Where do turtles come from?

Where do turtles come from?

A few days ago there was a commotion in the backyard. The dogs were barking and the boys ran out and immediately spotted something out of place.

It was a rather large striped turtle.

I was of course concerned that it might be a man eating turtle so I called my friend who is a turtle expert,  The Lizard King, primarily because he can do anything. He said that it was a harmless slider turtle probably looking for a quiet place to lay some eggs.  Indeed he was correct. The turtle did not eat us but instead shuffled over to a hole next to the raised beds and slept for a while.

I disturbed Mrs. Turtle only briefly to snap this photo.  She was there all day and I expected to wake up and find the turtle lumbering around the backyard.

But when I woke up the turtle was gone without a trace. So, this leads to my first question: Where do turtles come from and where do they go? I have a 6 ft tall fence around my yard. This turtle would have to travel across the street, through the yard and somehow crawl under my fence. The gates are locked so I am sure he wouldn't have unlocked the gate. The turtle's whereabouts are a mystery to this day.

In light of the turtle incident I decided to dedicate this post to the various animals around the garden.

Here are two nice dragon flies:

A bumble bee:

My wife does an excellent job keeping bees. Here are some of her hives:

I may write a post dedicated to the bees in the future. The bees are great for the garden as some plants, including squash, require cross pollination to produce fruit and the bees are perfect for the job.

There are also some bugs that are quite bad for the garden. I am having trouble with cabbage moths. Here is my cabbage and a moth:

If anyone has any ideas for getting rid of these cabbage pests I am looking for suggestions.

Regardless of these pests the garden is going well. 

Here are some Beans

The tomatoes and cucumbers are quite large

Here is the new garden. I have planted new squash and lettuce here.

And here is the exciting lettuce

Here are my cantaloupe. I am experimenting with ways to prevent them from rotting. I turn the regularly and have propped them up on boards to keep them off of the ground. 

Thank you for visiting.