Concerning chickens

I promised there would be ponies and chickens and bunnies and shiny stuff. This post is to cover the topic 'chickens'. There is a significant correlation between the gnome's size and the size of its vocabulary. And since a lot of space in that vocabulary is used for storing overly complicated and utterly useless words, we have a strong need to simplify things.
For example: a pony is anything one could ride. So a pony is a pony. But a horse is also a pony. And a bike (or a trike!) is most certainly a pony. In World of Warcraft, even chickens can be ponies! (I dare you to ask me how many hours I spent slaving to make sure Lovelorn would never have to ride a mechanical chicken!)

Which brings us to the chicken bit. If you thought 'pony' covered a lot of ground, 'chicken' is even worse. Everything with wings and no more than 4 legs is a chicken. Anything with wings and more than 4 legs is a bug and bugs are ewww. So a chicken is a chicken, but an owl or an eagle is also a chicken. Even an airplane is a chicken. I'm still confused on Pegasus: chicken or pony?

(Sketch by Spirit-of-Twilight)

Me and my other half (and I'll happily admit: better half!) have a thing for birds of prey. Or in gnomish terms: hunting chickens. In this broad terminology I include owls as well. So what better way to spend the weekend than taking a falconry course? Although I think the word 'falconry' doesn't really cover it, there are many more birds involved in falconry than just falcons. I propose a change to 'chickenry'. Or the more fancy 21st-centry spelling: 'chickinry'.

Obviously, there was a falcon, which was spectacularly beautiful:

There were several owls, some sleepier than others:

I had my very first meeting with a raven:

And even though it was fall, there was a sunbathing vulture:

With a sense of humour:

And there were gnomish chickens too!

The day wasn't just about watching the birds sitting pretty on their perches. There was a lot of theory involved, we learned to tie knots, how to swing a lure and of course we got the privilege to fly them:

So all in all a great day. Apart from the entertainment I learned a lot. I had never guessed how time-consuming keeping a bird of prey was. It's not something you can do 'on the side', it's truly a way of life. As much as the birds impress and fascinate me, I honestly don't know if I can commit myself on that level to caring for an animal which gives no affection. For now I'll try to learn as much about these birds as I can, and satisfy my cuddling needs with the help of my cats.