Turtle Blues*

Or perhaps the title should have been Turtle Peaches.

Our story begins back in mid March. The little purple leaf peach tree that was started from a cutting by good neighbor Mickey is blooming. The tree has been limbed up a bit so the plants underneath would get more light and water. It sported the most flowers ever, in spite of so many branches having been removed.

The fruits are normally ignored, for they are usually very dark purple and shriveled. This year they almost look like the real deal.

But let us back up a bit. On a garden perusal, carried out several times per day, every day, movement was caught just at the corner of vision. Upon looking down, we saw a peach lying in the ajuga near the path by the black garden. It was rolling around and had bites taken out of it. Getting down real low, knees cracking in protest, an eyeball was spotted. It was the eater of the peach.

Oh baby! Gravel was scattered from the path as little feet ran as fast as they could back to the house to get the camera. Upon return, our diner was still in place, frozen like a statue. We set the mini tripod on the bricks edging the path and also froze in place, waiting.

The legs and head remained outside of the decorative shell, she did not pull inside. But the legs turned away from the camera. Oh rats, she was leaving the scene. But no, that was not her intention.

She wasn’t leaving. She was moving the peach to get a bite of unscathed fuzzy flesh. As the head stretches full length, the similarities to the snake relative is scarily apparent.

Her appetite is voracious, her tongue is pink, she is an epicurean at the banquet table in the Black Garden section of the Fairegarden.

The jaw is like a piece of heavy machinery, a steam shovel perhaps?. Is that design based on the mechanics of this prehistoric looking creature?

The complexity of the shell is enchanting. Is this an example of the Fibonacci in action? Research shows this to be the case. Here is what was found at a very interesting web site about the lore of the turtle clan:
Turtle shells have special mystical significance. The top of the turtle shell or carapace consists of 33 plates or scutes. Five spinal scutes called vertebrals, 8 flanking scutes (4 per side) called pleurals and ringed in by 20 edge scutes called marginals. There is an extra pseudo-scute called the cervical making 21 in all. On the bottom or plastron are six pairs of scutes from head to tail called the gular, humeral, pectoral, abdominal, femoral and anal. The intergulars are very tiny and are part of the gulars. The 5 vertebral scutes and the 8 surrounding pleurals make 13, then add in the 21 scutes around the edge for a total of 34 scutes in all and the sequence follows the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth terms of the Fibonacci Sequence where each succeeding number in the sequence is obtained by adding the previous two (e.g. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc). Fascinating stuff, eh?

Watching the turtle tearing into the overripe peach was pure magic. It was a happy accident to have discovered this meal taking and to be able to record it on pixels to share and remember.

Frances

Please enjoy this piece, the work of the legendary Janis Joplin recorded with the band Big Brother and The Holding Company for the album Cheap Thrills. While not the most popular or famous song by Ms. Joplin, it remains my personal favorite. No video of this performance could be found.

*Turtle Blues
Janis Joplin

Ahhh, I’m a mean – mean woman
I don’t mean no one man no good. No.
I’m a mean – mean woman
I don’t mean no one man, no good.
I just treats ’em like I wants to
I never treats ’em, honey like I should.

Oh, Lord, I once had a daddy
He said he’d give me every-thing in sight.
Once had a daddy
Said he’d give me every-thing in sight.
Yes he did
So I said, “Hon I want the sunshine
you take the stars out of the night.”
Come on and give ’em to me baby, ’cause I want ’em right now.

I ain’t the kind of woman
Who’d make your life a bed of ease
No – no – no – no – no – no – no – no – no.
I’m not the kind of woman, No,
Who’d make your life a bed of ease.
Yeah, but if you – if you just wanna go out drinkin’, honey
Won’t you invite me along, Please.
Oh, I’ll be so good to ya Bear, Yeah!
Whoaaa, Go on!

I guess I’m just like a turtle
That’s hidin’ underneath its horny shell.
Whoa. Whoa – whoa oh yeah, like a turtle
Hidin’ underneath its horny shell.
But you know I’m very well protected
I know this g**-d*** life too well.

Oh! Now call me mean, You can call me evil, Yeah – yeah
I’ve been called much worser things around
Hon, don’t ya know I have!
Whoa. Call me mean, or call me evil
I’ve been called much worser things, all things around
Yeah but, I’m gonna take good care of Janis, Yeah,
Hon, ain’t no one gonna dog me down.
Alright. Yeahhh. �ǥ

As recorded at Columbia Studio D (Hollywood) on 12 April 1968 and first released on the vinyl album “Cheap Thrills” (track 1 side 2) Columbia 9700. “Vibes” of Turtle Blues courtesy of Barney’s Beanery, so says the album cover art by Robert Crumb.