Quail in winter

Chow call! Here they come for breakfast! (Dec. 24, 2009)

Do I need to get a bigger feeder?

This little finch seems to be saying: "Save some for me!"

After breakfast, Quigley "swims" through the snow for shelter in the bushes across the lawn.

It's so much work, he flies the last part of the way.

After breakfast on Christmas morning, Quigley stands guard, watching the feeder from his perch in the nearby shrubs. (Dec. 25, 2009)

What! Sleeping on guard duty?



OK, Quigley, your shift is over, you can crawl under cover and take your nap.

The Days of Christmas

On the week before Christmas, my backyard gave to me:

Three quail a-scampering . . .

Two woodpeckers a-pecking . . .

And a mourning dove calmly looking at me!

Twas the Week Before Christmas . . .

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even her spouse.
At the basement back door, at the foot of the stair,
Suzi was checking the lock with great care.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
She peeked out the door to see what was the matter.
Where, what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But four eyes and four ears of two ghostly mule deer.

They were nervous and skittish and shifting about,
When Dad with his camera came sneaking on out.
The setting was "auto" and under-exposed,
So the shutter stayed froze while they anxiously posed.

Then he made some adjustments and turned on the flash,
But, alas, was too late, as the deer made a dash.
More rapid than eagles straight at us they came,
And the photo was missed, what a gosh-awful shame!

[Translation: We had 2 deer in our backyard Sat. night, a week before Christmas! The photo was from last summer - the best I could do.]