Pente Flying Free

On Saturday, October 23, 2004 I took Pente over to my girlfriend's parent's home and did creance work. Pente ignored my girlfriend, her parents, the strange location, and worked very well for me. Weight was 2 lbs. 14.2 oz (46.2 oz). That's 2 oz higher than what I flew her last year. I'm taking her out for her first hunt on Sunday. I then buzzed Rigel around their family room. Everyone always finds Pente to be "impressive" and "dangerous-looking" and a bit frightening with those big talons and beak. But they are always charmed by Rigel, who is so "cute"! He also bobs his head most endearingly!

On Sunday we took the plunge! I had to make sure I had everything to return to the field. You need a bit more equipment when actually hunting, than when just doing creance work. When I first lifted Pente up on my fist, to allow her to take her first perch in a tree, she looked around, and looked at me, and almost acted like she didn't believe I was about to set her free. She's not been allowed to fly free since April of this year. But after a few moments, she did take off. I immediately moved east of my home, having decided to work her the first time around my home, just in case. We crossed the field, with me whacking the grass, and hitting some old brush piles. She performed just exactly as she was supposed to. She'd follow me from tree to tree, keeping nearby in case I flushed something. I worked all he way to the end of the field, then went north along the road. This past summer the power utility cleared a section of land to run new power lines. They cut quite a few trees down, and had stacked up the brush into "perfect" brush piles . . . at least I thought so. We worked down the long row of piles, but I never flushed anything from them. At one point Pente took off with purpose across the street. I watched her fly, then heard the chatter of a squirrel, and saw her chase one for a short time . . . but the squirrel won this battle this time, and took a hole or something, escaping Pente. After awhile, after having seen no bunnies at all, I called Pente down, and moved over to the area that is west of my home. This is much thicker forest where I've seen bunnies (and caught a couple). I had also seen a pair of pheasant crossing the road earlier in the day. I had checked my hunting guide, and I'm not in a protected zone, so I can hunt pheasant without anything special in addition to my small game license. But the grass along the ditch is so very thick, the pheasants had moved off, so no chance there. We worked the woods, slowly making our way back towards my home. Pente went down many times on mice, but didn't seem to contact with any of them. On one instance I was able to watch very interesting behavior from her. She had crashed into a thick patch of grass, and grabbed talons-full of grass, supposedly having tried to grab a mouse. She then lifted up with the grass in her talons repeatedly, pulling the grass back, shaking it, and trying to dislodge anything that might be in the grass or in the soil beneath. It was quite interesting to watch her tenacity. She's pull back, shake, then stop and look for any movement. This tactic must have apparently resulted in success in her freedom days. This is part of the interesting side of falconry. You can be near a hawk when they perform that most natural of behavior for them . . . food gathering. And sometimes it is more than just pouncing on small, cute furry things and swallowing them whole, or ripping them up. Although they do a lot of that too! As I was soon to find out . . .

As we made our way closer to the house, I knew I was running the risk of repeating what happened last year with my first hawk, Scimitar. I have a lot of "pet" chickens that run around the yard . . . and this year I have quite a few particularly stupid ones. As the afternoon gets on, most of my normal chickens go to roost, but I have several that I raised this year that stay out very late, into the dark hours, and are also up very early running around the yard in the dark, just inviting an owl to come take them. Well, today the threat came from a hawk. I was working a pile of wood behind the chicken out building, when Pente decided she was going to have chicken for dinner. What did I expect!! These same chickens have been walking ever so nonchalantly around her weathering yard all summer long, teasing her. I think they thought she was some kind of chicken herself, as she had never been dangerous to them. Well, today she was dangerous! She went down on a particularly large rooster. I moved in quickly to help her out, so she wouldn't get beaten up too badly. Fortunately, this was a young rooster, so his spurs were not very long or sharp. Some of my old cocks would have been pretty dangerous! But they also were "smart" enough to go to roost early.

When Pente takes game she becomes a completely different creature. Especially if the game fights back. The life and death struggle keys her up, and all her predatory nature comes out. I have to be careful around her feet, because she can become a bit footy sometimes. I helped to secure her rooster, and put the bird down quickly. After securing my hawk, to prevent her from flying away I opened up the rooster for her to begin eating. I decided for the first hunt I'd allow her to crop up . . . and after all, there was quite a bit of chicken here to eat. After awhile, I removed a leg (which is tough in a big, tough rooster) and traded her off the kill. I took her to her weathering yard, and let her work on the leg while I went and cleaned up the rest of the rooster (lots of feathers), and put my gear away.

