Fall Comes To the Cottage Garden
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- Cottage_Garden
- Howie
- CarolWallace
- Cottage_Garden
- CarolWallace
- Cottage_Garden
- Daffyclay
- Cottage_Garden
- Cottage_Garden
- Howie
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» Cottage_Garden - I saw two today over about 100 miles of driving: one crossing th
I saw two today over about 100 miles of driving: one crossing the highway and one smushed on a back road. I always wonder how a driver can hit a turtle. It's not like their path is unpredictable.Barbara Martin
The Cottage Garden Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» Howie - A couple of years ago I spotted a large snapping turtle slowly c
A couple of years ago I spotted a large snapping turtle slowly crossing a back road.<img src="http://suite101.com/userfiles/602/Blue_M..." width="209" height="131" alt="Blue_Mushrooms .jpg (19484 bytes)" align="left">
To get it out of harms way, I gingerly grabbed it by the rear of its shell as it attempted to bite my hand off. I won. So did the turtle although it did not know it.
Howie
Garden
Adventures
-- posted by Howie
» CarolWallace - The only turtle I've ever seen around here is the one my husband
The only turtle I've ever seen around here is the one my husband got from one of his students who was told she couldn't keep it in her dorm room. He lives in our bog pond now, suns himself by climbing up on the larger waterlily pots and disappears almost as soon as we appear.<img src="http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/rhubarb.gif" alt="rheum" align=left>
Carol
virtually gardening
-- posted by CarolWallace
» Cottage_Garden - Several years ago we were shoveling mulch and accidently hit a t
Several years ago we were shoveling mulch and accidently hit a turtle and damaged the shell a bit. After that, it wandered off into the woods where it had probably been headed before it encountered that lovely mulch pile.We saw it scrabble a bit and decided it was at least still functioning. (We felt terrible.) The next spring we kept an eye out in that general area but didn't see it come out.
Two years later in the fall we think we saw the same turtle again -- a bit of scarring on the shell and same general patch of woods. Quite amazing!
One day about 5 years ago I rescued a baby wood turtle from the road close by -- the flat kind, not a box turtle. It was amazing -- brought it home in a cookie tin I happened to have in the car and after we all looked it we let it go. Haven't seen one of them again though.
Saw a huge snapper in the road next to the nearly vernal pond we call a ditch around the corner last spring -- scared the dickens out of me! Had to back the car up and do a triple take. Howie I can't believe you picked it up!!!! Those things look totally lethal and prehistoric and well, frightening!
Barbara Martin
The Cottage Garden Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» CarolWallace - Last summer I was driving down the interstate coming home from a
Last summer I was driving down the interstate coming home from an auction and saw a turtle placidly walking across the highway. It was moving at such an unnatural pace compared to what we are accustomed to judging on the highway that I didn't know what to do. I think I missed it. I hope I missed it. I have worried about it ever since.Remember the turtle who opens The Grapes of Wrath? I have always wondered what became of it, too. <img src="http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/rhubarb.gif" alt="rheum" align=left>
Carol
virtually gardening
-- posted by CarolWallace
» Cottage_Garden - Soup? That's one thing I have never had occasion to eat. Ba
Soup? That's one thing I have never had occasion to eat.Barbara Martin
The Cottage Garden Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» Daffyclay - Barbara, Jonathan was a little harsh on the turtle "mom," was
Barbara,Jonathan was a little harsh on the turtle "mom," wasn't he?
What makes the turtles cross the road? Significance please!
I've replaced the humingbird feeder (haven't seen a hummingbird for two weeks)with the thistle seed Goldfinch feeder. They've eaten about half already.
Dogwoods have been turning in my yard for about a month now. The Virginia Creeper is only turning where I hit them with roundup.
We already have a large leaf fall, I think because of the dry soil. Yeah, it's that time for a change in the season.
Frozen water and Snow flakes soon. (I know - frozen water is called ice. However, it's still just frozen water.)
Clay Higgins, Editor: Clay's Daffodils
claydlp@juno.com
-- posted by Daffyclay
» Cottage_Garden - More like truthful I suspect -- they're only turtles, after all.
More like truthful I suspect -- they're only turtles, after all. They do what they have to do. And his depiction and description of turtly motherly duties caught my attention. If my daughter ever accuses me of being a turtly mom then I KNOW I'm in trouble -- although I suspect it's already too late for that!Who knows what the next incarnation will be?!
Anyway -- I think they cross the road because they have a territory and they need to go home. I could probably look it up and put upp some nice links. Otherwise, they are just one of those immutable signs of fall and we feel lucky when we witness them.
I have thistles in the garden and still see little birds nibbling here and there -- no sunflower seeds this time, though so we'll see if thast makes a difference. I have so many natural foods out there I don't usually do a feeder, but maybe I should. I suspect there are many neato birds up in the woods and maybe we could lure them out.
Our dogwoods are turning a bit more red from the muddy rouge of last week -- we have had two cool nighds and days of drizzly rain ( no inches to account for but a very nice soft and slow maybe it will sink in kind of dripping rain).
A friend of mine said she had ice on her birdbath one morning last week -- she lives on a ridge and saw the squirrels tapping on it in the early morning. My impatiens are still fine so no way so cold here yet.
I hate winter but sometimes it is interesting and my allergies are getting so bad I think most of my outdoor activities for recreational purposes will need to be in cold weather now.
Barbara Martin
The Cottage Garden Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» Cottage_Garden - Is it too early to plan cold weather activities or are we plotti
Is it too early to plan cold weather activities or are we plotting some good stuff? I hope to redo my veggie garden this late fall after allergy season and prime it for some serious spring planting. Barbara MartinThe Cottage Garden Editor
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
» Howie - Barbara, the turtle you unearthed in the compost heap was probab
Barbara, the turtle you unearthed in the compost heap was probably getting ready to lay some eggs.<img src="http://suite101.com/userfiles/602/Blue_M..." width="209" height="131" alt="Blue_Mushrooms .jpg (19484 bytes)" align="left">
The heat generated by composting suits them very well. A few years ago I discovered a clutch of turtle eggs in the village mulch pile that was quite warm inside. I moved them to a more remote pile for safer keeping
Howie
Garden
Adventures
-- posted by Howie
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