Quail in My Garden
Book One of Adventures in my Garden
by
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Pretty soon one of our pairs has hatched the first eggs of the season! How proud they are, too! The father, Lowpatch (because his black strip of feathers on his belly is placed lower than most) and his wife, Graytop, bring their eight tiny quail to join our lucky group. Quail babies are hatched with their eyes open and lots of feathers along with some fluff, and tiny little spikes on their heads where their crests will appear as they mature. They are able to start right in eating on their own and following their mom and dad around. The babies can even fly a little right away, too! Water is important in the desert, and even in the Spring, the temperature can be over 100 degrees, so the babies must know right where the water is located. Lowpatch and his wife are good parents and show their babies how to drink water from the small dish on the wall right away. Lowpatch stands on some of the rocks near the water dish, while his wife, Graytop, leads the babies to drink. Lowpatch acts as a sentinel to make sure that no predators come to snatch his family. The new babies dip their little beaks in the water after watching their Mom. Soon they have had plenty of water, and Lowpatch leads his group to the food.
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About the Book
Quail in my Garden is a picture story about a covey of Quail who live in the desert and how they interact with the other desert wildlife and come to be loved by some humans. It is told from the viewpoint of the lead quail of the covey, Doublecrest. The story is fictional, although there are instances where some scenes really did occur. However, information about the animals is factual relating to their living and hunting experiences.
About the Author
Laura Root has been an authority on and writing textbooks about skin care since 1999, but this is her first foray into writing for children! Laura has loved animals all of her life, and nurtured many cats, dogs, hamsters and mice in her youth. Nothing compares, however, to the wonder she has experienced after moving her family to their house in Mesa, AZ. Here, the backyard sits up against a hill in the desert. It is covered with Ironwood Trees, Palo Verde Trees, Barrel Cacti, Sage, Creosote bushes, and many other plants, along with large rocks and boulders that the local animals and birds use to burrow under, hide by and take shade under from the hot Arizona summer sun. Laura started photographing some of the animals who came to her yard, and soon, she was writing parts of this book to narrate the photos. She hopes that you enjoy the book, and she can be contacted at LLROOT@COX.NET! Laura recently moved and now lives in Cave Creek, AZ with her husband, Tom, Yedeed, the Red Abyssinian, and Tango, the Moluccan Cockatoo and looks forward to future adventures with a new group of wildlife.