So, for the first hunt, Pente did exactly what she was supposed to do! If I had flushed a rabbit, she would have made a good attempt at that. As it was, instead, like my hawk last year for his first hunt, she took one of my chickens. Not a real prize . . . but she did what she is supposed to do! She followed me, and returned when I called her to the fist from time to time. Now it is up to me to find locations where there is "legitimate" game for her take. We will!

As for all that chicken . . . we had some of it the next day, my husband and I. A bit tough! Rigel got just a little too. But it is much too rich. A little goes a long way in such a small bird. I returned to feeding him mice. I hope soon to try him out in the "field" too. I have permission to try at the local co-op for sparrows. Will do that soon!

Hunting season begins!

I'll be back in the field soon!

Update on Pente.

Unfortunately, my big girl had to stay in her mews all day on Wednesday, as I left to go to work early, thinking I might have to leave work to go to the vet. But, I was able to get a late appointment, not missing any work-time, so didn't get home until late as well.

I took her to Nelson park on Thursday, picking up my girlfriend as I went. I wanted to try her behavior with another person standing around. She did absolutely WONDERFUL!! Weight was 2 lbs. 14.2 oz (46.2 oz). She flew the entire creance, 50 yards, and ignored my friend for the most part, which is what she is supposed to do. I then moved beyond the 50 yards, and she still came, without hesitation. We are very close! I plan for one final test. On Saturday evening I'm to join my friend and her husband, with my husband, and go over to her parent's home. They have a wide open yard that Pente has never been to. With a completely strange location, and a bunch of people standing around watching, if she performs well under these circumstances, I know she is at weight . . . . and I will take her out on Sunday to hunt. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

As for today, it was drizzling, cool and unpleasant. I worked her in the yard just for a bit to stretch her wings, and also to give her something for her crop . . . even if it is only washed meat, with a small mouse on the lure. I also took this opportunity to test her against my wearing rain gear. I figure I need to take rain gear with me to Kansas next month, just in case, when I go to the NAFA meet. You never know what kind of weather we might have. Could rain. Pente was ever so slightly uneasy at first about the rain poncho, but very quickly decided that I'm just the same falconer she's always worked with, and she was really hungry, and could care less about whatever I was wearing. We went through the meat quickly. Also, she is increasingly becoming more aggresive on the lure. 2 lbs. 13.8 today (45.8 oz). Yes, I think I will be taking her out on Sunday.

Now . . . where should I start my first hunt??

A more elegant picture of myself and Rigel

A Visit to the Vet

On Wednesday, October 20th I had to take Rigel to see the vet. I noticed on Monday evening that his left tarsus was a bit swollen. On Tuesday it was much worse, and a close examination revealed an abraision to his leg. It was not too serious, no scales were rubbed away, however the tissue below the scales was red and swollen. Dr. Dean Rasmussen (a falconer himself . . . and the vet of choice for all the local falconers) checked him over, and prepared some medication for him. Rigel also conveniently gave the doctor a mute sample (that's a "dropping" for you non-falconry folks). A quick check under the microscope, and the doctor said he didn't see any signs of coccidia. Other than the leg, he's in good health, and it will heal quickly.

I brought home a small vial of medication to use on Rigel's leg. It is primarily something called DMSO . . . which is a topically applied anti-inflammatory, but which also has the property of being quickly absorbed into the blood stream through the skin, and will act as a carrier agent for any other chemicals which are mixed into it. This mixture had an antibiotic added, and some other unknown chemical called "Dex". I don't know what that is, or what it does. The mixture seems to be working just fine, as the swelling went down by the next day. DMSO also has another unpleasant side-effect . . . it gives the patient 'bad breath'. So, Rigel is breathing sour garlic breath. I have to be careful when I treat his wound, that I not get it on my skin . . . or I too will get bad breath!

Rigel is being tethered by only one leg, and being kept upstairs in my spare bedroom, with the windows darkened. This will hopefully keep him from bating too much, until he's healed.

A Good Session

Today was a very good working session for Pente. Her weight was back to where it was yesterday, 2 lbs 15.8 oz (47.8 oz). The cool evenings are starting to work for me. I set up her perch and creance in front of my house, along the edge of the road. I've never tried this before, as you would have to pay close attention to any traffic that may come by. But few cars come down my remote country road. No one drove by today while I was working my bird. There was a pretty good wind today, so I had my hawk fly into the wind. I was able to get her to fly the full creance, into the wind, multiple times. I think she got really good exercise today. She also responded very quickly every time I called. However, I know that she must be dropped a bit lower, as she was responding well today simply because we are working at my home, and she's familiar with the area. I will know her true flight weight once she will respond instantaneously in a strange location. I hope to maybe find that weight, and get her out for a first hunt this next weekend. With many cold evenings, maybe I'll be able to do that.

Little Rigel (Ellis) is also making really good progress. He appears to be wed to his lure (which for you non-falconry people means that when he sees his lure, he comes immediately and with purpose and "binds" to the lure, grabbing it to hold it down to eat the big tidbit of meat attached to it.) I've been using Dave's lure, but have now made my own. It looks a bit like a bird. Rigel also very clearly associates me with food. When he's hungry he's becoming very vocal when he sees me. In fact today he was even making what sounded to me like begging calls. Maybe I've made this little guy revert back to juvenile behavior. I've become his sole food provider, so he begs me most intently when he's hungry.

Training progresses very well for both my birds.

Training Progresses

My . . . how time flies!

Every day has been busy working with both of my raptors, and fitting in the rest of my life around these activities.

Update on Rigel . . . sometimes now also called "Ellis" by me (for L.S. or Little Sh**). This little guy is just such a wonderful little bird, gutsy for his size. He was eating from the fist on the first night. By the next night he was returning to the fist after a bate, as well as to his bow perch. He has manned down so quickly that he sits peacefully in my livingroom while we move around him, and step over him. He just sits there and watches everything around him. He was jumping to the fist by day three, and by day four flying across the room. I have still not worked yet to determine his true flight weight, but when he gets to anything around 90 grams, or slightly below, he bates from his perch towards me. I have acquired a new scale from work ("new" being a relative term . . . as it is "new" to my ownership, but is actually an old piece of unused, unwanted equipment no longer in service.) This scale measures in hundreths of a gram, exactly what is needed to weigh a bird that tops the scale at 110 grams. (Four postage stamps and I could mail him somewhere . . . he's that light!) I need to make some adjustments to it so that I can allow a small raptor to stand on the plate, and will begin to very carefully monitor and drop my little kestrel's weight until I very precisely know at what weight I can hunt him. I am also going to have to find out if he knows that birds are prey. I know that he considers mice as being on the menu, and bugs too, but does he know birds? He's a full adult, experienced, and I'm guessing he does . . . but I will have to find out. Eventually, I will be trying to fly him at European House Finches, and European Starlings . . . those pest species that were brought to this country and settled right in and made it home. They are not protected, and may be hunted. No native species are hunted! Very soon I think I'm going to be out hunting this little raptor . . . once I understand how I'm to do it. I'm still learning many things.


Update on Pente. My goodness, how huge this big girl seems after having a tiny little kestrel on my fist. Last weekend I took her to Nelson Park, in my local town Camp Douglas, where there is wide open grassy and dirt areas. The first day I took her out she was terribly distracted at the new location, and everything going on around her. Also, a couple on motorcycles stopped to take a break from their morning road trip, and she was having none of that. So, after "kiting" around me 360 degrees on the end of her creance, trying to escape, I reeled her in, hooded her, and instead gave a quick Falconry 101 for the couple, who were very interested. The next day I returned to Nelson Park, and she responded much better, eventually flying the full creance to me. On subsequent days I worked her at home, doing "jump ups", using a ladder to make the jump-ups even higher. Slowly, her weight is coming down. I took her to Nelson Park again today, and she was at her lowest weight so far this year (2 lbs. 15.6 oz or 47.6 oz). But I can still see that she has a bit more weight to drop. There was a dog barking nearby, my husband had come along for the ride, and also many F16 fighter jets were taking off from the nearby military base. All these things contributed to distracting her. I did get her to work some for me, but not as quickly as will be necessary for her to be at flight weight. I will continue to do daily exercises, switching her off between washed meat and normal tidbits to continue to bring her weight down, yet also work her muscles to get her fit and ready to hunt. Hopefully soon I'll be able to take her out hunting. We've had several nights that have dropped below freezing, so that is helping to contribute to her burning her excess calories, as well as to knock back some of the brush. Soon, soon I'll take my big girl out and start the 2004/2005 hunting season.

