Lily of the Valley

So, I'm about to seriously date myself here but I cannot help walking around singing this song:

and here's why.  We have a guest.  Her name is Lily and she is beautiful.



A beautiful young button quail who is being quail sat while our friends are on vacation.
I have always wanted a quail.  It's been nice getting to care for one this past week.  

 

Here she is walking around in one of my planter beds.   She loves this spot my gardeners have been neglecting.  A nice little weed patch to pick through and duck in and under the weeds and tall grass.  

My gardeners

 She's a very sweet, curious little button. I love to just sit there and watch her walk back and forth, take her dust baths and find tasty bugs to eat.  I also have to keep watch for the hawk whose smorgasbord my backyard is.

The chickens and ducks don't seem to know what to make of her.  The ducks seem suspicious, and I think she moves too quickly for their liking.  They keep a watchful eye on her.  The chickens, well who knows what they think, but they avoid her too.  

Another guest til the end of the week when she'll go home.  She also has quite the set of lungs on her.  Here's a short video I took of her calling out.  It's really quite loud, and she does this all night long, and most of the day too.  

Hopefully I wont drive my husband crazy with my Lily song.  I just can't help it.  And it makes me laugh.  Here I''ll leave you with a pic of my latest painting for sale on Etsy.  It is my wish for all of you...

Ok it's now 6:33 pm.  And I have to add a note.  File this one under more excitement than I needed in a day!...  Lily just flew the coop!  Those wings really work!  So we're sitting outside in the planter box dust bathing, eating bugs, etc when she decides to hop out.  Frightened by a Chicken (most likely Morpheus) who was looking at her rather ominously with one eye and being flanked by the twins and I she flew off!  Over the wall, over the neighbors whole house!  Every neighbor around me for at least a few houses in each direction have dogs.  PaNiC sets in!

Off we went knocking on neighbors doors with our very strange request (as if they didn't think we were strange enough) "Could you please go look in your backyard for a small brown quial?"  It's a good thing neighhbors are neighborly.   "How am I going to explain this one?"  I ask the twins who accompanied me......

Two doors down-- in the backyard of a neighbor with not one but two big not so friendly acting german shepherds was Lily!  We went in back, scooped her up and returned her to her cage indoors.  Phew!  Dodged that bullet, right?!  Thank goodness my friend doesn't read my blog.  She and her girls would be heartbroken if Lily was gone...  Only one more day to go too.


And this one's for you Suz: