We are now testing the drainage!!! It is raining, it has been a sort of mizzly day for much of the day, however we had a Hawk Experience Day and actually the rain stopped on and off for most of the time we were out, so I can’t complain, and the birds flew very well. All that is except Fortina (Peregrine) who sat down again, so I am grounding her and Simon and I will get her aunty out tomorrow, along with a couple of other birds to join the team

Buckwheat and Alfalfa are going really well, I am delighted with them and hope that they will be on demonstration by the end of this coming week, they are both very good, they would be even better if Buckwheat stopped trying to bully Alfalfa and in New World Vultures the males are the larger bird, so he gets the better of her. Talking of New World Vultures, Real is definitely better, we gave her her last injection today, thank goodness and she is starting to eat again well, so hopefully we are past the danger point and she will start to feel more herself again.

Saturn, the baby African Spotted Eagle Owl ( brother to Saluda MC!) is a sweety and is doing a great demonstration, OK he is only hopping about a foot, but at six weeks old that is pretty damn good.

One of the people on the course was a teacher, a really nice girl and we were talking about how difficult it is to be a teacher these days. You know, the country has gone nuts, and those in control shouldn’t be. You can no longer call it Ba ba Black Sheep, it has to be Ba ba rainbow sheep, you are not allowed to call it a Black board, or a White board, you can’t tell a child they are wrong…………good god WHY NOT!! They are going to be wrong, they are going to be told they are wrong when they are adults, stop giving children this ridiculous treatment. They need and want discipline, I guarantee it.

One teacher friend of mine told me that at a parents meeting when she suggested that one child just needed to listen a bit more and she would do much better, the parent replied that he was told by his child that she did not explain it right. Are parents calling the teachers liars ???????????????? Are they nuts, who out of the two do they think is telling the truth, why would the teacher lie, and sure as hell the child will. Think back, did you tell your parents all the truth about what you did at school, NO of course you didn’t, you doctored the truth as all children do. We are breeding generations of children who have no respect, and if the parents do not respect the teachers how the hell can you expect the children to do so.

When I was at school we were horrified if we got sent to the head, now six year olds don’t give a toss and it is the responsibility of this society who apparently believes that children can never be wrong, should never be corrected or controlled and it is such a shame, no I will put that more strongly it is criminal because in the end all of us pay for it. Bullying of the elderly and the disabled - that starts with a lack of respect for all. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great parents out there and some wonderful children, but mark my words, lack of discipline leads to nothing but problems for everyone in the country.

OK rant over, its still raining, but hopefully the weather will return to wonderful again tomorrow. The daffodils are coming out and spring is on its way. Rupert and Rory are doing well and growing as you will see by the not very good photo! Deception the kite is now on duty and going well, and we are going to add in three others to fly with him, so watch this space.