Tuesday at William Osler
June 24, 2015 - Etobicoke - William Osler
Tracy Simpson Reports:
I think we should have a special award at the end of the fledge season for “Dumbest Thing Done by a Tired Watcher” and I certainly qualify. After trying to open my fledge watch chair with my car remote and taking half a minute to realize what I was doing wrong it was clear to me that I was losing it. Now I figured I better just sit down and sort out my notes before I do something else goofy. So glad no one saw me do this.
So we left off Tuesday morning with Benny having fledged to the roof of the hospital. He ran back and forth all morning trying to figure out how to get back down to the ledge without flying again. They all try “cheater” drop down flights at one point or another and here was his big chance. Each time he lined himself up for the drop down onto the eastern H the incredibly gusty and high winds got the better of his courage. To make matters incredibly worse both of his parents were sitting on that sign which drove him crazy wanting to get to them. Chessie took off on a hunt around 11am and came back shortly with a pigeon. She took it up to the eastern H to prep and this is where things got rather interesting. The three on the ledge were losing it as she plucked and prepped the food right above them. They ran and screamed trying for the perfect position but she just ignored them. Benny ran back and forth on the roof line trying to get himself perfectly aligned for a drop down and even looked as though he would try it. He decided to wait and wail about his impatience rather than do something about it. Hurricane sat across from Chessie and watched with great interest as she prepared lunch. Then our dear Chessie did the unthinkable; she began to eat. In front of the drooling stares of her hubby and kids she ate half of the pigeon and in tiny wee bites no less. It gets worse. She took the remains of the meal and, get this, stashes it between the top of the sign and the wall then sat there preening. The whole family stopped and went silent at this turn of events. Both Hurricane and Benny were ready to pounce on it should she happen to leave it unattended. The kids on the ledge just stared and prepared themselves ready to run should she bring it down. But no. She sat for a good 5 minutes with a juicy piece at her feet defying ANYONE to dare try and touch it. After 10 full minutes of this she relented and took it to the ledge.
Benny finally took flight again just shortly after noon which had me on my feet in seconds. He was heading for the tower where currently there is large earth movers, dump trucks and other equipment working feverishly to finish the revamp of the east parking lot. If he slips and falls the amazing crew from Pacific who are doing the work have set up a procedure with me for stopping all equipment and giving me access to rescue but I need to be quick. Benny went for it but realized that the winds were too strong for him to land and he turned back. He hit the winds whipping past the northeast corner and almost lost control. To save the day he tucked tight and threw himself back onto the roof. Enough of that he says. Nap time.
Bruce took over at 3pm so I could get to work with three still on the ledge and Benny on the roof. The winds died down around 6pm and so Benny decided it was high time to rip it. And he did.
Throughout the evening he made several awesome flights. At one point he made it down to the north H, daddy’s favorite roost. Bruce watched as he stepped off of the sign into the wind and with perfectly set wings FLOATED up to the roof edge. First of all, he’s been flying less than 12 hours at this point. The sign is a complex landing and the float, well that’s just poetry. What I think is so amazing is that Hurricane has been pulling the kite/float move over that corner all day showing the next generation of windmasters how it’s done. Bravo!! Then Benny faked Bruce out by taking a flight and disappearing from view. Bruce followed him around but had lost sight of him. Bruce looked everywhere as he’d seen him brush a window and come around a little low. What Bruce didn’t realize is that Benny had recovered his altitude and was back on the ledge. After a bit of walking, consulting and rechecking he found all four on the nest ledge trundling off to bed. Great job Benny!!
This morning Benny started his flying at just after 6am and has yet to really stop. Check back later to see who goes next and for more tales of Benny’s big day.