Turtle In The Yard

Our boys had been playing outside with some of their neighborhood friends, when they burst in the front door, excited. “Mom, Dad, there’s a turtle in the yard!”

Cowgrit and I put on our shoes and went out to see the thing. We expected a small, little thing, maybe the size of our hand. But what we found was a monster.

Here it is next to my size 10.5 shoe:

Our boys and two or three of the neighborhood kids were standing around it in awe. Our yard is at least 200 yards from the nearest water — a retaining pond in our neighborhood and one in the neighborhood across the road. How this big thing got to our yard is a mystery. However it managed the feat, in its slow turtle way, is amazing.

I picked it up, and it immediately retreated into its shell. I held it for the kids to look at up close and touch. (I put it back down to take the pic for size reference.) The Calfgrits were asking if we could keep it as a pet. Calfgrit6 was just about in love with it; he couldn’t stop touching its shell.

We decided we needed to take it down to the neighborhood pond for release so it would have water and food aplenty, and be protected inside a fence. So I carried it while Cowgrit and the calves walked along with me. As we took it down the street, we stopped here and there to show other neighborhood kids the animal. We even had a man and son pull over in their car to get out and look at it. The dad was more impressed with it than his 12-year-old son.

At the pond, I set it down next to the water, and we all said bye and wished it health and happiness.

Such a simple thing, really, but it was a cool situation. It’s not everyday you find a huge turtle in your yard. And all the kids in the neighborhood got a thrill getting up close and touching a live wild animal.

Bullgrit