Large family takes up residence on Fourth Ave.

A family of soon to be 15 members has recently taken up residence in the backyard of Tammy Tokas. A male and female quail have built a nest beneath Karen Carlson's (Tokas' sister) outdoor chimenea and laid 13 eggs.

When the weather starts warming up it's not uncommon for Karen to build a fire so she and Tammy can sit outside and enjoy it. Imagine her surprise when she went to move the chimenea in order to mow the lawn and discovered the nest and eggs beneath. She quickly sat the chimenea back down so as not to disturb them. "I guess I was helping to incubate them," says Karen.

For those of you concerned with the eggs being below a fireplace you need not fear. The chimenea seems to be a perfectly safe place for a nest. It sits on a raised stand that has a plate attached towards the bottom of it that helps with stability and also acts as a heat barrier for your lawn or whatever is below it. So it gets warm but not too hot to burn anything.

When I asked Karen about the use of the chimenea she said, "I haven't used it since I found them. It's a precautionary thing, as I don't want to disturb her until they hatch. Besides, the neighbors have one that we go over and enjoy with them."