Triathlons, Horses, & French: Sterling Renaissance Festival

Every year we say we're going to the Ren.Fest. and we never do. So this year we were determined to make it. WE HAD A BLAST! (Since I'm writing this way after the fact, I was able to purchase 6 tickets for next season at a silent auction, so we're going at least once next year, hope we can find some friends to go with us, if not, I guess we're going 3 times).

The first show we went to was Commedia dell'arte. It was hilarious, and just got funnier when they pulled Andrew from the crowd to participate. He loved it and played up his part, which the actors just loved. The rest of the day people would pass us and point, or say "hey, you're the guy from this morning", or "I saw you earlier" etc etc. After seeing some of the other people they pulled from the crowd at other shows, I can see why everyone remembered him and the actors thought he was so great. Some people aren't such good sports.

We saw the wash women show, and the witch trials-complete with dunking. My two favourite events were the falconer and the jousting. I don't think I would want to do all the training to have raptors but I would love to spend a few days with a professional falconer and learn more about it. I find it absolutely fascinating.

This white bird is called a Gyrfalcon. It is an artic bird and was very hot that day, as you can see by him sitting with his mouth open. It is the largest of the falcons. We occasionally get a few wild ones in this area in the winter time. We've gone looking for it whenever we hear about one being in the area, but never seem to be able to find it.

Below is a Harris Hawk. I think she was very pretty and has striking coloring. She had a bit more of an attitude than the Gyrfalcon, but she is also a younger bird. One thing I didn't know is that Harris Hawks hunt in "packs" or family groups in the wild, kind of like wolves. They are the only raptor that does this.