by Chris Hume
photo Chris Hume
I thought I would share a story with you from my nature journal today. I find that when I take the time to connect with nature I feel energized and renewed in spirit! There is something amazingly powerful about letting yourself “engage your senses fully in the privilege of being”! Many of us – in the rush of our daily lives – have less and less contact with the natural world. Here is what I found one morning – by spending time outside before work…
“I had an absolutely beautiful morning in the garden to start the day today. My wireless connection is down at home – so decided to just work outside – for the time I would normally be working away on the computer. I decided to take a look at the garden at the front – as the very last thing – and was thrilled to see a very large snapping turtle – digging in the garden beside the sidewalk going up to the front porch. She had very carefully dug up and moved the lavender plant that was in her way – and set it perfectly beside her on the sidewalk!! It had soil on the roots – and was ready to replant somewhere else. And she very slowly and patiently was digging with her back feet – a lovely, deep hole for the turtle eggs. I had my breakfast on the front porch and watched her getting the nest ready. And as I was finally tearing myself away from the garden to head into work – I stopped and tried to see her laying an egg. Which I did! And was even able to look into the nest – and see 7 or 8 eggs that had already been laid. Dieter was able to see her covering up the nest – and then head back down to the Mississippi River – her job was done! So it seems that in 80 to 90 days (from August 31 – Sept 10) there could be baby turtles emerging from our garden! I will be on turtle watch starting Aug. 31st!”
On Friday September 14th at 4:45 pm Dieter called to say that the baby Snappers were emerging from the garden! He came upon six of them – two on the driveway, two on the sidewalk, one in the grass and one just emerging from the nest in the garden – through a perfect one-at-a-time turtle-sized hole. I was still busy at the office – but shut down immediately and started the commute home – hoping to get home to see a snapper hatchling for myself. I arrived in just in time to see turtle #18 make his way into the world. And friends and family were able to come over and share in this magical moment and take some photos. I have sent the photos to a few friends and colleagues – and found that they knew very little about Snapping Turtles – beyond knowing that sometimes see them trying to cross country roads in the early sumer.
Interestingly enough, fewer than one in a thousand Snapping Turtle eggs will survive to maturity, so a Snapping Turtle female goes through this process dozens of times in her lifetime. And it is likely that the Turtles have been laying eggs in our neighbourhood (very near the Mississippi River) for hundreds of years. For everything you ever wanted to know about Snapping Turtles, check out this website.
So the moral of this story is – if I had not taken the time to be outside early one morning in June this year – I would not have had this really great experience – and learned what I now know about the Snapping Turtle. Try it – give yourself some time to get outside – and see what you find. If nothing else I guarantee you will feel refreshed and ready to take on the world!
