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A Turtle's Life

 
 
Reply Wed 23 Apr, 2008 09:22 pm
So, I'm cleaning out the first skimmer on the swimming pool, this AM. June bugs, beatles, wolf spiders, mole crickets - They are commonly in need of rescue. I scoop them out and toss them behind me on the grass. Too late, I discover they have become breakfast to the birds. Oh, well. I move to the second skimmer, where I discover the most wonderful turtle I have seen in a decade. (I googled turtle images, but did not find anything to do it justice).

I haul the little character out and admire it a while, before placing it in the bed of my pick up. It's work time, but, I can't let anything happen to it. I drive to a small park up the road a piece. The park is small, heavily trafficked by joggers and dog walkers. Also, it's too close to the street. After maybe ten minute's indecision, I determine that Burroughs Park, another ten minutes away, is the place to go.

Sure enough, I drive up to a spot with a small lake/pond, and I place the turtle close enough to get to the water, but back enough it can opt for the tall pond grass. It cranes its neck and looks around. Then it fastens a gaze on me. "Is the big animal going to recapture me?" When I don't, it moves into the grass and quickly is lost to me.

When I return to my work place, I explain to the boss what happened, so that she can dock my time, if she deems it necessary. Instead, she thanks me for rescuing the turtle, and I get on with the business of the day.
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Type: Discussion • Score: 0 • Views: 1,935 • Replies: 15
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Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Wed 23 Apr, 2008 09:26 pm
Edgar, my babiest niece is the "turtle whisperer".

I will tell her of yer exploits... :wink:

RH
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littlek
 
  1  
Reply Wed 23 Apr, 2008 09:38 pm
edger, good on ya!
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dadpad
 
  1  
Reply Wed 23 Apr, 2008 09:50 pm
Hate to tell yopu this after all the effort you went to Edgar.


[size=7]Its a tortise[/size]
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Wed 23 Apr, 2008 09:56 pm
You call it tortise, I call it buffalo.
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roger
 
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Reply Wed 23 Apr, 2008 10:01 pm
Good for getting it out of there, especially if it's a tortise.
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Noddy24
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 04:41 am
Thanks, Edgar.
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 04:56 am
Wickipedia, the free encyclopedia, begins its article on tortoises, thusly:
"Tortoises or land turtles -"

Using that statement, one might argue that a tortoise is a turtle. We, the plebian Texans, call all of them turtles, in informal usage.
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dadpad
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 05:12 am
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 01:56 pm
My turtle actually had webbed feet. What it was doing in Tomball, I don't know. Could have been brought there as a pet.

Most people I have known couldn't care less about the distinctions. Every four legged turtle-like animal is a turtle around here.
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mismi
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 02:00 pm
I call 'em turtles...cuter name than tortoise. I think of combs when I think of tortoises. Poor critters.
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dadpad
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 08:55 pm
Call em whatever you want Edgar. Texan redneck turtles or buffalo I dont give a sh**

You have shown care and respect for your environment, and thats a good thing to do.
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Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 08:57 pm
Whichever dad you are today, mate, yer such a DAD... :wink:

RH
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 09:22 pm
Well, dadpad - Do you mind if I call you dad, for short? - We are both technically correct, since it all depends on where one lives and how much of a stickler one is for favored terms. Here is a bit more from the Wickipedia article:

Turtle, tortoise or terrapin?

Different animals are called turtles, tortoises, or terrapins in different varieties of EnglishAlthough the word "turtle" is widely used to describe all members of the order Testudines, it is also common to see certain members described as terrapins, tortoises or sea turtles as well. Precisely how these alternative names are used, if at all, depends on the type of English being used.

British English normally describes these reptiles as turtles if they live in the sea; terrapins if they live in fresh or brackish water; or tortoises if they live on land. However, there are exceptions to this where American or Australian common names are in wide use, as with the Fly River turtle.
American English tends to use the word turtle for all species regardless of habitat, although tortoise may be used as a more precise term for any land-dwelling species. Oceanic species may be more specifically referred to as sea turtles. The name "terrapin" is strictly reserved for the brackish water diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin; the word terrapin in this case being derived from the Algonquian word for this animal.[2]
Australian English uses turtle for both the marine and freshwater species but tortoise for the terrestrial species.
To avoid confusion, the word chelonian is popular among veterinarians, scientists, and conservationists working with these animals as a catch-all name for any member of the order Testudines. It is based on the Ancient Greek word χελώνη (chelone, modern Greek χελώνα), meaning tortoise.
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Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 09:36 pm
Whatever ya name him, he still beat the hair... :wink:
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edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Thu 24 Apr, 2008 09:45 pm
I bet I'm the only one remembers from childhood the tale of Hypotenuse Turtle. He was probably a tortoise, also.
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