Gambel’s quail family returns to my backyard
After last week’s excitement, this week has been quiet. After scrambling to meet a couple of submission deadlines, I’ve been slacking recovering this week and focusing more attention on a work-related writing project (a colleague and I are editing a book). I also co-hosted the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop this month. My post is called, No, I Don’t Want to Live in a Fictional World. I think it’s funny, but I’m one of those dorks who laughs at her own jokes, so…
Another bit of news: I’m starting a newsletter to support my nascent author business. To subscribe, drop your email in the subscription box at the top of the righthand sidebar and get a free copy of my award-winning postapocalyptic short story, “Collateral Damage” (learn more about the story here and here).
The other big excitement here at Camp WTF is that the Gambel’s quail returned–and they have a flock of adorable little offspring! They spook easily, so I had to take pictures of them through a not-entirely-clean window.
But before we get to the cute quail pics: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Her pictures this week are breathtaking!
Now, back to:
Gambel’s quail in my backyard
I never cease to be amazed at how much wildlife we have in our neighborhood. We live in midtown Tucson, very much an urban area, but we have so many critters: the usual pigeons and mourning doves of course, but also quail, songbirds, hawks, woodpeckers, lizards (so many lizards!), rabbits (so, so, so many rabbits!), coyotes, and even the occasional bobcat. Rumor has it there have even been javalina in the neighborhood, but I’ve never seen any.
The Memery
No meme theme this week, because I’ve been busy doing this:
And now I need to rest.
Truer words were never tweeted. I’m old enough to remember sitting by my parents’ rotary phone, hoping it would ring. Now I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and forget to take it off for hours and hours.
Speaking of phones:
I do not miss the restrooms at Old Job. So many undergrads on the phone while doing their business. Like, good for you for calling your mom–but do it somewhere else. Or text like the modern young adult you supposedly are.
Someone please, please, please make this happen:
Also please, please, please make this happen:
I have several friends who would absolutely do this.
And now you’ll have that song stuck in your head all weekend.
You’re welcome.
Now I’m wondering if you can make alcohol out of carrots–and I don’t even drink.
That sound you hear? That’s the sound of 12,000 high school geometry teachers cackling evilly.
And speaking of evil:
Yep, definitely seeing myself out.
Have a fabulous weekend! Have any fun plans? It’s supposed to be 105F here, so my fun plan is stay inside and build an altar to the air conditioner.
22 Comments
Bobbiem91
I’m lucky I can find the area of a square or rectangle. I’ll pass on the odd shapes. I’s like them to figure out the volume of that shape also. Great post. Love you quail. I’ll seen a javelina along if you want one.
Janet Alcorn
You can keep the javalina. I hear they’re quite mean, and they do terrible things to gardens.
I used to be able to find the area of all sorts of weird shapes–also maximums and minimums thanks to a couple years of calculus–but my math skills aren’t quite what they used to be. I can still do rectangles, circles, triangles, maybe parallelograms on a good day.
Jennifer Jones
Your quail family are beautiful. We have 60 bird boxes in our property. I love watching Them in spring as the babies appear. I also put my phone on do not disturb and forget to take it off. I do this every day! I enjoyed reading your post
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! And 60 bird boxes–how cool! What kinds of birds most commonly visit?
Writing Sparkle
Thanks for the virtual coffee Janet. The phone booth image gave me a chuckle. Have a great weekend.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great weekend too.
Natalie
Thank you for your weekend coffee share. Beautiful quail family. Stay cool despite the triple digit temperatures.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! Air conditioning is a wonderful thing.
Anne Fraser @theplatinumline.blog
I love your quails but I don’t think they would survive our neighbourhood cats.
Janet Alcorn
Not many neighborhood cats here because of the neighborhood coyotes. People mostly keep their pets inside here, thankfully.
csuhpat1
That is so very cool. Hope it cools down for you.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! It’ll probably cool down… in October.
trent
Baby quails are cute… It is odd that there are so many urban critters – I thing there is an article in this month’s National Geographic about urban critters, but I haven’t read it yet. I can count the hours on the finger on my right hand when I am within four rooms of my phone – I like a long distance relationship with it. but then, nobody calls, so I guess I shouldn’t care 😉
Janet Alcorn
I should keep my phone at a distance instead of scrolling social media so much. I hardly ever use it to actually call people though.
I’ll look for the article on urban critters. We had very few when I was a kid in California (small town near farm country), but here I am in a good-sized city, surrounded by wildlife. It’s weird–but wonderful.
Gary A Wilson
Hi Janet, I had to look up, javalinas, and am left wondering how I missed them before?
I must send too much time up where the temperatures don’t read steel-melting, but even with the time I’ve spent in both TX, New MX, & AZ, you’d think I would have come across them – um – hold on, if I deduct the time spent in air conditioned rooms, cars or other containers meant to preserve human lives, my time spent in those states comes to – eighteen minutes and seven seconds. Okay, that’s embarrassing, but will suit as my excuse for not knowing about these non-pig pigs.
So, what’s this author business you’re diving into? If you’re involved it has to be entertaining.
Loved the meme collection yet again.
Janet Alcorn
Hahahahaha. The less time spent outside air-conditioned containers the better, at least in an AZ summer.
The author business is just my writing. Sometime in the next few months, I hope to start querying again, and if that doesn’t work out, I’ll self-publish. Either way, having a mailing list will help spread the word when I have stories coming out or otherwise need to engage in shameless self-promotion (which, all kidding aside, I absolutely hate doing).
leannelc
Loved the memes as always Janet and those little quails are so sweet – you’re lucky to have so many birds in an urban area. I love it when a bit of nature visits – it’s always worth a photo or two.
Janet Alcorn
We really are lucky. I love watching all our urban wildlife.
J.S. Pailly
At some point, I found out that, according to one taxonomic system called cladistics, birds are dinosaurs. They aren’t just descended from dinosaurs; they are officially classified as dinosaurs. Ever since then, whenever I see birds in my backyard or anywhere else, I’ve been just a little bit extra delighted to watch them.
Janet Alcorn
I’ve heard that too. I’ve also kept geese, and they seem to think they’re velociraptors.
joylenebutler
Happy IWSG Day, Janet. We have a 60% chance of rain. Crossing my fingers for both of us. Love your blog!
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! I can’t believe I forgot about IWSG Day! It’s been such a hectic week.
We have a flash flood watch on for tonight with 1-2″ of rain in the forecast, so your crossed fingers are working. Hope you get some too (but without the flooding).