Things often don't go the way you plan them, do they?

This morning I had images of borage amongst the vines in Tuscany to share on the blog I've been keeping daily. So I went outside to capture the image of that pretty pink borage. Thought it would be a better image with the early morning dew on it.

It's quiet, not a breath of wind, and very early ... even the birds seem to have slept in this morning. I see something move out of the corner of my eye and think "I must have disturbed a large insect". Zoom in to capture that pink borage ... hardly any dew this morning ... never mind. Still be a nice image. Oh oh ... the movement again. Same place. Huh? So I turn and give the spot my full attention. Huh? Shake my head. Look more closely. Huh?

Quick trip inside to get my camera that allows me to video the action. And then a quick tutorial on how to get a video onto ATP. And here is what I saw. Never seen anything like it before. Any ideas?

The clip is about a minute in length to give an idea of the activity which was consistently varied. The most significant movement is at about the 46 second mark.

http://youtu.be/ESB3nnLlVs0

Nice, tinpins! Almost immediately, I thought about this video that I watched not long ago on a PBS channel. BTW, PBS shows can be fascinating!:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature...

I've watched the pbs video. I'm so intrigued by this plant which is still behaving the same way several hours later. There is no visible evidence of interference by anything other than the dried leaf of the Leningrad garlic plant to the left of it.

That little plant is dancing to the beat of its own drummer!

That's a good thought! I have a game on my computer, Plants vs. Zombies, and the virtual plants in it do move to the rhythm of the music that comes with the game!

Well this is timely! I'm reading a book my daughter gave to me, What A Plant Knows, by Daniel Chamovitz. I now have a greater respect for the plants that grow (and survive) in my garden. it's fascinating thinking that plants actually have a sense of smell (unlike ours).

That looks like a really good read ... it's going to have to come and live with us : )

Meanwhile our dancing plant has taken a break it seems. No more movement since the sun came up. I'll be out there tonight and first thing in the morning checking : )

Hmmm ... maybe the dead stem / brown leaf drying out irregularly, and having brief contractions?

The plant yawning and stretching?

Looks more like it woke from a bad dream the way it jerks back into an upright position

None of the other dead garlic leaves had any movement because we too explored the possibility of an interaction between the garlic and the dancing/yawning plant (lamb's quarters Chenopodium album). The plant is moving the dead garlic leaf as it springs back into the upright position. There's no evidence of any other interference ... no spider web, insects, etc.

Just checked it by flashlight and it is standing tall and lifeless. We'll check it first thing in the morning.

Twice before midnight I slipped out with a flashlight to check on our dancing plant. Not a twitch.

And this morning's update at 6.30 a.m.

There's a very gentle rain falling and this is what I saw.

Absolutely motionless. Still over this little incident.

The story continues today.

It's documented in my blog and titled:

5 July, 2013 - The dancing plants in the Leningrad garlic patch

Don't miss this exciting new episode and watch for the thrilling conclusion soon : )

I'm waiting with bated breath!

Did you ever read the novel or see the movie "Day of the Triffids"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...

It's a vole! It's a mole! No, it's an underground Sasquatch - quietly building unseen tunnels and devouring garlic as he goes. No one can see him, no one can hear him, but oh my, the garlic-y stench he leaves behind.

You could play some music for it...and see if it moves more to that!

"Tommy Termite" ??

There will now be short intermission while the voting continues and Mother Nature has her say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

so after reading only a few paragraphs of the wiki "Day of the Triffids" I won't be going out after dark tonight to check ...

"triffids" – tall plants capable of aggressive and seemingly intelligent behaviour. They are able to move about by "walking" on their roots, appear to communicate with each other, and possess a deadly whip-like poisonous sting that enables them to kill their victims and feed on their rotting carcasses.

... and that looks like really good nightmare material ... "whip like poisonous sting" ... "rotting carcasses" ..."triffid venom"...

We aim to please!

Someone should re-make that movie with modern special effects and work in a GMO theme.

Like 19502 bad SF where radioactive fallout caused ants to grow to the size of locomotives. i know, first the GMO corn syrup will make us all go blind, and then Monsanto's jumping genes will make corn able to walk and talk. "Children of the GM Corn".