She Knows

   For a number of years now, a small box turtle has been living around the place.  She mainly stays in the cooling shade under the shed near Bat, the cat, or slides down into the Frog Pond to catch tadpoles.  The turtle never ventures far from the backdoor which is just a few feet from both the shed and pond.  Knowing that these turtles never roam far, one expects this but I tend to think there is another reason this particular turtle remains nearby.  This all started years ago and involves Son who has such a wonderfully kind heart.  One day while he was actually working on some repairs on the shed, he found the box turtle stuck between the shed deck and a roll of fencing.  She could not budge so he freed her and then "hinted" that perhaps she was hungry.  I fetched some apple that he hand-fed to her.  Later the turtle happily went on its way and we figured that would be that.  We were wrong.  The turtle came back for more handouts and still, to this day, knows we will ply her with a meal.

  I went on to eventually name our sweet critter friend.  The name came from an elderly lady who fed the turtles when I was a child.  Ms. Virginia had dozens of turtles that came to her doorstep for food.  I was there several times and was allowed to "help" her feed her turtle friends.  The memory begged for me to name our turtle after that sweet lady of so long ago.  Virginia, the turtle, is now a longtime resident "pet" of ours.  She comes daily to receive treats and even has a delightful way of letting you know she is hungry.  Once the turtle spies one of us, she ambles over and raises her left front foot as a sign that she is ready to eat.  It works like a charm!  Virginia will always be treated like a queen here!

  Today was no different. Virginia came out from beneath the shed as soon as she saw Son going down the back steps.  She scurried (if a turtle can scurry) up to him, looked longingly into his eyes and raised that left front foot.  His heart melted...I darted inside to get a snack of watermelon...Virginia was happy.  Folks, be kind to all creatures.  Friends come in all shapes and sizes.

Raindrops and Watermelons

This day started most wonderfully.  I was awakened a little after four this morning by the sound of raindrops on the rooftop!  Ahhh..such a wonderful sound!  We have been in a "semi-drought" as of late.  Not dry enough to be a full-fledged problem but still dry..too dry.  I worried with the upcoming holiday's fireworks as some folks do not use a lot of common sense.  Any time a bit of spark hits dry grass and leaves, there is bound to be devastating consequences.  The Little Bayou House is pretty much surrounded by woods or marsh..both which will burn rapidly when dry.  Now with the all day rain, I can rest a bit easier.  This morning, I laid there listening to the rain.  I knew I needed to hop out of bed before sunrise but I needed just a few moments to relish the delightful sound!  Then..through the rain, I heard the mockingbird..uh, oh!  Time to rise!  My intentions of getting to the fig trees before the birds was almost waylaid by the rain!  Since I like figs more than I mind getting a bit wet, I was out with the birds this morning!

Off and on during the day, the rain showers came.  The moisture and dark clouds made it quite comfortable temperature-wise but it also kept me inside.  Needless to say, I got a bit stir crazy and along about five in the evening, I headed to the pier.  No dark clouds were going to keep me cooped up forever!  It was not long before the rains came a bit too heavy to be outside.  Hurrying up the hill, I just made it inside when I heard Ms. Ezzy sound the alarm that someone was at the door.   Now who else would be outside on a day like this?

My brother was at the door bearing a wonderful surprise!  He had cut a watermelon and brought me half of it! Oh my!  I could hardly wait!  There is nothing better than cold watermelon on a hot day on the Bayou...and this melon was icy!  I decided right then and there that I must have the best brothers in the world!  Who else would brave a storm to bring you something so delightful?

Raindrops and watermelons..two of my favorite things during the summertime!  Both are cool and refreshing!  And if you throw a brother in the mix..things are nigh on perfect!

Masters of Disguise

This morning's walk was starting out as any other morning's walk. I headed out the door, took the path through the flower gardens and headed to the vegetable patch. Nothing was out of the ordinary, everything was as I had left it last night. Nothing momentous had occurred overnight. As I meandered through what used to be the lilies, a small movement caught my eye. No..maybe not. Maybe it was just the wind, but there was no breeze to be felt. Maybe my imagination? (I have talked about that before earlier, I do have an active imagination.) Ahh, there it was again. Almost too tiny to see, but definitely a movement. It took me a while to find, but a tiny lizard was on the hunt this early morn. It was so well camouflaged that I could hardly tell it from the dried lily blossom. I took picture after picture as it happily clung to the lily. It was only maybe three inches in length and was hunting tiny gnats and mosquitoes. I was really glad to see it in my garden and was careful not to disturb its hunt. After my walk, I looked at the pictures. I photographed two lizards that were just inches apart! I had not even seen the green one! They are definitely adept at disguising themselves.

Although these lizards are of two different colors, they are both the same species. The Green Anole is usually five to seven inches long and varies in color from bright green to dusky brown. They eat a multitude of bugs so are considered "garden friendly".

Speaking of the garden, a lot of it is dying out. The days have been quite hot recently and we could use a rain. It threatened rain today, but instead just thundered a bit. Thunder does not water the plants! I was happy to see that the Silver Crowder Peas were all poking their heads out of the ground in spite of no rain. Strangely, the one thing doing quite well is the watermelon. A lone watermelon plant started out in the tomato patch, rambled through the bell peppers, past the pole beans and is now entering the pea patch. It is headed toward the house! I will let it wander where it wants unless it starts to become too unruly. We shall see!