Falconry for you and for me

Yes, I’m back in the saddle though not 100% after a nasty stomach flu and two weeks later some neck pain flaring up for the first time in years.  The answer is simple – keep doing meaningful stuff instead of sitting around all day feeling down.  Of course, Arkansawyer is out getting published so he’s still One Up on me; more to follow when I know his new news.

 

So, I was watching a show called ‘Going Medieval.’  Fascinating British piece by an older gentleman who relished doing everything from helping build a castle to hunting to getting leached.  Let’s skip the latter topic and focus on the use of falcons in hunting.  Did you know these items come from the days of falconry?

·         “Wrapped around your finger” (how to hold them before release)

·          “Hoodwinked” (from covering up the falcon’s amazingly acute eyes, 10x better than ours_

·         “Chaperon” (from the French version of ‘hoodwinked’)

·          “Fed up” (full falcons won’t hunt and a cadger can tell by rubbing their chests)

·         The word “caddie” (derived from “codger,” the name for the person tending to the falcons)

·         “Haggard” (an adult falcon caught in the wild)

·         “Gorge” (what these birds do to save food for later snacking)

 

Smithsonian Article du Jour:  Discovered: The Molecule Responsible for Itchiness