Today at work, walking between buildings, I came across something low and moving and soft off to my right. It was the most awesome quail family I’ve ever seen. Mama, dada, and maybe 15 babies.You might have seen baby quail before. These were BABY quail. Utterly tiny and perfect, stepping back and forth and into and off of each other as their parents attempted to herd the unruly mass. Each small perfection could have been a comic strip it was so ideal.
Apparently the parents were trying to herd them up a flight of steps into a garden bed. Well, each step was over twice as tall as those babies. I saw one jump. Jump! Legs stretched, wings extended, as it bounced up halfway up the step.
On my return trip they were still there, still trying. Others were gathered to watch or photograph. I realized how stressful this must be for the parents, who were probably concerned about these big predators, so I tried to find some cardboard to make a ramp for them. When that didn’t work I realized that there was a ramp already there – the quails just hadn’t found it yet. I laughed at this, then left them to their family business.
That moment of connection with reality was a highlight of my day.