Turtle Crossing--Our Neighbor the Florida Softshell Turtle

     Heading out for our afternoon walk yesterday, Magnolia (aka Maggie, the Magnificent) and I were surprised to see an extra-large turtle crossing the road. She (the turtle) seems as delighted with the recent, much-needed downpours as we are; the little creek that meanders behind our house, then goes under the road by the drain and continues in the yard Ms. Turtle has just left is wonderfully full of flowing water.

     Fortunately, turtles don't run away as fast as much of our neighborhood wildlife. Usually, by the time I run back outside with the camera, a fascinating bird or animal has moved on. The down side for less-speedy turtles is that they are not much good at ducking cars. However, passing neighbors were extremely careful and once the lovely lady had tired of our attention, she turned back to her creek.
     I say "she" because of her size. My trusty Field Guide to Florida confirmed that she is a Florida Softshell Turtle and added that the males of the species grow to about 8" long; the females to 16". Perhaps I'll resist the temptation to comment on that fact. As always, you can double click on a photo to enlarge it and see more detail.
     I'll have a painting to show you soon, but couldn't resist showing you our new friend first.
Question of the day: Do you also drop everything to watch the wildlife around you?

Turtle Crossing--Wildlife in Our Neighborhood

Grrr! Can't get the new Blogger program to accept the fourth photo in a new post. 


So, I'll make this a preview to a post to follow shortly.

Exploring--Our North Florida Back Yard

I have posted before about exploring in our area and discovering all the delights of coastal Northeast Florida. Today, our exploration is even simpler--stepping out our back door. These photos were taken in late October, when we were beginning to experience nights going down into the 50s Fahrenheit and even an occasional dip into the 40s. Our daytime highs have stayed mostly in the 70s with fewer cooler days than we normally experience this time of the year.

Our little Shih-tzu was thrilled to find a turtle in our back yard one day and happily sniffed and nudged it, totally spooking the poor thing into its shell. So I wasn't able to see it clearly or get good photos until later on, without Maggie's interference. I have checked our field guide to Florida, hoping to identify this new friend, but did not see one exactly like it. The highly domed carapace resembles the shells of a couple of turtles from the mud and musk turtle family, but those listed in the field guide were quite a bit smaller than this one, which had a shell about 8" or 9" long. The similar turtle shells shown in the guide were also plainer than this one, without the interesting markings. This turtle's under shell (or plastron) was hinged so that the turtle could raise the front portion to completely close off the openings for the head and front legs after they were pulled in. I plan to do more research on-line when I have some time, but perhaps some of you readers will recognize this lovely beast.

The other photos show our mandevilla vine a few weeks ago at the end of its flowering for the season. It is one of my favorites, with clear, bright pink blossoms. This year, rather than simply clambering on our fence, the vine has a new wrought iron piece to climb. We purchased it from Scott Hornbaker, a talented artisan from St. Mary's, GA who brings his works to our weekly outdoor Riverside Arts Market. My husband admired this piece so much, I decided it was a perfect Father's Day gift (he thought so, too). You can see Scott's artistry at his web site.

I am fortunate that my husband, Mark, loves to work in the yard and has become a Master Gardener since we came to Florida. Guided by his mantra, "right plant; right spot" and his research into using Florida natives in our yard, he has beautified our home on every side. If I feel stressed and need a refreshing break, all I need to do is to step out the door, breathe deeply, and stroll around. Beyond the little fenced-in back yard area, we also have an overgrown, wilder area full of ferns and shaded by evergreen Laurel Oaks (a relative of the better known southern Live Oaks) with a small creek at the very back. You can glimpse that area in the back yard photo in my last post from earlier this week. The creek is probably the home of our turtle friend, who has not ventured up close to the house again since our small dog gave it an over-enthusiastic welcome.

Question of the day: What outdoor delights have you found at home or nearby in recent weeks?