Lady Hawker and Little Falcon

"Rigel", My Newest (Little) Hunting Partner

A New (Very Small) Hunting Partner

I was unable to do any work with Pente on Tuesday, as I was very busy getting ready to go trapping on Wednesday. On subsequent days she weighed in at 3 lbs. 2.4 (50.4 oz) on Wednesday, and 3 lbs. 2.8 (50.8 oz) on Thursday. She is responding pretty good to the training, but I'm going to have to start going 'elsewhere' to work her, as she really needs nice long flights now to work on her stamina, and shave off the weight.

On Tuesday evening I went over to visit Dave to borrow a kestrel-sized hood. I have one ordered, but it has not yet arrived. I brought with me my newest bal-chatri (BC) (which for you non-falconry folks, is what we call the trap we use to catch raptors) for him to see. I think it does a Master-Level Falconer very good to take on apprentices, if nothing better than for the entertainment value they provide. I might not be an apprentice anymore, but there are still a great many things I must learn. My new trap is very nice, and I think I've put it together pretty good . . . but it will not trap a kestrel. It is WAY TOO BIG!! All my experience has been with a red-tail hawk. Kestrels are extremely tiny in comparison. Well, Dave came through and let me borrow his own trap, after having a good laugh, as well as three different sizes of hoods. There were more laughs to come!

Wednesday morning found me getting up a bit earlier than I normally do, but cutting my morning routine very short. My husband had been off the previous night, so was able to come trapping with me, however he did have to return to work that evening, so I couldn't go trapping all day long. We were out the door by 5:30, headed towards the La Crosse area, which is on the Mississippi River. Our goal was to find the farm fields south and east of the city and the river. These are good kestrel areas. By sunrise we were in the area. The first country road we turned to go down, there was a kestrel on the power line. It was 7:30 a.m. We drove past where the bird was and I reached out the window and dropped the BC, loaded with a mouse. We went up the road, turned around and waited. The kestrel gave no sign of having seen the trap. After waiting for quite a long time, and watching the bird groom and preen, I decided to risk flushing him to go reset the trap. I did so, walking down the road to find the trap, and the bird never moved. Returning to the car, we backed off again, and waited. After a few minutes, then this little raptor saw the mouse. He flew down and again and again footed the cage to catch the mouse inside, but kept missing the nooses. He would give up and fly up to the power line, only to return a few minutes later. He was very persistent. I say 'he', because I was now able to see him clearly with my binoculars, and I could tell he was male. At one point I thought he might have been caught, and we moved up with the car for me to jump out and catch him, but he then broke free and returned to the power line. But being the greedy little thing he is, he returned one last time . . . and this time it was a bad bet for him . . . as he was caught. It was 8:00 a.m. and I had my first kestrel in hand.

I really wanted to trap a passage female kestrel, but once I had this beautiful little male in my hands, I decided I would go ahead and give him a try. After all, he would be very nice for pictures! I jessed him up in the field and began our association that moment.

We left the area and drove over to visit our friend, Neta, who was quite near by. I showed off my little falcon, and she fed us breakfast. Hey . . . Nice Exchange!! I began his manning process sitting there at Neta's table, eating ham and eggs and hash browns, with a little feathery ball of hate beadily watching my every move.

Shortly we returned home, so Shawn could take a nap, and for me to take care of Pente, and work with my newest partner. By that evening he was eating for me, and returning to the fist after a bate.

I visited Dave again, this time to show him my newest hunting partner, and to seek advice on many questions I already had. He then got another laugh when he saw the bow perch I had made to use with the kestrel. It too was WAY TOO BIG!! He lent me his very tiny perch to use, and his lure, and his kestrel box, and his scale that measures down to 2 grams. He has been so very generous with all of his equipment. Over the next few weeks I must fabricate my own, based on his models, and return to him all that he has lent to me. Thanks Again Dave!!

I'll end this post for now, and pick up with the training of my newest bird in the next post.

