whichever of you is a turtle expert do tell me

The zinnia's were planted 5/30, the seeds germinated on 6/1, they survived the inch of rain that fell in a one hour time frame on 6/3, and this is what they looked like on 6/5 when I did my after work garden inspection rounds.  The larger one you see in the back is a volunteer that came up from last year.  I have about 6 or 7 of them too.  

Stuff like this excites me.  The red husker penstemon below are at their peak right now.  

Such a wonderful, reliable, care-free, flower that is easily spread but not overly invasive. 

Something else surprising and exciting this week was a turtle spotting in my yard. 

I have never noticed those bright orange markings on a turtle before.  Whichever of you is a turtle expert do tell me... is this common? Maybe I just haven't seen enough turtles yet in my life. In which case, I better start doing more looking.  

Thistles are blooming right now too.  

These are not in my garden, I pluck them as soon as I see them coming up there. But I certainly can appreciate them on a walk.  

Particularly when set against a nice blue sky.  

Comments

[Debbie J]

Yes, turtles can have bright stripes or spots, on different areas of their shells. I looked up yours and found out that it's likely to be a - northern red-bellied cooter.
No, I didn't make up that name!

[jacki long]

The thistles are amazing?

[Wendy]

Looks like a painted turtle. And no I didn’t make that up either.

[Wendy]

Red-bellied Cooters can be confused with painted turtles. You can distinguish a red-bellied cooter by its larger size, reddish plastron and lack of yellow marks on its head.

https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/red_bellied_turtle

[jeanette sclar]

I hope you picked it up to see the underside! If it's like the ones in my yard, It's underside is covered in beautiful colored "graphics".

[Carol]

Oh I was so worried about not disturbing it I did not even think about picking it up. Silly me.

[Carol]

Thanks for this Wendy!