Jonah: The End of Another Season

For everything there is a season. A time to trap. A time to train. A time to trust. A time for the first free flight. A time for the first hunt. A time for that first kill. A time to bond and become a team. A time to realize our full potential despite our troubles our tribulations, our shortcomings.

Now it is a time to say “It is done”. Our season is over.

All that is left is remembering our time together.

Soon it will be time to say goodbye and “Godspeed, Jonah The Relunctant Preacher”. You taught me MUCH more than I taught you.

I have loved every bird.

Elijah, Elisah, Samson, Delilah, Rahab the Harlot, Gabriel, Lazarus, Mary and now Jonah the Reluctant Preacher.

Saying Goodbye is always bitter sweet.

This season was different than all the rest. I felt different.

I remember my excitement when I first saw this bird. The first passage (juvenile red tail) I had seen all year. I knew immediately it was a juvenile.

I remember him swooping down to my live trap with a mouse in it. I remember whispering a pray, “Please, God, let me trap this bird".”

I remember the ride back home with bird in tow. Thinking, What should I name this one? Then I thought of Jonah.

On our first hunt on October 2nd, he found a snake and attacked it. It was a rattlesnake. He was bit 3 times.

Luckily I was able to get him to great veterinarian care quickly. He was administered anti venom and survived. Then we had to heal and re-train.

Finally getting into the woods in November only to discover how the woods had been completely wrecked by Hurricane Helene.

Hunting was different this year.

For the first time in 8 seasons I didn’t keep a journal. I didn’t keep a record of Jonah’s weight. We started at 930 grams and ended the season around 1030 to 1050 grams. I don’t know what our head count was. Somewhere around 20 squirrels. We hunted casually. On nice cool mornings when there wasn’t much wind.

Jonah wound up being a dang good bird. An excellence follower, a decent hunting bird that finally found his groove.

The whole season I found myself thinking a LOT about the real Jonah. The one in the Bible. The one who ran from God and was swallowed by a huge fish that God had prepared. The one who prayed to God from the belly of a fish in the depths of the sea. The one whose prayer was heard. The one who became a Reluctant Preacher.

Jonah and I have spent a lot of time hunting and thinking. Thinking about how lucky we are to just be alive. How blessed we are. How we are both Reluctant Preachers.

Thank You Jonah, The Reluctant Preacher. You took me back into the woods to listen to HIS Voice. You allowed me to experience God in the art of Falconry. Well Done. Well Done!

My prayer is that God will watch over you and protect you.

“Jonah, A small sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without God noticing. You are much more valuable.” Matt 10:29-31