I named my little kestrel "Rigel". This is based upon a character in the Science Fiction cable show "Farscape". Both are small, both are obnoxious, and both bite. I did get several good bites on that first day for my insolence of touching this beautiful little prince of the skies. But he is no red-tail. It was an annoyance only. Nothing to fear.

Trap weight was 110 oz. (Ooops . . . I mean 110 grams!)


cdb

Success

A very lovely fall afternoon . . . and a successful training day.

Pente weighed in at 3 lbs. 2.6 (50.6 oz) today. Lowest temperature last night was 33 degrees.

She thought about being stubborn again, for just a short time, then finally responded again and again to my call to come to my gauntlet. Still slow, and still distracted, but she did work for me today.

Regardless of the fact that our birds are hunting partners, and are not pets, it still pleases me to feed her. Granted, there is no danger that she's going to 'starve' . . . the whole point is that she's quite fat, and needs to slim down and tone up. But I still like it when she eats! She kept spearing the tidbits of meat on her beak . . . and had to work them off with her tongue. Once we got the process going, she worked through the entire bag of meat. I finished her off with her lure, which had a mouse on it.

At one point during the training session, in the field behind where I was working, a coopers hawk broke from the tree line, and flew out over the field across the street, now golden with ripe soybeans. Distinctive with their quick wing beats, and those really long tails, it wheeled about, checking the field for any quick snacks, and finally flew off into the distance.

A very lovely fall afternoon! It's supposed to get pretty cold tonight . . . mid 20's. I'm glad Pente finally stopped being stubborn. I prefer for her to have a little something in her crop when it's going to be a cold night.

cdb

Stubborn Hawk

Day two training session was about the same . . . or even worse.

Last night's low was 37 degrees . . . not quite as cold. Pente's weight today was 3 lbs. 3.6 oz (or 51.6 oz).

I set her up in the training area, and she did fly to me, once, for a pretty short hop. Then she became very distracted by some sounds in the nearby bushes. I have chickens, I have cats, and I have rabbits in those bushes. I didn't see any of the above. But Pente became quite aggitated, almost frantic. She bolted. Fortunately, she didn't get too far, due to the creance. It took a few minutes for her to calm down. She was breathing rather heavy.

I put her in her mews for a bit to calm down . . . and moved the training perch to a location that I've worked her some throughout the summer. It is more open, with no tall bushes nearby. I then took her out of her mews, to the perch in a new location. She was calmer, but was having none of my nonsense today. She looked around, decided she was no longer in danger, then tucked a leg, content to just sit there.

Well, another day then with no dinner. Maybe tomorrow she'll be a little more focused.

cdb

First Training Session

This afternoon I had the first official training session for the 2004/2005 hunting season. Not a very good session either . . . but I really didn't expect much today.

Lowest temperature the previous night: 31 degrees. It just reached freezing. The grass was frosty this morning.

Pente's weight: 3 lbs 5.6 oz (which is how my scale shows weight) . . . or as all the falconers like to do . . . 53.6 ounces. OK, so she's like a real butterball right now! It's all those rats she's been eating over the last week. I'm trying to clear out the "live pantry".

I set her up on her creance, and tried to get her to come to my fist for short flights. She was slow, she was distracted, she was not interested at all. She did come twice, otherwise she was just looking around. I gave her several opportunities to respond to my call, but she began to ignore me completely, and turned on her perch and was looking for someplace else to be. So, I decided she didn't even get her lure today. I put her away in her mews, and put all the equipment away. We'll try again tomorrow. A night with no food, and possibly a cool night at that, and maybe she'll pay just a bit more attention to me tomorrow. But again, I really don't expect too much until she drops quite a few more ounces. She really did get heavy on rat lately.


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E-Mail Address

I've created a special, private e-mail address for my falconry activities. So, if you'd like to say "Hi", or ask me some questions, or make a comment or two, please feel free to do so at the following location:


LadyHawker65@yahoo.com


Of course, you can also add comments to my blog as well!

:-)



cdb

General Level Falconer

It had been so long since my earlier posts, and these current ones, that I forgot to include the information that I am now a General Level Falconer. All the paperwork was completed and mailed in . . . . and then I had to wait . . . . and wait . . . . and wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to grind slowly on. I did get my new license, finally, but not in time for an Advancement Celebration that I threw for a few friends.

