her. For us, we were instructed to keep our arms bent at the elbow, elbow to our side, hand in a fist, thumb up, and that the hawk would claim our thumbs because it was the high point. 
• The hawks have an excellent sense of sight. They can actually "zoom in" and can point their eyes in different directions. They also see on the ultraviolet spectrum--so can see oils on animals and trails of urine. 
• The hawks are weighed every morning, and the handlers try to keep them at their optimal flying weight. If they weigh too much, they aren't motivated to fly for a food reward, so they don't take off from your hand. If they weigh too little, they'll take off from your hand and come strait back for the food reward. About 1/4 oz. makes the difference.
• The birds weigh 1-2 pounds. The females are bigger. 
• Handlers only reward the hawks from their gloved hands. This way, they only respond to the gloves. 
• To signal them to fly, you hold your arm strait out to your side and open your fingers. You might have to swing them a bit, "like a tennis racket," said our instructor.
• To get them to come back, you put a bit of raw meat in your gloved hand and stand with your arm strait out, hand in a fist, your back (and back of your hand) to the bird. They fly in and get the food!
• The birds don't want to escape to the wild because the food is easy and consistent in captivity. 
• The handlers never reward them for going from the ground to their hand--they want them to fly, not just hang out and not expend energy on the ground. 

It was such a fascinating experience. I've definitely never done anything like it before! I was fascinated by everything about the experience. The birds' motivation, though, made me start to think about students. So much comes down to consistency and reinforcement!

Here the hawk's coming in for a landing. I have to add that I am wearing two shirts, a sweater, a sweatshirt, and a down vest under that jacket. It's been cold!

After this, we went off to the equestrian centre. First time riding an English saddle! It was definitely different. We got some formal instruction before heading out with the guide, though--it made me want to learn more!