MR. OH-SO-LOVABLE GAMBEL
TAKES A BREAK FROM HIS RUN THROUGH THE HOOD

Always a full agenda,
our quail rarely have time to stop and talk.

Running to,
who knows where,
black top-knot forward, off they go.

You wouldn't be able to suppress a grin, if you saw a quail family running with ten little ones working to keep up. Mom in the front,. Dad taking up the rear


2.5 HANKIE STORY

Our friends, Diane and Tom had a dozen quail eggs in their blue planter.
The Missus kept her eggs warm and safe for about 20 days.
But then,
Diane heard a ruckus. Running outside, she was greeted by two
stressed parents flying nervously above the planter.

And there,
In the nest....
A Gila Monster with tongue flicking. All but 2 eggs remaining.

The monster,
a heavy-bodied lizard covered with beadlike scales -- that glisten with the sun like fine jewels
He doesn't feed often, but when he does it's a gorge. With his acute sense of smell, he located the eggs. The missus was no match.

Our friends, using a shovel and bucket, scooped him up and returned him to his desert.
Missus returned - to nest the remaining 2 eggs, but the next day abandoned them. They were beyond her help.