Still Spring Garden in November
In our garden on Monday, November 9, Jane and I were greeted by a just-discovered neighbor of ours. She is an Eastern Box Turtle and is approximately seven inches long and five inches wide. Her eyes are dark brown (males have red eyes) and she has a unique pattern on her upper and lower shells. When she was picked up from the rock where she was sunning, she quickly retreated into these protective shells which act as armor for her when she's frightened. She is a woodland turtle and lives on land rather than in the water. After looking her over thoroughly, we put her back into her original position on the warm rock and continued our work nearby. By the time we finished our work, she had disappeared into the foliage. Turtles are assumed to be slow creatures, but this new friend really managed to do a perfect job of hiding.
Now we need your help! We hope you will keep your eyes open when you are in the garden. When you have a "turtle sighting", carefully watch her movements and let us know exactly where you saw her. We can all learn so much by simply finding this new neighbor and finding out about her life. Also, we need to find a new name for her. Anyone who would like to offer a suggestion is welcome to let us know. Our wonderful garden continues to surprise us!
Thank you, Sandy, for your observations!
And we want to thank Jennie and Chris for donating and planting a coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). It is climbing the hummingbird sculpture. "The tubular flowers are a favorite nectar source for hummingbirds, and the seeds are sought by Bobwhites, Northern Cardinals, Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, goldfinches, and sparrows. Medicinally, the juice from the plant has been used to treat bee stings." (Horn & Cathcart) Finally, notice how the bright yellow goldenrod flowers have morphed into fluffy seed heads.