Monday, January 28, 2013

Old Man Winter and Mr. Cal Quail

Design - "Old Man Winter"
Chart - "Little Cuties" Volume One CS125
Designer - Val's Stuff
Fabric - 30 count WDW Putty linen
Fibers - WDW - 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 23 January 2013
Completed - 24 January 2013

I am awaiting a JABC button to truly finish this.  There is a small blue jay that perches atop the letter "t" in winter.  When I get it, I'll update the photo and post a link to it.

My covey of California Quail remain intact and unharmed.  Each time I count I get about 14 birds.  

That's a very low mortality rate for Winter.  There was an article in the paper recently about California Quail.  And the gist of it was 'you might as well hunt them, as they'll probably die anyway.'

My observations of the Quail the last five years or so, certainly do not support that conclusions.  They are smart, vigilant birds in my book.

The other day the covey decided to have dust baths in a front flowerbed.  This male jumped up on the porch to supervise the flock.  

I was able to take a couple of photos of his through the glass in the front door.

I don't think I've ever been so close to a Quail before. 

10 comments:

Siobhán said...

Wow, I hadn't realized how big quail are! Great pictures. Love your finish, even w/o the button.

Ann at Beadlework. said...

That's a really sad statement Beth, I'm glad that you find the reality to be otherwise. They are such bonnie birds and cute too.

Carol said...

What great photos of the quail, Beth--just love those little feather things (whatever they're called on top of their heads)... And your finish is very cute--I like the color changes in the border.

cucki said...

Love your finish..great pictures x

Kathy Ellen said...

Love your cute snowman. Aren't those Quail so amazing and beautiful? How fortunate you are to be able to watch them up close.

Stay cozy and warm inside because it is so Brrrrrr...... Bearrrrr cold outside!

Blessings!

Barb said...

The quails are such interesting birds! Old Man Winter is very cute.

Chris said...

They are beautiful birds.

Giovanna said...

Very cute finish! And the quails are just so cute too.

Jeanne said...

I love quail - we have a lot here in Arizona. A couple Christmases ago we looked out on Christmas morning and there were 13 of them walking in a row along our back wall - so cute! Just a few weeks back I had a flock of 8 in my backyard and got to enjoy them while I worked.

Pam in IL said...

LOVE the snowman! How lucky you were to get so close to the visitor on your porch. The comment about hunting the quail makes me sad.