Turtles

Everyone who knows me well, knows of my love for turtles ... especially box turtles. At age four, my first pet to call my own was a box turtle I named George. George was rescued from sure peril, when he was found crossing a busy side street. My Mom braked and let me run out and bring him into our car, and we drove home with him. George lived in a sand box that was constructed by my older brother Jeff. While he was a member of our family, George had it good, dining on fresh fruit and veggies and washing it all down with plenty of fresh water. Come fall, he dug his way out of the sand box and on to another place to burrow for the winter.

There were many more turtles to come when my family moved to a house with woods behind it. My brother Jeff again provided housing by constructing a fine, log walled turtle pen, which we kept in the woods at the bottom of our railroad tie staircase. My friend and I found turtles all summer long and kept them in the pen. We fed them berries and mushrooms, and they all seemed quite content. They were released in fall, and some of them even returned the next year in late spring to be "wined and dined" again in their turtle haven in the woods.

A portion of a painting I created earlier this summer

Recent ACEO

After deciding to post a turtle blog, I went in search of a quote to include. My online search led me to this funny passage by author Christopher Moore. Anyone who was a kid in the 1960s and bought "dime store" turtles knows just what he's talking about when he describes the plastic turtle dish complete with a plastic palm tree. 😊

“At the pet store he picked out two painted turtles, each about as big around as a mayonnaise-jar lid. He bought them a large kidney shaped dish that had its own little island, a plastic palm tree, some aquatic plants, and a snail. The snail, presumably, to bolster the self-esteem of the turtles: "You think we're slow? Look at that guy." To store up the snail's morale in the same way, there was a rock.”
― Christopher Moore