This post is a little belated since the events which I am about to write happened in July, but like I mentioned before I’ve been busy but I thought this was cool enough to share with everyone.

My friend Selina invited me to a BBQ at her parents’ house, which also happens to be a Falconry/Birds of Prey Centre. I felt like I had snuck into the park without paying but Selina assured me that it was fine. She took me on a personal tour of the centre and introduced me to all of the owls – Odo the barn owl was my favourite, maybe because I like to think he was named after the character from Deep Space Nine. In addition to ass-kicking birds, they also have two pygmy goats named Tig and Tag, which were the cutest things in the world (Mum, dad, I want a pygmy goat when I get home).

After a delicious dinner, one of Selina’s parents’ friends wanted to introduce me to the other Canadian at the BBQ. He was a friend of the son of one of the other guests, they went to university together in British Columbia for a year. Aaron (the Canadian) and Arthur (the Brit) were both very nice and we all hung out together for the rest of the night (we bonded over being the only 20-somethings at the event). After visiting the goats again, we played Boules until it was too dark to see.

Sometime in between dinner and nightfall I got the chance to fly a hawk. It was awesome. It was a Harris Hawk named Jet, and he was badass.  He flew at me from a post across a field; there was a moment when I thought the little chicken leg wedged in my glove wasn’t enough to entice him in my direction and I feared he might decide to take out the little kid standing off to my left. After a very wide flight Jet found his way to my hand and ate that gross chicken leg right in front of me. I got to pet him, too. We’re buds now.