Blind creatures

Of course, this lanner falcon is not blind. She just has a hood on.

Turns out she's only a year old and the falconer bred her himself. He used to work with the birds at landfill sites. I don't know why they seek to keep other birds away from the dumps. Maybe in case they are harmed by the waste? That seems by far too generous for humans. Let me check... ah yes, the birds spread diseases - presumably from the landfill to the surrounding area. And they're a nuisance. The sodding landfill, on the other hand, is clearly a 'good' thing.

Anyway.

I'd run over to see this man as the dog and I were heading across the field. I wanted to see him fly the falcon, but a woman came up to me and said, very disapprovingly, 'Do you have an old collie? Well, he's walking around up there. On the road. You'd better get him.'

I ran up the hill, calling and passing people, with apologies and excuses. The dog, who is somewhat blind and deaf, had clearly just continued on our normal route, thinking he was left behind. I got to the road, still calling, and couldn't see him. It's a dead-end and very quiet - I wasn't worried especially about him getting run over. Some people were approaching and I asked them if they'd seen a dog. 'Yes,' they said, 'up there.' I kept on calling out iand clumsily running until I saw him. He must have heard and turned around, he was trotting to me, ears cocked. I cried out and when he saw me his ears flattened, his face relaxed and he broke into a run. I fell on my knees in the road and greeted him.

But I didn't get to see the falcon fly.