Speechless QuailHey fledglings! Are you quail fanatics? Do you have doodles, paintings, sculptures, and photographs of quails? Maybe you even have a collection of quail trinkets (coffee mugs, keychains, plush animals, etc.)! Or a real live quail pet! Whatever quail you have in your life, be kind enough to share it with the world of Quail Bell. Send your quail images to submissions@quailbellmagazine.com. Our favorite entries will be posted right here on QuailBellMagazine.com.  Add Comment So Fluffy's Dead...by Julie DiNisio QuailBellMagazine.com  This plaque, one of the most elaborate at Faithful Friends Pet Cemetery, pays respects to two animals from the same family Your beloved cat, dog, rabbit, bird, lizard, rodent, or other such pet has passed on to…wherever pets go when they die. Now what? Most pet owners probably aren’t thinking in advance what they will do with the body of their pet when tragedy befalls (don’t think my title or tone sarcastic, please. I have pets and would be devastated to lose them!).
If the pet dies at home, many people simply bury it in the backyard, which can be legal or illegal depending on the locale. If the pet dies at the vet’s office, the owner often relinquishes the body to be properly disposed of, usually by means of cremation. However, there is a third, somewhat popular option - burial in a pet cemetery. After he showed Mary the gardenBy Josephine Stone QuailBellMagazine.com  Richmond, VA "Adventure Time" will save us all!By Christopher Sloce QuailBellMagazine.com  Let’s face it. Kids aren’t kids any longer. My little sister watches Toddlers and Tiaras. She’s 9 and she's already convinced she’s older than she actually is. I remember watching my granddad blush all to hell when my youngest cousin talked about Taylor Lautner’s abs and my little sister giggled.
Watch the Disney channel. I never did willfully—only when I was taking care of my little sister. Everybody is concerned with half banging someone, hiding a bad grade, or trying to go to some strumpet’s party. I remember one episode of a popular series that culminated in a false flag operation involving a flipped table at a Mexican restaurant, grabbing a cradle with the titular baby that had mistakenly ended up in the company of another family, ruining their parents' night out, and causing an insurmountable amount of psychological terror for all involved. I’m not chastising the show for being morally renegade, but here’s the thing: It’s dumbed down to the point where you get 24 minutes of bile with 3 minutes of phony comeuppance. To an extent, kids need to live without some comeuppance (after all kids need to be kids) at least for a time. They shouldn't expect every single wrong action to get them brow-beaten. It’s about being accountable. Kids aren’t accountable. Try to get one to deliver mail. Which is to get to the point: “Adventure Time” is going to save us all. We foresee you reading this novel.By Luna Lark QuailBellMagazine.com  Everyone grapples with their own coming of age, but wartime further complicates this sensitive life stage. Now add the fact that you're struggling to control your newfound supernatural powers at the same time. Oh, and your father's so strict that he won't let you go through nurse training, even though becoming a nurse is your dream. Plus your brothers are fighting in the aforementioned war. Yup, that's cause enough for mega teen angst. That's the exact situation that Alexandra, the protagonist in Marcus Sedgwick's 2006 novel, The Foreshadowing, has to face. She's a naive but determined 17-year-old who's had few experiences outside of her well-to-do home in Edwardian England. Suddenly, however, World War I breaks out and Alexandra's ability to see the future has resurfaced after remaining dormant for twelve years. All at once, Alexandra has multiple choices to make. Will she tell her loved ones about her power? Will she nudge her brother Thomas toward the service? Will she pursue nursing? Will she try to change the future she has already seen? If you're in the mood for some minimalist YA fiction that delves into both fantasy historical fiction—with a strong female lead as a bonus—put The Foreshadowing on your reading list. There's suspense, philosophy, and even a touch of romance. You won't regret going cover to cover with this one. Fairy Food: Sliced Banana with HoneyBy QB Chef QuailBellMagazine.com  In the words of "FernGully"'s Zack, "Buzz off? I'm not buzzing anywhere!" Now that has little to do with this week's Fairy Food recipe, except that bees not only buzz; they make honey, too. (In case you, ya know, failed kindergarden.) If you're going to make sliced banana with honey, you most certainly cannot forget the honey. That would not be very fairy-like of you because a) fairies never forget anything...ever, and b) fairies take every opportunity to heap on the sugar. For this sweet treat, all you have to do is slice up a banana into little 'chips' and sprinkle on as much honey as you like. Remember, it's all about your taste because fairies never use measuring cups! Even Thomas Jefferson Loved ApplesBy Christine Stoddard QuailBellMagazine.com Something that wards off doctor visits has to be good. Something that helped incite the Trojan War and eventually inspired Wishbone to dress up as Odysseus can't be bad, either. And what would art and literature professors talk about if Adam had never eaten from the Tree of Knowledge? We owe apples big-time just for being their delicious and nutritious selves. Well, the best way to honor them is to make a feast of them. You can do that right in Virginia because apples are all around. They're part of the state's heritage (read on, fledglings, read on.) Within an hour of Richmond, there are orchards, farmers' markets, bakeries, and restaurants whose work it is to make the tastiest apples convenient and reasonably priced. Here's just a small selection:  ORCHARDS
Carter Mountain Orchard (Charlottesville) Pick your own apples at this “family tradition” of a farm. Carter Mountain clearly lists their fruit availability chart on their website, so you know when to get your favorite varieties (including not only apples, but also peaches, nectarines, and pumpkins). Depending upon the month, Carter Mountain offers all sorts of apples: Lodi, Ginger Gold, Gala, Virginia Gold, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonathan, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Fuji, and more. Apart from the orchard, be sure to enjoy their bakery, country store, and wine shop. Don't miss their Apple Harvest Festival, either. CarterMountainOrchard.com Vintage Virginia Apples (North Garden) Largely an heirloom and vintage orchard, Vintage Virginia Apples offers up to 250 varieties of apples. These include, for example, the delightful Razor Russet, the Swiss Gourmet Arlet, and the Roxbury Russet, the oldest apple variety bred in the United States. Vintage Virginia also sell apple trees you can transplant to your own backyard—including Thomas Jefferson's Father Abraham. They even operate the region's premiere modern cider brewery, with five varieties, such as Jupiter's Legacy, The Royal Pippin, and The Ragged Mountain. Their Fall Festival, which features numerous vendors and a pie competition, takes place the first weekend of November. VintageVirginiaApples.com Spread the QB joy!It's not a seahorse. It's an ocean pony. And you want it. So start downloading.  
Just a fortnight away!If you live in Richmond, VA, you simply have no excuse for missing out. (Well, unless you get kidnapped by fairies or goblins. We might accept getting slain by a dragon, too.)  The Picture Apothecary: A Really Bad Hair DayBy The Picture Pharmacist QuailBellMagazine.com  Dear fledglings, Here's a life lesson: It's important to be humble. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and admit that we're not the fairest in the land. And, even if we're beautiful enough to have Carpe Diem poems written about us, we should accept that beauty is fleeting. Take these naked nymph chicks, for example. They're pretty attractive--and yet THEIR HAIR IS A MESS. They were probably born thinking they were the hottest sh*t in the sea. Their skin never broke out, blisters evaded them, and cowlicks only happened to mere mortals. Now look at 'em. No gel can tame those crazy manes. (Though you might give them a little help by downloading this file and putting it through Photoshop.) It just goes to show that you can never be totally secure about your babe factor. Keep that in mind on Class Picture Day. Yours truly, The Picture Pharmacist 
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