PHOTO heavy this was our friday (and a letter to god)

our first thing this morning visitor

bernie walked out this morning to put the ducks out and discovered we had a visitor......in the duck pen,............and it was not a duck.

now if you remember the other day, we thought we had a loose flock of ruffed grouse...... and remember i have an eye infection in both my eyes.... (bernie is not good at identifying birds, or plants) so we've assumed that is what we had.......well yesterday (ahem...... i suppose it would be thursday for you then) we had pictures of two of these birds out on the driveway sunning themselves.... turns out...... not grouse at all but NORTHERN BOBWHITE QUAIL...girls

then this morning was just this one. ......... we found the bodies of two of the others out back in the duck pen, and from the looks of them it seemed to have been something pulled their heads through the chain link and broke their necks.... we didn't find the fourth body...... and we assumed the worst.

the colors don't show well here- they are brilliant

i am so happy to tell you that this afternoon the 'fourth body' showed up alive.......and these little birds are both now safely in the house in a warm safe crate with food and water. 

this bird in the picture saw the black grain pans that i use to feed the ducks and rushed over, hopped into it and started to eat...... 

AHHA.....i said to myself, ....THIS bird is domestically raised....... 

and i put the crate in the pen with sawdust and the little bird wisely ran into the crate

later in the afternoon the second one eventually did too...... 

so we have them now....

see how amazing the colors are?

   and it took me all damn day with a lot of help to find out WHAT these little birds are...... and they are girls it looks like, there was a boy but his body is out back. if they make it through to spring, i may think about getting them a boy and a pen

then when we went back out to bring in the ducks..... we surprised our newest son....luigi...... the button buck, (these are pictures from after we went in) i did explain to him that we weren't really his parents, and that he could eat now but had to learn to be wild......and that means don't get too attached or close to us....it's dangerous for him and for us.......

dear god, 
when i was talking about the partridge in the pear tree, or the duck in the apple tree, or the chicken in the whatever tree........
i kinda thought you KNEW i was kidding

however thank you for the two quail.........
as they are pretty little birds and as you know i will paint them

now about the baby buckling.......who apparently thinks we're mom and dad.......and wants to claim the duck room as his bedroom...........

CAN WE TALK?

i see you ignored the request for the 45 million lottery win....i can only assume that you think it would (ha............ yeah right but you will send me more mouths to feed) change me

love from your friend
violet