Turtle Rescue!
This evening I decided to make a run to the dump. You see, when my trash bag overflows, I don't have a trash man to come take it away for me. I get to drive it to the camp dump! It's no big deal, really, but I'm lazy.
As I was driving along the road to go back home, I saw something moving ever so slowly across the road. I was still a ways off, so I wasn't too sure what it was. Skunk? Armadillo? Chupacabra?
Nope.
Turtle.
Turtle?! What the heck?! What is he doing on this blazing dirt road in the hottest part of the day? I mean, you could practically see the heat radiating off the road through his shell cooking his insides! So I did what any normal person would do.
I stopped and got out. And went over to him. And started talking to him. "Hi! What on earth are you thinking?! Well, I'm going to save you."
I slowly and gently picked him up. He retreated into his shell as quickly as he could, and proceeded to release all the liquid from inside said shell onto my leg. I screamed a little, but held on tight (what kind of rescuer would I be if I dropped him?!). I then put him in the front seat of Jose (my car, btw), steadied Pete (did I tell you? That's his name. I decided.) with one hand, and slowly drove down to the river.
When we reached the river, I picked Pete back up and told him that I was going to put him back in the water where he belongs and his poor little reptile brain was fried from overexposure to UV rays, so he should probably get that checked out.
I set him on the edge of the water so that he was in deep enough for the refreshing chill of the river to get inside his shell. Ever so slowly he poked his head out, looking for his new bff (read: terrifying giant being who subjected him to the bumpiest ride of his life and wouldn't. shut. up.). He knew I was going to wait until he was safe in the water, because we were tight like that. And as he swam off into the mossy sunset, I waved goodbye.
It occurred to me while I was escorting him home that he may have known precisely where he was going. And I may have totally ruined his evening. Buuuut...I'm banking on the confused-helpless-turtle-needing-a-friend theory.
As I was driving along the road to go back home, I saw something moving ever so slowly across the road. I was still a ways off, so I wasn't too sure what it was. Skunk? Armadillo? Chupacabra?
Nope.
Turtle.
Turtle?! What the heck?! What is he doing on this blazing dirt road in the hottest part of the day? I mean, you could practically see the heat radiating off the road through his shell cooking his insides! So I did what any normal person would do.
I stopped and got out. And went over to him. And started talking to him. "Hi! What on earth are you thinking?! Well, I'm going to save you."
I slowly and gently picked him up. He retreated into his shell as quickly as he could, and proceeded to release all the liquid from inside said shell onto my leg. I screamed a little, but held on tight (what kind of rescuer would I be if I dropped him?!). I then put him in the front seat of Jose (my car, btw), steadied Pete (did I tell you? That's his name. I decided.) with one hand, and slowly drove down to the river.
When we reached the river, I picked Pete back up and told him that I was going to put him back in the water where he belongs and his poor little reptile brain was fried from overexposure to UV rays, so he should probably get that checked out.
I set him on the edge of the water so that he was in deep enough for the refreshing chill of the river to get inside his shell. Ever so slowly he poked his head out, looking for his new bff (read: terrifying giant being who subjected him to the bumpiest ride of his life and wouldn't. shut. up.). He knew I was going to wait until he was safe in the water, because we were tight like that. And as he swam off into the mossy sunset, I waved goodbye.
It occurred to me while I was escorting him home that he may have known precisely where he was going. And I may have totally ruined his evening. Buuuut...I'm banking on the confused-helpless-turtle-needing-a-friend theory.
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