The turtles are on the move, coming up to "high" ground (nothing is "high" around here), digging nests for their eggs in the sand. They work so hard. After the eggs are laid, they cover the hole and return to the water. I've rescued many a turtle from crossing roads to get to a destination. We have people here who love to run them over. Saw a dead softshell turtle on the road near town today. In my book, "Waltz" I wrote "Only a Turtle". People are so cruel. I was running to save it and this white car just aimed at it. When they are hit like that, it sounds like a gunshot. It's awful.
I once brought a broken and horribly bloody turtle I never guessed would recover to the vet. Actually, the open shell exposed its organs; I could see the spine. Everything sort of hangs from the carapace (the dome, top shell). A year later, one of the doctors asked me to look in the aviary. There it was. The shell had grown back. But how, I'll never know.
My friend, Sue Barnard, a professional herpetologist, once sent me instructions on how to reconstruct a turtle's shell in order to let it heal and grow. I really should post it here, just in case. When I find it, I'll incorporate it into this post. But meanwhile, I'll post two photos - one of the little lady whom I met yesterday, and the other of a softshell, which was taken off the road on the curve and returned happily, I might add, to the water. The other is a Florida box turtle.
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