Monday started off sunny and bright...
with the Hibiscus blooming...
the Goldfinch and Downy Woodpecker
at the "full" bird feeders...
~
~
and the Doves sitting on the birdbath.
~
Then I noticed a few mushrooms in the...
shady moss area...
that's all it took and I started searching then...
and found this one...
on the south side of the house...
~
Standing out...
was this white delicate one...
in the grass of the front yard.
This large dark brown one stood out...
over on the hillside...
and this flaky looking one was on the north side...
as well...
and then
I found this one...on my way to the backyard.
In the back...closer to the woods...
this bright yellow one stood out...as well as...
Mr. Yellow Box Turtle...taking in the sun...
just a bit later...a second one was in view...
and as I walked on...I found a third.
Knowing
you
might
not
believe
me...
~
I
gathered
them
for
proof!
By this time I was on a hunt...
so I went into the woods...
where under this large Maple...
I found box turtle number 4...
Later...
after spotting this white bowing mushroom...
there by a log was turtle number 5...
and a little while later.....Mr. number 6!
The last three were too far a part to roundup...
but,
here's the top of their different patterned shells!
fourth one...
fourth one...
fifth one...
sixth one...
I have Box Turtles galore I guess!
~
After returning home...
~
it was still sunny and bright...
it was still sunny and bright...
But...
that didn't last long...
~
storm clouds swirled in...
...and it quickly changed to this.
After a tremendous amount of rain and...
and terrible thunder and lightning...
~
the skies cleared...
and it was back to sunny and bright!
But then...
the day was made even brighter...
by a surprise visit from...
Granddaughter Katie!
Katie is my youngest son Steve's oldest child...
Katie is my youngest son Steve's oldest child...
Andrew and Dylan's older sister.
~
In the next post I'll show you "what" I found...
In the next post I'll show you "what" I found...
after the storm!
Here's a "very short video" of the rain!
37 comments:
That was very short all right! LOL! Wow, youre granddaughter is pretty wanda! And all those turtles you've found, phew!!! And they're all different, so cute! They all want to be part of that piece of paradise, and who could blame them! Have a wonderful day Wanda!
Wow, that was some rain storm!
Your granddaughter Katie is very beautiful! Don't you feel so lucky to have your family so nearby? I love drop-in visits!
Wanda, every flower, every tree, every rock, every turtle, and every mushroom ~ seriously, a work of art!
Okay, I have both Jayden and Mia today and she'll be here soon so I better run!
I'll be back to enlarge and savor later!
Love,
Eileen
The turtles are cute aren't they! I have always loved turtles. I think that I might have tried naming them Wanda!
Your grandaughter is lovely Wanda!
That was all pretty cool! I'm always impressed by people who just wander and shoot at things that they notice -- like the mushrooms; I'd have never thought about doing a pictoral like you did. You're a clever lady!
Thanks.
Hi, Wanda,
Katie's a beauty and the mushrooms are magnificent. Surely you were down on your belly to get some of those shots.
But those box turtles blow my mind! So many! Funny - of COURSE we would have believed you without the group pic. I can't recall the last time I saw just one. Surely they were getting together for a convention. It's great that they're doing so well!
I felt like I was walking with you, wonderful detail in your pictures.
Your granddaughter is lovely.
Sunny :
Hi Wanda-
Oh how I love walking about your nature-land with you. I am delighted by the colors and shapes of the mushrooms. I am fascinated with the beauty and strength of all the turtles. Amazing.
The rain storm was intense, and your grand-daughter Katie? lovely. :-)
Peace and love
Gail
You have certainly had a real blessing of box turtles, for sure. I've never heard of such abundance. On my best day afield I might have turned up four.
What a wonderful experience!
I continue to take great pleasure in visiting each new post on your blog. Your photos are excellent (I love the 'shrooms and turtles).
That was some rain storm! Sounded a bit like one that moved through here on Tuesday evening, leaving 1.5" of liquid sunshine behind. Surely has made pulling weeds a bit easier.
