Men's Problems - Friends

In day to day falconry and my way of life through the year I get used to talking with my local friends, local club members and our monthly social events when a group of us get together to share a meal. It can almost be that I have another life since I am also familiar with a large group of people around the world, people who write for the magazines, several who over a long period of time have become friends. The surprise and enjoyment I experience when a friend remembers me only seems to grow as time goes by. The accumulation of similar experiences somehow seems to make enjoyment grow and my appreciation ever more aware. When it is unexpected it can be whelming.

A few days ago it was my pleasure to meet again many acquaintances from the falconry community around the world, to spend time with them doing our business but also relaxing, sharing meals and much laughter over more than a few drinks. Freed  temporarily from the constraints of my own society and able to enjoy what other  nations still find 'normal' can be as simple as an occasional cigar so that somehow it feels special and a privilege in the company of resumed friendship.

But at this meeting how unexpected a surprise it was when my Japanese friend arrived, offering his customary polite greeting made the more so when he handed me a small bag full of carefully wrapped gifts! That he had remembered me before the trip to buy some small personal, traditional Japanese gifts was quite wonderful and rather humbling.

A few years ago as advancing years began to impose on me I had read of the beneficial effects of drinking green tea and how much lower were incident rates in Japan for male prostate problems, thought to be a consequence of their green tea consumption. Having had my share of attention from the medical profession and experienced their macabre habit of terrifying new customers falling into their grip, I have increasingly found some improved self management and diet adjustments paid dividends and reduced my own 'white coat syndrome'! When green tea came to my attention I of course contacted my friend to ask his guidance and explanation of what this really meant since it seemed obvious that it was not the variety of green tea available to us in the local supermarket.

After some research my friend was kind enough to explain some of the intricacies of the subject and the various processes in the creation of Matcha tea, a fine green powder dissolved in a little hot water and drunk over a small piece of candy, transforming the flavour into something more mellow and unique. With my friend's explanation I was able to source a supply and to my delight it was effective and my PSA levels did reduce!

The wrapping of my presents in traditional Japanese paper was almost an exercise in origami and so attractive I left their unwrapping until we returned home to be shared with Jenny.

When we finally opened the packages it was of course two different varieties of matcha and a delightful paper box of wrapped candies,  how wonderful that my thoughtful and considerate friend can bring such unexpected joy in expression of his enjoyment of our work together over many years. 

August Litter Due?

Our Irish setter bitch FTCh Tiqun Ember came home today, at the end of her field trialling career and hopefully to her maternity kennel after again being mated with FTCh Coldcoats Corbally Boy. Steve and I met on the Newmarket bypass as he was travelling to Cambridge and over a cup of coffee we chatted about our long association  and the many dogs we have now shared together. He sent me a recent photo of himself with six field trial champions on leash, four of them having also been in the top two of the British Champion Stake in five consecutive years! He really is a master of his art and through our setters we have shared many good times. In the photo "Brochan" the dog we used is giving Ember a kiss with the whole scene being reminiscent of the well known photo of Jack Nash holding nine Field Trial Champions! Brochan is owned by Jack's niece and God daughter Mary and is a fine picture of Irish Setter as were bred in the 'Moanruad' kennel and which our pedigrees follow.

Over many years now a lot of our setters have spent their first few years with Steve Robinson in Northumberland and then come home for a change of career as they adapt from the gun to falcon, usually sparking them into a whole new enthusiasm and rejuvenation.

Of course it also means they have to adapt from the moors of the north to the lowlands of East Anglia, from grouse in heather to partridge, pheasant and snipe in rape and corn. And now as my old bitch Ruby finally nears the end of her life so Ember arrives - she already knows the new way of life since she was with us for January of the past game season, returning to Northumberland for the grouse counting and mating, all in anticipation of this momentum.

She then has to get used to the idea of working with our Cockers, I wonder how she will like that?

Modern sexual techniques

An overcast chilly start to the day soon brightened into early morning sunshine and warming air. All the eyasses are out of the nest this morning and shouting at their mother who has denied them food for a couple of days to encourage this major change when they can start to feed themselves. The strange thing is that even though food is clearly visible and available they don't take it for themselves but still wait until she gives them permission to eat. My friend said that parental duties are 'fairly hard wired' into the adults and its fascinating that even though completely inexperienced any required behaviours arrive on the day.

The vet arrived promptly an hour after breakfast as the breeding season moves on and his modern equipment enables us all to see whether our mare Toffee has managed to get pregnant? Years ago it all seemed so simple and natural to take the mare to the stallion, try her again 18 - 21 days later and assume if there was no response that a foal was on the way. Today we have the video screen and as though TV addicts we all stare for the image on the scanner screen that might show the implanted foal at 35 days old. Within a few minutes as he manipulates the sensor inside the mare, in a most undignified manner, the image we all want to see appears (centre below). So unnatural has it all become in the light of progress that the sexual act simply does not occur any more! 'Far too risky for such a valuable animal to perform' and even though the mare visits the stallion he only gets to perform with a dummy for collection of his semen which is then artificially inseminated into the mare whilst hot in the straw and we all cross our fingers!

My friend has a large herd of pigs and they are all artificially inseminated but as he explains there is much to know for success to be the norm. Many people struggle with semen through the mail and at great expense have their vet do the work only to find that pregnancy simply does not occur. Naive assumption is that all it takes is to get the semen into the female and pregnancy is inevitable. My friend explains that in his pigs the largely unappreciated essential part of stockmanship is that he still has to use a boar to tease the sow into a state of excitement during which it is important that she picks up some of his saliva and close attention to get her hormones flowing in the correct manner. That is when she is artificially inseminated, fertilisation does happen and the implantation cycle can occur with all hormones in place. And so it is with horses it seems where the more successful studs use the stallion in just such a manner and simply sidestep the dangerous part of the mating process in which even the best mares are prone to kick and do serious damage. The days of the adrenaline rush for grooms and handlers are now mostly a thing of the past. We no longer have to conduct such risky adventures of bringing mare and stallion together - health and safety professionals are relieved - civilisation of sex has become the norm!

For many years now my falcons have been bred by AI and with that end in sight, for the ones I intend to keep, they are all raised from hatching to be imprinted with the human as their partner in life. It is not just breeding that this affects since the highly attuned relationship develops flying and hunting techniques vastly more satisfying than that achieved in normal falconry. In breeding eyasses this year an interesting experience occurred when I inseminated the falcon since my young Jerkin was only just embarking on his adult life and it was the first year he produced any semen. Under the microscope it looked unpromising with no visible motile sperms, it was just like water. About an hour later when my female Peregrine 'Gentle' had laid her second egg I thought I might as well inseminate this sample in case there would be any chance of a fertile egg, there certainly would not if it remained in the capillary tube. The Jerkin continued his unpredictable teenage behaviour and did not manage to produce another sample for about three weeks but it turned out not to be necessary as his first effort of 'clear water' got three eggs and these are the result!

Luckily for us it has not proven necessary with our dogs and the natural process prevails much to the pleasure of Brockan and FTCh. Tiqun Ember, our Irish Setters, who were mated yesterday - 'this is a date for your diary' said Steve on the phone ' Brockan did not need any encouragement this time, he was straight on before I could get into the yard!' On the previous occasion he had been a virgin and needed a lot of encouragement. Hopefully they will produce a litter of pups in nine weeks time at the start of the grouse season. It is a fortunate time for pups since Ember will soon be back in work for the rest of the game season and pups will be a year old for the next season and well into training.

And for tomorrow.....................?