On August 28, 2004 I had a party at my home, and invited Dave and his wife Linda, and Bill and his wife Marcie over to celebrate my advancement to General Level Falconry. Shawn was the Grillmaster! It was a very enjoyable evening, and I was happy to celebrate this most important step in my life with my two hawking friends. This also gave me a chance to give a couple gifts, especially to my sponsor, who made my entry into falconry possible.

Now I'm a General Level Falconer . . . which means I can now have two birds. I've been working on my equipment, and very soon hope to trap a kestrel. At this time we have set aside Wednesday, October 6 as a day to go out looking for a kestrel. Shawn and I are going to drive up to the Eau Claire area, where the Mississippi joins the state of Wisconsin, and drive down the road that runs along the border, down to La Crosse, looking for kestrels. I want to be there at dawn, which means we will get up very early. The wild birds should begin their migration out of Canada, and hopefully will follow along the river. However, I also got an e-mail, and Bill is asking me if I want to join him on that same day to go down to Janesville. Bill is looking to trap a new red-tail. There is a pheasant farm down there that is a real pull for passage birds. So, I'll have to decide which I'm going to do . . . but Wednesday certainly looks like its going to be a trap day.

I'm excited . . . and can't wait to begin with a new partner. I'll have to be very careful with the kestrel, as they are a lot smaller, and more delicate than the hardy red-tail. But I feel up to the challenge, and want to add the knowledge of how to work with this most smallest of the falcons to my falconry skills.


cdb

My Hunting Partner, Pentesilea ("Pente")

Start of a new Hawking Season

Well, here it is, October 2, 2004.

The summer went by and is gone. My hawk, Pente, slowed waaaaaaay down with her molt here at the end of the summer. She still has not dropped the last two primaries on each wing. I'm told by someone who should know that it is possible she may not molt those last two her first year. And I still find the occassional small feather or down in her weathering yard or mews. But, time moves on, and I really must take her back up and get ready to get into the fields. It truly is still too thick around here to try to hunt. But, the mornings are increasingly getting colder, and the first hard frost is days away. That will knock back a lot of the thick green stuff, and make moving through our fields a little easier. So, I'm told by another person who should know that it will not harm my bird to go ahead and take her back up, and begin to exercise her and drop her weight, and get her ready to hunt.

With the above in mind, on Thursday, September 30, I stopped in at the local butchery and purchased a beef heart. I began thawing it in the refrigerator. Last night I cut it up into small chunks, again froze most of it for future use, and further cut up a couple of the unfrozen chunks into tidbit size, and soaked them overnight, to create washed meat. For any of you non-falconry folks out there . . . this is a food we use when we want to reward our birds for training behavior (flying to us when we call) but it helps to cut their weight. It's like celery for a hawk. Fills up the stomach, but doesn't give them a whole lot of calories. Used wisely, it makes the hawk burn their fat that they built up during the molt, when they were allowed to be at a higher weight so they would grow in healthy feathers.

Fortunately, this bird has not forgotten her training. Even when she is at a high weight, I can still get her to respond to a call to my fist. Mind you, it is very slow, and she is prone to distraction, but at least I'm not starting from square one with her. She also has not become wild over the summer either. So, we should progress pretty quickly.

This evening I shall begin the whole training process in earnest. It is difficult to do creance flights (long ones) on my property, as I have too many trees to distract a hawk that is not at hunt weight. It is also a pain to pack everything up and go someplace where there is an open field to work. But I think I might rig up one of those leash systems that restricts the bird from flying high. This would be like using a run leash, as many people do with a dog. You can stretch it from point A to point B, and the hawk is attached to this leash on a ring. She is free to fly back and forth as you are training, but keeps her from being able to fly far from the leash, so she cannot rake away into a tree. I really need to give her some long creance flights, to get her wing muscles into shape again. We'll do lots of jump ups too . . . which is having her fly up from a ground perch onto your fist, held way high up . . . maybe even standing on a ladder. This is really good conditioning for your bird.

I myself have increased my physical activity this summer, in the hopes that I too could drop some weight, and be in better condition for hunt season. I've lost some, and feel pretty good. My stamina is better. Now it is time to get my bird ready as well.

NAFA is coming very quickly . . . so we two girls (Pente and I) need to get into shape and practice our hunting, so we'll be ready to make a good showing of ourselves down in Kansas.


cdb