I have been talking to the guest for this episode, Jake Thomas, for over a year now, trying to figure out how I could make it down to feature some of the falconers from Kansas. Well, those plans finally came to fruition, and I was finally able to make it down to Jake's to record over a recent weekend! In this episode, Jake discusses all the factors that led into his falconry, his preferences in dogs, and what it was like jumping into the deep end with goshawks and some of the lessons that went with that. I hope you get something out of these next handful of episodes coming at you from Kansas!

This episode, we're revisiting the recording with Ken Hooke, who also agreed to do a segment for the Falconry Follies series. As many of you now know, per the announcement during this episode, as well as previous announcements, the decision has been made to discontinue the Extras Membership for extra content, so from here on out, the Falconry Follies series will be mixed in as a change of pace from time to time. For those who were members, those previous episodes will remain active via the link that was given and will remain exclusively available to you. I hope you have fun with this new installment in the Follies series before we start getting to more current content next week that was recorded recently with falconers from Kansas! Ken has some more pretty funny stories!

Shortly after writing his book, The Philosophy and Ethics of Falconry, Colten contacted me and introduced himself, asking if I could possibly give him feedback and point him in the direction of others who might also do so. After reading his book, I asked him if he might be willing to let me use him and his book in my first attempt at producing an audiobook, and towards the end of last falconry season earlier this year, we did just that! Colten came down to record over a weekend, and along with the audiobook, we recorded this episode, and did some hawking as well! If you want to get the audiobook for yourself, it can be found on Audible and most other audiobook platforms, and you can also obtain a physical copy through Amazon, Western Sporting, and Northwoods Falconry. Many thanks to him for coming down and being willing to record this project, as well as this episode!

Bill and Rich have been hawking buddies for a VERY long time. They share a lot of history together in this episode, including the roles they helped play in establishing dachshunds in hunting and falconry, what their falconry has been like all these years in the northern part of Indiana, and some of their favorite hunting memories together. Special thanks to Paul Thomas for helping bring this episode together, and for letting us borrow his RV at a dachshund field trial last summer to get this recorded. It was a fun one!

Ms. Francie is another falconer who's been requested by several folks over the past couple years, and she was another guest I was able to track down at the 2024 NAFA meet and finally get to record with! It was fun hearing her reminisce about a lot of fond memories in her many years in falconry, and hearing her talk about her fondness for helping the younger generations and newcomers to falconry was also inspiring. For those who know Francie, you know she's a fun conversation, but for those who've never met her, you're about to find out!

The guest for this episode has been requested many times over the years, and at the 2024 NAFA meet, I was able to carve out some time with Steve Layman in between hunting and workshops! Some of the things Steve and I discussed included research on aspergillosis treatment, his philosophy of falconry being a natural history sport more than even a hunting sport, and of course, some of the stories and experiences he has revolving around operant conditioning, some of which were quite amusing! This episode was a long time in the making, and I hope that it was worth the wait for those who requested it over the years!

This episode is another change of pace, remotely bringing you some falconry from Germany! Klaus and Elisabeth Leix join us to discuss what falconry is like for them in Germany, their experience with volunteering for the oldest German falconry club, which has existed for 100 years, hawking crows with falcons and goshawks, their preferred breeds of dogs to hunt with, and much more! This is a nice, lengthy episode that you're sure to get a lot out of, so enjoy!

After getting a hood from Ken for my Harris's hawk, I thought it would be good to have him on remotely to discuss hoodmaking, his history flying accipiters, longwings, and eagles, and what his falconry has looked like over the years living in Canada. Since this recording, he has since decided to retire from hoodmaking again, so if you haven't been able to get a hood from him, you might still be able to pick one up at mountainstatefalconrysupply.com. Don't sleep on it though, they're great hoods!

Revisiting this episode was a lot of fun, and getting the chance to record these types of conversations is a huge part of the reason why I continue doing this podcast. This was the second episode I recorded after a long, hot day of dachshund field trials, and instead of sitting down with these two friends separately, I decided to go ahead and have a group discussion and just go wherever it led us! We ended up talking about Rick and Rich's victories that weekend, Rick's ADHD attempt to convince Rich to start cast flying Harris's hawks on squirrels, what led Rich to start making equipment and get his own falconry business going, and other things our overheated, whiskey influenced brains decided to talk about! Enjoy!

While at some other dachshund field trials last year, I had a chance to record a couple of episodes with a few fellow falconers who I'd been trying to connect with for awhile, one of those being Mick Brown. Mick served as president of the Ohio Falconers Assocation for a long time, and is another falconer who has had to overcome a lot of physical wear and tear to continue in the sport. We talk about those things, as well as his thoughts on running Jack Russels before dachshunds, running his own falconry abatement and education businesses, and plenty of other good stuff!