DH - The Turtle Whisperer

So here's your laugh for the day. We love our backyard and this year's project is to continue grading the open area for appropriate drainage and build a rather large and fancy wood shed near the back chain linked fencing. On Tuesday DH walked out to water the plants and this is what he saw. 

Our patio is to the right, the new shed to the left, and the place
where he wants to build the wood shed is along the chain
linked fencing at the back. Here is mama turtle laying her
eggs in a pit that she dug. She's big - her shell
was about a foot across. 

Yes, it's a turtle, sitting in a pit that she dug into the middle of the land where we had wanted to regrade, laying her eggs. In fact, it's not just a turtle, it's a snapping turtle. We've stopped traffic on our busy street in the past when the large snappers who live near our creek want to cross from our property over to the woodlands on the other side of the road. One summer when DH wanted to mow the grass, he gathered a group of 8-10 little baby turtles that were in the front lawn heading toward the street into a laundry basket and took them across, keeping them from getting hit by cars. This is the first nest we've had. DH will be building a cage from chicken wire today. According to our Department of Natural Resources, the eggs will take 2-3 months before hatching and we'll need to remove the cage around the first of August so that any hatchlings can get away from their nest. DH is thrilled, although the snapper has made this year's building projects a bit more challenging. 

Baby snapping turtles are really cute, although they can still
bite hard. We love the variety of wildlife we get around our
house, and are hoping that the eggs laid by the female
turtle will actually hatch. They have a nice open and hot
area to bake, so I hope they'll all hatch successfully. 

In other news, Chickie has managed to pass her head and chest cold on to me - a gift that I'm really unhappy about getting. I'm going through tissues like crazy, coughing crap up from my lungs, and generally feeling horrid. I'm torn about swimming today or just going into the sauna. Next week I'll only be able to swim on Tuesday because of scheduling issues and my trip to Milwaukee, so I hate to miss a swim this week. I guess I'll have to wait and see how I feel when I show up at the gym. Maybe I'll just swim a shorter time and then use the sauna. That might be the best of both worlds. 

Meanwhile, enjoy your day and laugh along with me at my husband, the turtle whisperer - LOL. Happy Thursday to all - tomorrow is the first of June. Are you ready for your summer?