Wanda,
Wow! These turtles are gorgeous. I can imagine their shells being displayed in a musuem. I have never seen turtles like these before. When I was growing up, I lived across the street from a river, often we would find box turtles all around the river and in the backyards. These turtles were nothing like these. Thank you so much for sharing. It brings back fond memories of discovering turtles.
Okay, not to fear
Your friend Marcy is here
To save the day
From lack of poetry dismay.
The hibiscus was blooming
And the mushrooms were mushrooming
The turtles were everywhere
Wanda photoed(?) them with so much care.
Wanda is an excellent poet
Think this just slipped her mind
You wouldn't even no it
For all the beauty she does find.
Whew, that was tough 'covering' for you, wanda, but what are friends for?
Everything so lovely and still MORE mushrooms of yet different species and I love that white beauty.
Do you ever find any baby box turtles?
You have a lovely granddaughter, too.
blessings and hugs,
marcy
Marcy's gone Poetry Nutty! She in overload! She even left one in my comment box, but she never told me when her birthday was!
I'm going to visit all her friends and start asking around!
Wanda, do you know when Miss Poppins Birthday is?
Sorry, I came here to visit and got caught up in my own post/comments!
I'm off for a walk again! Thank you!
All the best,
Eileen
Hi Wanda, Marcy is so funny...
another great post, Kaite is beautiful and yes Alivia does have her look.
So many turtles, and you know we all would of believed you without the group picture.
Honestly, you should charge admission and let everyone see such a beautiful place, then they could stop on your porch for a cold glass of lemonaide and a warm piece of zucchini bread...ummmmmmm sounds like heaven. Have a great day my friend....:-) Hugs
Hello Wanda,
First, I want to comment on the changes I see on your blog: I like the new Nature heart pictures you've added, and I greatly appreciate the recipes! If I can't come to have a snack with you, at least there's no excuse now - I can bake my own!
You could start a turtle ranch, Wanda. I cannot believe there are so many - thinking of how many you found, surely there were also many that were hidden! Such a colony of turtles must mean you have the perfect ecosystem and conditions for them. My Grandchildren would be thrilled to see even one!
I love the different spores on the underside of the mushrooms - that second one reminds me of, "Beam me up, Scotty!"
Katie is lovely - how old is she?
...Just lovely, Wanda...
when you take pictures and write ... even turtles and mushrooms take on a very special beauty... We can see God's creation through His eyes ~ Maria
You have such a wonderful eye for photography. Just love all the artistic pics. Your drive is beautiful.
Got tickled though when you lined up the turtles.I believed you, honest.
The mushrooms-cum-toadstools are worthy of a book all to themselves! You certainly live in a perfect habitat for them.
This is my third try to relax and enjoy the scenery here and now I have someone on the phone for me!
Let me run. I'll come back tonight when the house is quiet!
Oh, and I'll have to turn down the volume or I'll be running to the bathroom every five minutes with the running water sound!
I have a bladder control problem, you know!
Hello Wanda,
from a glorious Thursday morning which promised to be 28* and still mid winter...
I loved to see all the shapes sizes and textures of those mushrooms on your land...amazing that nature has so many varieties...
and the turtles - I was comparing their shells before you lined them up. Does the shell change in colour and vibrancy with age?
They do have quite different patterns don't they...
the patterns remind me of ancient petroglphs in Hawaii...
#6 is a very complex pattern, #4 and 5 so different...Is #4 an oldie?
thanks Wanda for this interesting nature walk...
Happy days
Thank everyone for leaving such nice comments for me to read...I've been late getting back on today!
...in answer to some questions...
Marcy...Years ago we found baby turtles about 2 inches across...but not since.
Barb...Katie is 16 and very sweet!
Delwyn...#4 was actually smaller than the others,and the shell showed past damage on top.
