So,
it was after nine last night and we were sitting on the couch and we
heard a series of thumps outside the front door. Marc gets up and
opens the door, turns on the light, and says...it's the turtle!
Big
Mama?!, I ask, getting up and looking, wondering if I had left the
gate open, which has been known to happen. Not Big Mama. Bigger than
Big Mama. And I wouldn't call Big Mama small or even medium. She's
pretty big at 10 1/2".
I
know we've been getting a lot of rain but how, and the bigger question why, did a huge red ear
slider find it's way to thumping around the front door of our house
on the concrete under the overhang. It's not like we live on the
banks of a bayou or even a creek and the river is about 3 miles away
though there are several drainage ditches nearby.
You
just gonna leave it there, he asks me?
Well.
Yeah. I wasn't thinking of trying to keep it. Big Mama is one thing,
she's been a captive since she was hatched just about (and just what
would she think to have a bigger wild turtle plonked down in her
pond). This girl had survived quite well on her own. Still he was
concerned that she needed water so I carried her through the house
(paused for a photo shoot) and out the back door and out the gate and
set her down on the ground next to the water lily pond. She could
indulge or continue on her journey.
No
sign of her this morning.
Ooh, perhaps someone found it and thought it was Big Mama popped it on your doorstep - perhaps asking your permission to court?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you remember but we had a mud turtle on our little kitchen porch and we are still completely mystified as to why that ugly thing was there and how in the world it climbed the steps.
ReplyDeleteIt was caked in mud.
Quite the mystery...hahaha Life is fun isn't it??
ReplyDeleteso cute! i've had that happen with a turtle 'thumping' against the doorway and also toads. too funny! yes, big mama might not have been amused.
ReplyDeleteWell, she's gorgeous, but yes, women don't always live well together... :)
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose it said "Nevermore" or anything?
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I arrived at your post a smile grew on my face at your picture.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're sure it was a girl turtle? Big Mama might have just missed a terrific romantic opportunity.
Obviously she was on a straight line (the shortest route between two points), through the house. Damn door.
ReplyDeleteThey could decide to look for greener pastures. I see them along the road a lot.
ReplyDeleteWow that's funny! When I was a kid living in the country, people often dropped off cats or dogs near us, hoping their abandoned pets would find a home there. But nobody ever left us with a turtle.
ReplyDeleteHey, that reminds me, do you know what you get when you cross a turtle with a porcupine? A slow poke, that's what.
That is one huge turtle. Interesting face.
ReplyDeleteSo kind of you to help her close to water. Maybe she knew you were a lover of turtles and would help her out.
ReplyDeleteWho knows where she was going? It's always hard to know what to do when an animal turns up like that. I'm always afraid that if I carry them somewhere I'm setting them back in their "journey" rather than helping them! But then, she couldn't knock around the front door all night, could she?
ReplyDeleteWhat a magnificent tale. I can just imagine the same adventure told from the point of view of the turtle--I might have to write it.
ReplyDeleteIt was obvious she just stopped for a bit of water and fame. ;-)
what a beautiful creature. Amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it might be a he and he’s come in pursuit of big mama for a bit of loving?
I miss dryland turtles. The one ones we have here live in ponds.
ReplyDelete