Box Turtle Enclosure: Progression Thread

[Nanci]

Mint and thyme under the edge of the deck. I love plants that when you brush up against them, they smell good!

 

[aameenah]

Best. Backyard. Ever! Nanci I love what you've done! I can imagine you could spend days one end watching the drama of the forts unfold!

 

[Nanci]

Katy has been here for several days now.

 

[Nanci]

The new lily has been putting out leaves like crazy, and FINALLY a flower has broken the surface. I can tell it is going to be white. Tonight I will have to look through all the catalogs and see if I can identify it. It was unmarked when I bought it. The other lily, Mrs. George Hitchcock, has not sent up a bloom yet. Tina and Albert must love the heat and rain, they have two or three blooms every day now, with plenty of buds and leaves forming.

 

[Nanci]

And this is a very small Hatfield offspring. At least I think so- he's in the Terra Pen. He's about an inch long and very skittish.

 

[Nanci]

Frogs!!! I have Frogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And are they ever hard to take pictures of!! First I saw a froglet, with a tail, sitting on a lily pad. It immediately hopped into the water, but came out in a minute. I ran to get the camera; it was gone. But I sat and waited. I was rewarded with frog number two, more mature. I have named him Frogger.

 

[Nanci]

He looks like a bullfrog to me. Maybe not, though, the tadpoles were not huge. The froglet was much smaller, and seemed different. I had to take these from a long ways away; he is very suspicious.

 

[Nanci]

Here is a caterpillar I found living in the pond:

 

[Nanci]

And one living on the fig tree in Fort Tort. Katydid left yesterday. I miss her.

 

[Nanci]

Same caterpillar, not so much flash:

 

[Nanci]

Surprise!!

Isabel and I went out to look for Frogger this morning. We discovered the sneaky new lily still in bloom! So that narrows things down in terms of ID, but I still can't find a night-blooming white lily with non-serrated leaves...

 

[Nanci]

Close up :

 

[Nanci]

On our way into the house, I was surprised to find a toad sitting on the steps. How did he climb up five steps?

 

[Nanci]

If only snakes were as easy to catch as toads. You just pick them up.

 

[Nanci]

Since the steps are going to be well over 100F in a few hours, and since I am going to be lawn mowing and weed whacking, I relocated Toad to Terra Pen, where he can have his very own pond.

 

[alan]

Are you keeping count? Soon the Department of the Interior will come by and do a biological survey. I think if they declare your patio a wildlife refuge you can get gov't money (and maybe a Park Ranger).

 

[Jrgh17]

Are you keeping count? Soon the Department of the Interior will come by and do a biological survey. I think if they declare your patio a wildlife refuge you can get gov't money (and maybe a Park Ranger).

Edit: 'maybe a HOT Park Ranger.'

 

[tricksterpup]

Edit: 'maybe a HOT Park Ranger.'

Ranger Smith?

 

[Nanci]

Found 'Em!

I found Frog #1 tonight! He isn't as flighty as last night. I was right- he's a perfect snack size. Maybe that's why he's staying high and dry.

 

[Nanci]

Look at the tail on him! Isn't that strange? This is much more fascinating than when I was a child and took these things as a matter of course...