A turtle's tale

I have to report the exciting Sunday that happened today, that's almost yesterday. And now is. 

This morning after church, John and I had to run by the post office to mail Olivia's past due juror's questionnaire that was due over a week ago. Yes, Olivia has jury duty in April and somehow she decided it was my fault the questionnaire hadn't been mailed. Umm, no. Anyway that's not the exciting part. After we dropped off the mail, we rounded the corner and I saw something brown on the side of the road and thought it looked like a snapping turtle, so I told John to stop and turn around! So he did! And it was! How did he get there? There's no water nearby. John thought maybe he climbed out of a nearby storm drain, otherwise, we have no idea.  

So John picked him up. The turtle wasn't happy about it at all. 

Even though he looks happy in this picture. 

Then John asked me if I was gonna drive or hold the turtle. Not a hard question to answer. So I got in the driver's seat and the three of us headed home. He stunk sooooo bad and on this freezing day we had to drive with the windows down because it was so bad. He kept trying to snap at John. He didn't succeed. Once we got home we called the girls to come see. Owen was at work. After the show and tell, John put him in the back of his truck and we went inside to make and eat lunch. About 4 hours later, while John was gone to Home Depot, Owen got home from work so I told him to go look in the back of the truck. He went out, came back and said, "You want me to see the tire?" I said, "You didn't see the turtle?" He said, "There was no turtle in the back of the truck." I quickly called John and asked him where he put the turtle and he said in the back of the truck. GADZOOKS! There'd been a turtle escape! Emma, Olivia and I immediately formed a search party and spread out looking in our unsuspecting neighbor's yards. He was nowhere to be found. It was a sad turn of events. I was so worried he'd already found himself at the business end of a hoe. OMG my neighbors had the potential to be so pist......

My next great idea was to grab the keys and the three of us jumped in the car and began a street to street search. We saw no turtles. UGH. We headed to the bayou, thinking he had some skates or something to hurriedly get there. But we saw nothing. I was getting more and more worried and Olivia was getting on my last nerve saying stuff like, "Do you think he followed the street to the water? I'm not necessarily sure the turtle would take the street route to get to the bayou." Whatever Olivia! Dejected and lost, we turned for home. And just as I was pulling into the driveway, I looked across the street in my neighbor's yard and there he was! I was so relieved. I'm not sure the turtle was as excited as I was. 

Once again John got him, put him back in the truck and we immediately watched him climb up onto the wheel well trying to get out again! It had to be quite the tumble he took to get out the first time onto the concrete four feet below! Also, he really seemed quite ungrateful about his rescues.

This is after the second capture. 

Curious but cautious, Addy did not make friends. 

So we jumped in the truck and ran over to show William, who was equal parts excited and terrified, and then we headed to the bayou to set him free. When I asked John where we should take him he said, "To the bridge on the bayou." And then I asked him if he was just gonna toss him over and he said, "No we'll set him out at our standard turtle releasing area." That's right, we are a family who has a standard turtle releasing area. After the short ride there and after the four of us gathered round the water, John set him down by a dead fish....ewwww....and turtle gently glided into the murky water, and I suspect never to be seen again. And I said to Olivia, "I suspect we shall never see him again." And she callously said, "Nope." 

And there you have a turtle's tale.

Very different from a turtle's tail. 

This one had both. 

2:18 and I've not seen my pillow since 9:00 this morning. 

I'm gonna go see.