Tom the Snapping Turtle

Returning from getting groceries the other day I saw this field of short plants with white flowers and wondered what they were. I couldn't get close enough to identify them because there was a large drainage ditch between me on the road and the plants. The soil here is heavily clay and most farmers need to install drainage tiles to prevent the buildup of water so there are many deep drainage ditches along all of the roads here. I revisited the same spot later in the week and was able to focus on a few plants. They are Rubus fruticosus - blackberries.  Check out the leaves in the last shot in this series of photos. Clicking on photos will enlarge them.

Carlo says that there may be as many as 180 species of Rubus in Europe with maybe 59 in Denmark. The concept of species - which are which - is not easy. People may argue about which species and/or subspecies are which. Carlo simply says, "I would recommend 1 kg of sugar of berries to make a good jam." Practical, eh?

. . . - "apomixis is the usual way  of reproduction in this genus (blackberries)". Apomixis is the formation of seeds without fertilization. Most plants produce pollen which in turn produces sperm to fertilize the eggs of most plants. Common garden violets reproduce via apomixis producing viable seeds without fertilization.

That same day as I drove down my own driveway and approached my home, I saw a doe leading her recently birthed fawn across my road. She ran reluctantly but the fawn was unsteady and fell or dropped into the shallow gully along the driveway. Thinking it might have been stuck in the muck, I got out of the car. It was OK, just "sheltering in place". Admittedly I have way too many deer here. They invade my garden and eat my plants. Now I plant only plants that are deer resistant. That seems to mitigate the damage - unless they are very hungry.It is cute but . . . 

The Siberian iris have just started flowering. The blue of this one is special, eh?

I love Baptisia. I have several plants; this yellow one is in bud and soon will open. After flowering the plants form a nice clump resembling a small bush and reduce weeds surrounding them. They are also great reduces of soil erosion,

One of my striped lily of the valley plants - deer resistant. I know it's invasive. I know it's not a native plant. I. Don't. Care. So are dandelions - aliens. Invasive.

A yellow old fashioned iris rescued from a cemetery. I never take the current rhizome growth but take one old, three or four or five year old, portion of a clump. The oldest part of the rhizome I can find. It takes a while to grow and flower but the current cemetery mother plant isn't damaged.

We've had two nights of strong storms - wind and rain. That often stirs up the bottom sediment on Lake Huron. Really deep water is protected from the stirring and for a few days after a good storm, you can see the sand suspended in the shallower water. (The sandy area nearer shores is still very deep. The darker blue area is much deeper allowing freighters passage.

Last year this snapping turtle appeared as a recently hatched baby in my pond. I wondered if he would survive the winter - he did. He's grown a lot but not from eating my "platinum fish" (my white goldfish). Maybe he's eating minnows, bought as bait fish from a nearby tackle store? But I doubt it. Perhaps it eats things like tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs, earthworms, etc.? Regardless it will soon be time to release him into a real lake - Lake Huron - hope I can catch him. I've named him "Tom" - after my cousin who loved turtles.