HEARTWOOD CHAPTER

Rain finally fell in southeast Texas yesterday. The all-day, soaking rain wet soil down to the roots, ending a near-record drought. Some of the native plants are already showing greener signs of welcome for the nitrogen-enriched precipitation.

Two flame skipper dragon flies flitted above the little pond between the blades of the pickeral weed, Louisiana iris, swamp crinums and spider lilies. They've been around before, but they are better suited to the Southwest than here. Perhaps the fires and drought there may have coaxed them here?

Myrtle, the red-eared turtle, laid some eggs on the east side of the building. They are scheduled to hatch this week. The hatchlings will dig themselves out of the chamber she laid them in, and hide out in the grasses and brush near the pond until their soft underbelly - the location of their yolk sac - hardens. Then they will enter the pond. But the pond, already overpopulated by red-ears, may be too crowded for most of them. The majority of the hatchlings will migrate to other nearby ponds and streams. Most of them will run a gauntlet of snakes, bullfrogs, birds, raccoons, foxes and coyotes (not to mention the occasional family dog or feral cat). Myrtle usually lays five to seven eggs in the hole she laboriously digs. Perhaps five of them will hatch, and one may make it to adulthood.

Myrtle usually responds to foot-tapping, walking right up to one's foot to investigate with her weak eyesight. She knows that most times the foot tapping is a call for watermelon or cantaloupe bits, two of her favorite foods. Today, however, she did not appear. I suspect that the rain, triggering some ancient biorythm, has coaxed her to lay more eggs and she's off somewhere excavating. 

Several of us saw two rather large rats cavorting in a bean patch over at the community garden about a week ago. Two days later, one of the gardeners said she found a half-eaten rat near her plot. Another gardener reported today that she saw a large cat in the garden, apparently hunting. Putting together the obvious, there may be some purpose for feral cats. There is a nest of bluebirds in the garden, a flock of mockingbirds and several doves that habituate the garden and so far we've seen no signs of cat predation among them.

Photos