Assisting a Lost Turtle

Today I am responding to Joyce's Hodgepodge questions:

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2025/05/the-hodgepodge-buzz.html

1. May 20th is World Bee Day...what's something that's kept you 'busy as a bee' lately?

Tracking packages in the mail has been a big deal. Then nine of my family members have birthdays in May-July, so cards have gone out with a personal hand-written note in just about every one. 

2. Do you like honey? What's something you make or enjoy that calls for honey? 

Yes, I like honey, but I dislike when it doesn't roll out easily from the cute plastic teddy bear container. I make him sit in "time out" in hot water and then the honey just rolls out. 

3. "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." Proverbs 16:24

What's a proverb you love, or one that speaks to you or has helped you in some way? 

As I have aged, I have seen the wisdom of this one and am trying to remember it when I speak:

"She opens her mouth with wisdom; And the law of kindness is on her tongue."Proverbs 31:26

The Bible is full of Proverbs, a whole book in fact, if that helps with your answer. The word proverb is defined as 'a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice'. 

4. Tell us about a 'sweet' moment in your life recently that filled you with joy, gratitude, or peace. My husband is a kind-hearted man.

We had just left our house on our morning bike ride when we came to an intersection with everybody stopped. There was a very large turtle making his way in the street, and from his slow pace and the direction he was headed, it was going to be some time before traffic would feel free to proceed without hitting him.

carrying the turtle (not visible in this picture)

Gary got off his bike and picked up the turtle, which was heavy (maybe ten pounds), perhaps 18 inches in diameter, and slippery on the underside. He struggled just a little to get a good grip on the heavy creature.

Unfortunately I was not fast enough with my camera to get a picture from the front as he carried the fellow across the street.

the turtle is in the grass to the right of Gary

He carried the turtle out of the intersection and onto a grassy area. One of our many community lakes is two blocks away, so hopefully he found his way to the water.

When I asked Gary if he's handled a turtle before, he said he has. At his previous home up north there would be turtles (much smaller than this one) that he did not want his dogs to encounter. If he needed to pick one up, he had to grab the shell far enough toward the front that the back feet would not scrape his hands with the claws.  

close-up snapshot

After our bike ride, I did a little research on the internet and concluded this fellow may be a Fly River Turtle, also known as a pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta). I learned the following: 

"They are the only 100% fully aquatic freshwater turtle in existence. They have flippers instead of legs like sea turtles and have a nose that resembles that of a pig. They are very aggressive and require an absurd size enclosure because they grow to be around 2 feet long."

I assure you we did not know about the aggressive personality of this turtle. It probably worked in Gary's favor to approach the creature from behind. (Although with flippers and such a tiny nose and small mouth, what real harm could he have done to us?) When we rode past that area again at the end of our bike ride, the turtle was nowhere to be seen. 

To conclude my answer to this question (what's a sweet moment I've felt lately), with this little adventure, I loved seeing this compassionate and brave side of my man.

5. When you were a child, what did you want to 'be' when you grew up? How close did you come to that? 

Oh this is funny. I wanted to own a motel (not a cutesy bed-and-breakfast but a motel, like a Best Western, etc.)  Yes, for several years I said that's what I wanted to do when I grew up. I guess that dream came out of enjoying times when my family stayed in a motel on trips. Those trips included an outdoor swimming pool and meals in restaurants, both of which I'm sure added to the allure of my imagination.

Now when I hear stories of  the damage, crime, and unholy things that go on in motels and hotels, I think owning and/or managing one would be an absolute nightmare!!! 

But I also wanted, most of all, to be married and have children. Thankfully, that desire came true!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Since I referenced our bike rides in an earlier paragraph, here is another snapshot Sister sent recently from our past, this one from my early days on a bike. That's our dog, Susie, on my lap.

Sister and me holding our dog, Susie
September 1955

More recently:

me 'n my bike some 60 years later

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Until next time, grace and peace.