Only One Task On Her Mind

   We, as humans, oftentimes find it difficult to stay focused on our task at hand.  Admittedly, I do.  Son laughs a bit when we will be working on a project and I spy something interesting.  His comment is only "Oh, look a bunny!"  It does not even have to be a rabbit that distracted me!  It can be a butterfly, a snake, a frog, a glass of lemonade, a funky shaped cloud....anything will cause me to lose interest in a chore and set me off in a different direction.  Let me clarify that this is not something that has to do with age.  This has been a lifelong thing with me.  So, one can easily see how I came to find the box turtle this morning.  I simply got distracted from the task at hand (also known as throwing scraps in the compost bin.)  Anyway, I did, indeed, find a turtle and did, indeed, have to go greet said turtle.  It is just my way.

  Actually, my visit with the box turtle was quite interesting.  A female turtle had ambled out of the marsh and was still rather covered with mud.  She trudged up the hillside just a wee bit, stopped then peered in every direction.  I greeted her.  She ignored me.  Hmmmph!  That is some way to treat your neighbor!  I plopped myself down on a nearby log and watched her.  Just as I suspected, the turtle started digging a hole.  My turtle was to be a mama!  This box turtle had come from the marsh to lay her eggs.  

  My first instinct was to sit and watch her until she was finished just so I could put a wire frame over her nest.  If this is not done, the raccoons would raid the nest and leave nary an egg.  Yep, my first instinct was to watch...then I remembered that this was a long, drawn-out process and I was sitting right in the midst of about a bajillion mosquitoes and just as many deerflies.  Nope, I was not going to allow myself to be eaten alive.  I would check on our sweet lady and her "birthing" progress later!

  All in all, it took nigh on three hours before she was satisfied with her task....about an hour to dig the hole, maybe another half hour laying the eggs and then the remaining time covering the nest.  Once she was finished, it nearly impossible to see where she had dug the nest.  Nothing was left to lead any predator to her eggs except maybe a scent.  Once she made her way into the palmettoes and then into the marsh, I set the cage over the nest site.  Hopefully, this will keep any marauding critters at bay.  The cage is slightly raised to allow the little ones to make a dash for the palmettoes but is heavy enough to discourage those wanting eggs for supper.  Good luck, Little Ones!