Elusive Turtles

The geese, both the adults and the goslings, were strangely absent when I was walking at Lake Jeanette on Sunday. They apparently have gone some place where the grass is watered more often. I have been trying to capture the turtles sunning themselves. They seem to have incredibly sensitive hearing because as soon as I come close, they dive into the water. There are sometimes as many as four turtles on the branch appearing in the picture below. I need to attach a stronger lens to my camera the next time. 

When I was a kid growing up in Maryland, I found a box turtle in the field opposite our house and brought it back to our yard, thinking it would remain there as a pet. Unfortunately, when I looked for it the next day, it had escaped. Since we moved so often and gave away our animals as we moved to my father's new naval duty station, I didn't have a pet of my own, and I think of this turtle as my first pet even though our relationship was brief.

Clicking on the picture will enlarge it.

Native Flowers

Occasionally, I have been taking a break from the classes that I have been teaching this summer to cultivate two flowerbeds of native flowers. I transplanted the Black-eyed Susans from another spot in the yard a couple of years ago and have been pleasantly surprised at how abundant they have gotten. I haven't had to do much to the phlox and coneflowers. Although the phlox were slow to bloom, they typically remain in bloom until late summer or early fall. 

I'm reluctant to disturb the soil in these flowerbeds, even though I should add richer soil, because I don't want to lose the seeds from these flowers. I planted more coneflower seeds this spring, but the seeds didn't produce the number of plants that I expected. It may take another year before I will see much more growth.

I am adding a few pictures of the flowers in my yard. Clicking on each picture will enlarge it. 

Geese, Goslings, and Great Blue Heron

I finally managed to get pictures of the geese and this year's goslings on the grounds of the Veterans Administration. Someone was feeding them bread while I was there, despite the signs warning people not to feed the geese. At one point, the goslings ran toward me, thinking that I was going to feed them as well. I probably would have picked up a package of organic spinach on the way if I had intended to feed them.

Blooming Trees_2023

I got away from my desk today for long enough to get a few pictures of the trees in bloom. Pear trees are considered an invasive species where I live; even so, they are some of the first trees to bloom in the spring and are often pretty, despite their appearing ghostlike on occasion.

I recommend that you click on the first picture and then scroll through the pictures for the best viewing.