Some were dustier than others...made me wish I had a towel and water to clean them for their photos.
Wow....beautiful turtles and wonderful mushrooms...are you sure you aren't writing my blog? We have such similar interest in photos...
I loved these!!!!!
Hi Wanda..my Sam loved this post! He used to have a Greek Tortoise..it got sick and died though :( He still misses it and still loves turtles! Number 5 looks like a face..check it out..I bet you'll see it too!
I loved all the mushroom pictures..I wonder how many of them are poisonous?
Your grandaughter is beautiful!
Have a great thursday!
Love, Jerelene
When I was reading your blog, I stood up and looked out the window to see if it was raining. I love how all of the turtles have their own fingerprints!
I have never seen such mushrooms, and discovering Box Turtles too was a treat, I love their patterns which remind me of some African prints I've seen somewhere else - is it called Batik I wonder?
I am in awe of all those different mushrooms you have growing in your area. Some of them are so cute too.
I guess the entire turtle family was relocating somewhere :) They look SO cute :)
I really liked the picture with the hibiscus and the one which has the pink flowers in a pot. WOW!! But the one that took the cake was the picture of the rains from your home. Exotic!!
Oh I forgot to mention! Your grand-daughter Katie looks gorgeous (looking good runs in the family genes me thinks :D)
Wanda, that video was as fast as lightening.What can one say about those turtles and all the other things, I'm left speechless every time I go for a walk with you. Katie looks beautiful.
Beautiful granddaughter, she could be Miss America !
Those box turtles are evrywhere, I'd say their breeding ....
I had a tortoise in England, he was eighty years old, but died one year during his hibernation period.
He was large.
Lovely post so enjoyed the rain...
OMG, I was blog hopping today and found your blog. You made my heart feel great today by bringing back a wonderful memory. My oldest child-who turned 24 Monday-loved turtles when he was a child. We would have to stop and pick up every box turtle we saw. I would let him and his sister keep them in a box for a week then we would take fingernail polish and write the date and their name on the shell of them and set them free. When we moved many years later from that house, I was digging up some flowers to take to the new house and found one of those turtles!!! Still had a little pink polish on his shell and you could make out some of the date. Thanks for giving such a treat today!!
Wanda: What an extraordinary tour of your beautiful garden! Those mushrooms!! I think it was the first pic with the rusty grass spikes all around that grabbed me most. What a shot. And the variety you found . . .
And then - the turtles!!! The designs look like Egyptian hieroglyphics - and each shell so unique.
How kind of you to share such exciting discoveries. Amazing!!
I'm leaving quickly - telling myself I really did not see a recipe for peanut butter cup cookies . . . I did not see it - it does not exist . . . bye.
Wow--I'm so glad to see all your turtles.
How large an area was it that you found them in?
I come across 1 or 2 every so often in our yard, but, sadly, this year, in the last 2 weeks, in fact, I have found 2 dead on our property.
From what I can tell, upper respiratory infections have claimed them. They're very contagious and require antibiotics to survive.
Keep yours safe and healthy--they're lucky to have you watching.
Wanda, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED YOUR WALK TODAY! when huhoney and I lived in MO we picked many mushrooms for dinner! UMMM fried them in butter! we had to be very careful and make sure they were eatable, some were NOT! Use to have a book on mushrooms. UMMM they are beautiful, your pics brought back lots of memories!
Oh Wanda, the walk, the turtles, the mushroom.... that wonderful rain.... You words, the sights and sounds... I'm just standing in awe!
That tree that had your maiden name on it, was filled with names and signs and hearts. Don't you wish that old tree could tell us all the stories it holds.
Can't tell you how much I enjoyed your post today.
LOL:Wanda from Brushstrokes
Beautiful walk, Wanda - loved the photos ~ Eddie
Wow, fantastic post, so many wonderful photos! I love all those different mushrooms, and the tree pic is great!
Great post and photos. The mushroom photos are fantastic and those turtles are so cute.
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