Hello All !

Where to begin.....

My name is Paul Bauer. I'm 49, married with a senior in high school. We live in Carthage Texas, which is in North East Texas (close to Tyler/Longview, TX and Shreveport, LA). This is where I was born and raised. I'm a second-generation Furniture retailer (Bauer Furniture).

Like everyone here I'm sure, I've had a life-long fascination with raptors. Fifteen to twenty years ago I checked into becoming a falconer and through my reading and research I quickly realized I had neither the time or facilities to have a bird in my care.

But time has a way of changing things! In this case for the better

I am the definition of 'pre-apprentice'. Over the last several months I've gone out with other falconers and their birds on hunts. Attended the THA meet in Waco and the Arkansas meet. In all this I've met some wonderful people and have learned A LOT. Gary Brewer has been invaluable as to ideas regarding mews design and layout.

Another 'new' friend I met at the Arkansas meet introduced me to leather-working, to which I've dived into head-first. I've made a few pairs of squirrel chaps and a couple of lures, which I might be brave enough to post photos of here in this forum (if I can figure it out).

I'm most proud of my giant hood which I made out of coroplast (sp?) from plans I found through another falconers web site (Chuck Redding - who took me out on my first hunt with his two birds).

Of course I've expanded my library with all sorts of 'core' falconry books such as North American Falconry & Hunting Hawks (Webster & Beebe), Falconers Apprentice (Oates), and of course the California study guide. Oh I almost forgot, I splurged and found a great price (on eBay) on Gary Brewer's book 'Buteos & Bushytails'

I don't have a sponsor, nor have I asked anyone......yet

I'm VERY excited about this journey. I know this is a marathon and not a sprint, but it's hard not to get excited with such a wonderful sport which includes such beautiful animals. It's the journey I'm looking forward to not any type of destination.

This is getting a bit long. Those of you still reading to this point, "Thanks". I hope to continue to post on a somewhat regular basis.

But to all out there I wanted to say, "Hello".