Through a Glass, Brightly

Ms Town Mouse is travelling afar and I'm enjoying her amazing photos of stone arches and distant vistas. Meanwhile, I sit at my desk and look outside my window, doing worthwhile but non-garden projects (hence absence of posts from Country Mouse lately), and sometimes there's a lot going on. I snapped these photos through my window over a 15 minute period. You see the ubiquitous bunnies, one bunny in this case, peacefully co-existing with a covey of quail, young and adult, and one little wrentit (I think) who eluded my lens, so I include just one shot. I guess our rat terrier Duncan was taking a nap! I did see him one day with funny looking sticks coming out the side of his mouth. What've you got Duncan? quoth I. Guilty ears, drooping head. It was a baby quail, actually unharmed, gently held in his mouth, little feet sticking out sideways. (I put it far below his boundary on a leaf where I heard other quail nearby, and hoped for the best.)

You can see the guard, always a male (with the more striking plumage and topknot thingy) standing on the rock pile keeping an eye out. I bet the bunny feels secure too, under his watchful eye.

By the way what they are eating is a small annual ground covering weed that I've been tearing my hair out over. It took over in the open area where I attempted a "meadow" planting that failed. But when I see how much the wildlife enjoy eating it, then I don't feel so bad.





































Comments

Anonymous said…
What an enjoyable view, Country Mouse! Seeing the wildlife must make everything seem wonderful, except when their feet are sticking out of a mouth! Good save! :-)
Frances
Gail said…
I love watching the critters out the doors and windows~It's our little watering hole look at the world...Chipmunks, birds, squirrels all hanging out together~ I love the little feathers on the quail. gail
Great photos! So cool that you have a plethora of wildlife in your area. Earlier in the spring we had a covey of about 20-30 California quail on our property, but they've migrated elsewhere since a Cooper's Hawk started staking out the birdfeeder that they liked to hang around. We also have wrentits in our chaparral stands, as I can hear their distinctive trilling calls, but I haven't managed to actually see one yet. The 3/15/10 post on my blog has a photo I took of a trio I've dubbed "Los Tres Amigos" - a Cal Quail, California Towhee and bunny, all hanging out together.
Rabbits are adorable and quail are cool-looking, too.
debsgarden said…
How can you get anything done with such entertainment right outside your window? I love bunnies. We once had many of these sweet creatures, before the foxes came. Now they are a rare sight in my yard. Yours are so cute!
Country Mouse said…
Thanks for stopping by, y'all. Camissonia, I did enjoy your photo of los tres amigos indeed - and a lot of other photos on your blog too and plant lists.

I'm sorry that lately I don't "get out much" to visit other blogs. I just have to finish certain projects to get some more free time. Argh!
Christine said…
oh. my. goodness. I've just fallen into the depths of a cuteness coma! Hope you don't get too overworked with projects so you can experience the wonders of your garden!