The birds and the bees

It’s been a tough week for me and the quail, so when I got the good news from Leah I was ecstatic. One of the coturnix quail hens she hatched from eggs went broody and had six chicks. She invited me over to see them, so I jumped in the truck and drove over to Kailua.

Leah Drinen is a professional potter, apiarist (beekeeper) and all around amazing person. She said something that day that all of us can admire, and most of us can feel envious of. “I do what I want,” she said.

And that, she does well. I had an amazing time visiting and learning about beekeeping, pottery-making, living on a farm and now, urban farming. Like all good farmers, there was compost, vermiculture, bees, birds, and even rabbits.

We headed over to see the birds. After a short hike up a steep hill, I encountered the quail: one hen and six of her chicks. When I first got there, the hen was warming the babies up. Little by little, extra beaks and feet would peek out from under her, and then the babies all got out and ran around. It was adorable!

And, unusual. Coturnix aren’t known for going broody, but in this case, she was the lone bird left and she had been sitting for two weeks on her collection of eggs.

While we were waiting to see the chicks, Leah also introduced me to her beehives. Initially, she started raising the bees for her wax candles. When I asked where she got the bees, she said she and the kids caught them. Really! You can read all about it on her website where she also sells her wares. It’s called Posy and the Bee.

All in all, despite having lost two of my own birds to mongoose (this is the tough week I was alluding to), seeing the circle of life begin anew was refreshing. Visiting Leah was also a reminder that life is about the journey. Even if we can’t always “do what we want,” we should certainly try.