Earlier today, I was working in the garden and Son was remodeling the shed when suddenly his work got really quiet. Hmm, either he was pondering something difficult or had gotten distracted. It is not like him to just quit working in the middle of a project. After a bit, the curiosity got the best of me and I went to check on him. Yep, he had gotten distracted...by a box turtle. When I came through the garden gate, he was sitting on the shed deck and the little turtle was on the ground just looking up at him. "I think she is hungry, Mom." he said. This translated to , "Go find something for me to feed her." I did.
In the kitchen, there just happened to be a couple of apples sitting on the table. Turtles like apples! A quick slice and I was back out the door. Son gently laid the apple within inches of the turtle's nose and she readily tried to eat. For some reason, that turtle could not get a bite off of the chunk so Son picked up the apple and broke it into tiny pieces. As soon as he went to place a piece down, the turtle came forward and took it from his fingers. He snickered a bit and got another piece. Same thing. The turtle came forward and gently took the piece. She tried to eat it all but dropped some. In the meantime, he had another piece in hand and she left the morsel on the ground for the one in his hand. Several times, she would patiently wait just looking at him until he broke another piece. Son sat hand-feeding a turtle for ten minutes. One thing that I noticed about the turtle was that she was very, very careful not to bite Son as she took the morsel. She cared enough not to harm the very one helping her.
While this may not seem like a momentous event to most folks, I found it endearing and appropriate for the day. It is Earth Day, after all! Be kind, folks. It only takes a moment and could make a big difference. Let's heal our old world. It sure needs every helping hand it can get.
I have decided that I have the best brother in the world. The small tern that was injured during the recent hurricane needed to be tended and fed. Hurricane Nate may not have ravaged the Coast as some storms do but it still took its toll on wildlife. The little bird was in dire straits but was on my brother's pier this morning instead of ours. Despite my constant coaxing, the bird would not fly to our pier. I had a sinking feeling that things had taken a turn for the worse for the tern.
About an hour after I noticed that the tern would not fly, my brother came down to his pier. We said our usual "hellos" then I asked if he would check on the bird. I, also, asked if he could catch some minnows for the bird as it could not fend for itself. My brother never thought twice about picking up his net and catching menhaden just to feed a bird. Now, whether he actually did that for the good of the bird or to appease his little sister, I will never know but it sure warmed the heart. Seeing this guy go out of his way to help an injured bird sure made me feel good!
Sad to say, after my brother caught the fish, cut them and hand fed the little bird, the tern could not swallow. The bird was just too ill to eat. My little friend did not appear to be recovering. Tomorrow will probably find the little tern released from its pain but not in the way I had hoped. God speed, Little Tern. Fly happy. Thank you, Jimmy, for having a kind heart and trying to help.
