A Not So Sunny Sunday

Starting off today, I offer you this little glory of the snow plant, which I spied yesterday outside the restaurant, but failed to include in last night's post.

I'm not sure we had an actual freeze last night, but it was certainly chilly...a condition which continued throughout this overcast day. I still got a reasonable amount accomplished in various garden locales, but did so with more layers than I needed earlier in the week.



Here's a long shot of the garden at the back of the house. Let's see, from left to right, there's violets, trillium, primroses, money plant, assorted daffodils, a host of hostas, and a rose bush, with assorted ferns mixed in here and there.

Oh, yes...and a chipmunk waiting behind the trillium for me to go away!


In the back garden (which you can see is starting to look a bit tidier than the winter had left it), I got a good deal more weeding done, and started spreading around some of that new topsoil.


The cherry tree's blooming pretty nicely...and I think I heard the telltale sounds of baby chickadees from inside this old birdhouse.

There was certainly plenty of bird activity out there this morning, like this chipping sparrow who was rooting around in the unraked territory beneath the apple tree.


There were the usual chickadees and cardi
nals ...and I think I heard an oriole (it's been a few months, though, since I've heard them, so I'll reserve confirmation of their return until a visual sighting is possible.). A mob of crows were trying to deter some larger bird from raiding their nests. I saw them all more in silhouette than dead clearly, but I think a hawk was the culprit they pursued.


I also spent some attention on the front garden bed, from which I attempted yet another surgical removal of the rampant wisteria vines that crisscross the bed. I have little hope I got it all...but I was able to get a heck of a lot of the stuff out, which is a step in the right direction. Once that was done, I added some of that nice fresh topsoil.


From the road as I left for work comes this view of our very full pond. Nice little spot.


And I'll bring the weekend to a close with a reminder to you all: the days of Spring go by pretty quickly and before you know it, you're trying to figure out how to disguise old daffodil foliage behind daylilies...so don't forget to stop and enjoy the flowers!!

Alt-turtle-tive Lifestyles...?

Love in the Grapes 

Well, paint my shell pink!

This afternoon, I was out back, tending to some watering after I got home (early morning at work, so missed the usual sunrise watercan tour)...and kept hearing this rustling, clacking sound in the margin of wild grapes at the garden's northeastern corner. Finally, feeling brave, I started looking carefully around...and discovered two box turtles.

One was the fellow with the damaged-and-repaired shell I photographed on Memorial Day...but upside down and tight inside. The other, with undamaged shell, was trying to right the first one...with, after some time, no success. Typical human, with no real sense of what was going on, but wanting to help, I reached in to help and turned the upside down one right, recognized him as my old friend and set him back down beside the other, and stepped away. I left them for a while, concerned as my mind considered all the possible scenarios I might have interrupted. Was my damaged friend dead, and the other mourning? Were they feeling amorous? I continued with the watering, hoping I'd return to find them gone...and thereby healthy.

I heard more rustling/clacking sounds...and then looked back to find the undamaged one was pushing the other - still closed up tight - through the brush. Not sure if I was witnessing mating, or some ritual for the dead, I went inside and googled the eastern box turtle for any information I might uncover.

First, I discovered that males of the species are slightly larger...AND that they have red eyes, while the females' eyes are a grayer shade. Mating rituals are supposed to go on throughout the summer. This tells me (after a quick look back for reference at the earlier photos) that both of these turtles today are male, and perhaps the one with undamaged shell was trying to get lucky...and the other, earlier-spotted one, was maybe playing dead, trying to get the other guy to go away. Who hasn't been there? So now I wonder...do we have gay turtles in our yard? Who can say...

While further googling for any reference to specific instances of homosexual behavior in the species, I found no particular information there that was on topic. However, I did find references to the right-wing bozo (in deference to my Pennsylvania friends who might be embarrassed by their senator, I'll not name him) who declared that gay marriage was like your neighbor marrying a box turtle. Which is exactly the kind of thing I go out to the garden to avoid.

At any rate, I can think of few gardens where a gay turtle (not that there's anything wrong with that) would be more welcome! Oh, yes, and when I looked for them this evening, they both appeared to have moved on to other things...or maybe a more private thicket.

Early Produce...

Berries ripening... 

...near grapes on sprawling vines. 

(( PSSST!!! Don't tell the birds...!! ))