Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
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gardening in the North Carolina piedmont
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
2d ago
Penelope Shelley, the garden’s resident female box turtle, made her first appearance of the year this afternoon. I always try to give her a treat when I see her, but I didn’t have any berries in the refrigerator today. Instead, I scrounged around and found two earthworms, a slug, and a periodical cicada nymph. She ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
3w ago
The first four photos this week are from my garden. The last two are animals, not plants, and were taken at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham–so from a garden, just not my garden. 1. Narcissus ‘Golden Echo’ I have two Narcissus hybrids currently flowering which have lovely contrasting color patterns. ‘Golden Echo’ has a ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
“The turtle lives ‘twixt plated decks Which practically conceal its sex. I think it clever of the turtle In such a fix to be so fertile.” –Ogden Nash I’m actually not sure if the turtle underneath was a very unenthusiastic female or a male who didn’t want to fight. Either way, it was boxed up ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
While I was watering some plants earlier this week, I happened to look down and noticed some small bones protruding from a tangled clump of lobelia and other perennials. Closer inspection revealed a scattering of vertebrae and long bones, and an intact skull. If you have wildlife your garden, you’ll eventually have deceased wildlife. It’s ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
A much needed rain shower on June 16 brought an old friend out of hiding. It was the first time we had seen Penelope Shelley since 2019, and I was beginning to worry that something had happened to her. She appeared beside the vegetable garden at dusk but unfortunately there were no ripe tomatoes to ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
Last July, we found a dead redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) on our driveway, but we couldn’t be sure if it was resident on our property or had been dropped by a bird. This morning, my wife found a live one crossing one of our garden paths. What I find most interesting is that Dekay’s brown ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
This is a sequel of sorts to my old post about tiny snakes that North Carolina gardeners are likely to find in their flower beds. After discussing eastern worm snakes, Dekay’s brown snakes, and smooth earth snakes, I wrote “If your garden is adjacent to a creek or moist woodland, you may find a redbelly ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
Six on Saturday today is another garden project. This one adds wildlife habitat to your garden and provides the opportunity to see animals that are usually hidden from view. 1. Cover boards A cover board is exactly what it sounds like: a wooden board or piece of sheet metal that is placed on the ground ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
I almost stepped on this pair of copperheads when I went to feed the chickens on Thursday morning. Luckily, they were so focused on each other, they didn’t even flinch when I did a sort of skip-hop over their heads. Based on their patterns, these are not the same two that my wife found last ..read more
Sweetgum and Pines » Reptiles
5M ago
My wife thought she had found one very long copperhead when she went out to water her kale seedlings, but it turned out to be an amorous pair. According to Reptiles of North Carolina by Palmer and Braswell (University of North Carolina Press), copperheads have been found mating in April and September, so this seems ..read more