First there was Blue. She came to us from the great blue, the wild blue, as blue as Lightin' Slim, singing pigeon blues, not Rooster Blues. She came on banded foot, born of two other Blues who gave our Blue her azul feathers and fuchsia feet ... in a lineage that swept back through the blueness of her grandparents and past the great grandparents before them. They all commanded the skies and taught Blue, [...]
Composition is complex. It's not that the simple rules -- like the Rule of Thirds -- are so tough to grasp. It's that the learning curve from first applying rules to then breaking rules is one chocolate mess of subjectivity.
"This country ain't big enough for the two of us. So I'm giving you 'til sundown to get out of town." ~ The Virginian
Japanese Quail are known for shooting upward like missiles, and they can even kill themselves by hitting their noggins on hard surfaces. A Japanese Quail can shoot up and out through a space in the bag that's narrower than my arm . . . [read the full post ...]
Anyone who works in an animal rescue field knows that the current rate of home foreclosures never bodes well for pets. The number of cats and dogs callously left behind skyrockets. And beyond the innate emotional cruelty of the abandonment, some pets are locked in the homes with no food or water, left to starve in the absence of their families. People who do these things to animals are committing an incredible act of unkindness. [...]
He was misidentified but not forgotten -- this lone Japanese Quail who fluttered his way into a wildlife hospital and then, into our hands and hearts. We gave him an appropriately Japanese name: "Mikiko" which, loosely translated, means "child of the tree." A fellow volunteer pointed out that he is not, in fact, a child of the tree -- "he's a quail, Ingrid." I know. But I couldn't find a name meaning "child of the [...]
He handed over the box: "A rescued quail." We volunteer at a wildlife hospital, so a safe assumption might be California Quail. But assumptions are silly in a world where us newer volunteers sometimes mess up species identification. This bird clearly wasn't a California Quail. Their markings are distinct and easy once you know them. "It's a Japanese Quail," was the official proclamation. Not only is a Japanese Quail not a native of California, he [...]
