The outdoor chicks eat from my hand but the quails are more cautious. They are getting so big.

Mum’s view

Click below

the youngsters took their cue from their mothers

and they ate corn out of my hand. Very sweet and trusting. Click below

After making a perfect nest and sitting so beautifully we were counting down the days until the new babies hatched. In anticipation I bought another large cage to protect you and your chicks from the other adult birds and we have just finished covering it in netting.

But now you appear to have abandoned your nest and the eggs. So what’s going on Mrs Quail? Too young to be a mother?

The Morning Glory continues to flower at the back of the house and in the pergola

The Lollo Rosso lettuces have gone to seed – which we hope to collect and use next year.

A truly splendid autumn morning.

Thank you maestro. J used aubergines, tomatoes, onions, green peppers and jalapeño peppers for the mix

Then cracked six eggs on the top and the eggs poached as the dish cooked in the oven. Absolutely delicious. Thought I was in the Middle East while I ate!

And the Brussels Sprouts are growing. Sorry to mention Christmas so soon!

Indoors, on a showery day, I am turning my blogs into a book. I do this every month and they form my diary collection going back to November 2013.

Nigel is still tormented by the quails and jumped on top of their cage in his frustration.

They birds are safe inside their home – for the moment.

This is the hen who incubated the quail eggs but couldn’t raise them

Her chick ( born a day after the last quail hatched) is doing beautifully. Her mum and she understand each other.

Click below

Beginner’s luck?