Born Free

On Sunday we took Tuttle-tuttle down to the creek behind Grayson's school and set her free. Yes, she's a she. I sent photos of her to one of our herpetology curators here at the museum and he told me she is a female eastern box turtle or "three-toed turtle," and probably around 20 years old. I was surprised she was so old. I had counted the "rings" on her shell scutes and estimated her age at around 11 or 12, so I was way off. It looks like they live about 40 years or so.

Anyway, I held onto her through the weekend so Grayson could be present when we released her, and she kept me pretty busy. I kept her in a big plastic bin in Grayson's room at night, but set her loose in the yard with me when I was doing yard work. I had to keep watching her, though, because she was bound and determined to head East. No matter where I put her, or what obstacles I put in her path, she ended up cruising up and down the east fence, driving the neighbor's dog, Sammy, nuts. Our dogs – even Roxy – weren't all that fascinated with her, but Sammy was obsessed. So when the barking started, I was obliged to stop what I was doing, go over there, pick up the turtle, and take her back across the yard. I even tried to keep her inside the garden fence, but before I knew it, she had found a way out and off she went again: headed East.

It was fun having her around, and we considered building some sort of enclosure to keep her safely in our yard. But when I realized how old she was, and how long she'd been out there in the wild, making do very nicely on her own, thank-you-very-much... well, I just couldn't keep her against her will. So we took her to the creek and set her down and bid her a fond farewell as she trundled off... headed East.

At least she had no doubts about where she wanted to go. I can't always say the same for me. Maybe Tuttle-tuttle's arrival in my life was a little nudge to pull into my shell a bit, get grounded, and look at things close-up. That turtle may not have been fast, but she was determined, dogged, and unafraid. Sammy's barking, and our dogs' sniffing and pawing, didn't phase her a bit. She barely spared them a glance. She pulled in if they got too rough, and ignored them otherwise. Kept her feet moving and her eyes on the prize.

I'm a quick-fix person. If things go wrong, or if I'm not happy, I want to do something to fix it. Right now. I want to take action and get results, immediately. Turtle-walking is just not my style. But lately I think I'm so busy taking action to "fix" my life that I don't even know what direction I'm headed, much less which direction I want to go. Maybe if I slow down and pull into my shell for awhile, I can come up with one.