Turtle!

--By Colleen Cahill-Landis

I love turtles!  How can you not like such an interesting animal, traveling in armor like knights of old?  Imagine my delight when I looked out my kitchen window and saw a good sized turtle on our lawn. 

After taken a photo and an internet search, Dennis and I agreed that this turtle was an Eastern River Cooter. As the name implies, this turtle is found in large rivers, but will also reside in ponds and lakes.  As we read this, the turtle did not sit still, so there was then a brief search.  He was headed at top turtle speed across our neighbors back yard directly towards the pond.  Using a red plastic crate, we carried the turtle to the pond. 

Once there, we released the turtle who immediately went into the water with nary a thanks.  We still felt like we had done our good deed for the day!