car-free = good for turtles
Since moving here a couple years ago, I’ve enjoyed seeing some wonderful wildlife on and around the property, but also been surprised by a few big misses — creatures that’ve been noticeably absent. Turtles have been high on that list for me. Even with our river and pond and wetlands, I had not seen a single turtle here.
That changed yesterday. Mid-morning, Suzy came to our door to announce that a turtle had just strolled across Steele Road in the middle of our neighborhood. (I became keenly aware of another benefit of keeping cars out!) By the time I got out to take a look, it was making its way through the grass.
In hopes that this one would stick around, I violated various rules of animal etiquette by relocating the turtle a few hundred feet down the road, placing it at the edge of our pond, which seems to me a good place for amphibious creatures.
The turtle immediately dove — really dove — into the water. It appeared so eager to get away from me that the moment I placed it on the ground, it practically jumped into the water and quickly swam deep down into the pond, disappearing from sight. I stayed by the water for some time, but couldn’t relocate it again. So, today I was happy to see the turtle sunning on the edge of the pond, and when I went to take a closer look, it (of course) leapt back into the water. I’m hoping it’ll stick around.
