The gravel roads are full of turtle tracks lately, as the female painted and snapping turtles emerge from their watery habitats to lay eggs on land.
This female was busy in the driveway this morning, depositing her eggs in the sandy gravel. She was so focused on her task, she was not distracted by my presence. I'll have to mark this spot and keep track of it; If I come back at the right time, I just may see baby snapping turtles emerging from the ground.I've been making some tracks of my own lately, and this encounter was one of the rewards for doing so. For the last five mornings, I've been going for a run. Yes, you read that right. At 41, after not having run seriously for almost twenty years, I've decided it's time to make a serious effort to get back in shape. I enjoyed running when I was in college; it was a good way to get away from the stress of classes and dorm life. In retrospect, I didn't know what stress was then!
At my peak, I was running maybe five or six miles every other day. This week, I have a course that's maybe half to three quarters of a mile, and I run a little and walk a little. The mosquitoes give me an incentive to keep running, at least until my body screams "ENOUGH!" Then I come back to the new house and do some stretching and yoga. I've been meaning to get into a yoga routine for months, but oddly enough I seem to need to rev up my metabolism a bit before I can get into the relaxed state yoga requires. So far, running and yoga have been a good match and a routine I look forward to in the morning.
9 comments:
I'm impressed Deb. GOOD FOR YOU!
Your comment about not knowing what stress was in the college days is so true. Yesterday I found out my sister-in-law's neice ran away from home (16) over a boy (24!!!) she's in love with, and Molly's best friend's brother who just graduated Armstrong was sent to a chemical dependency program.
Crap.
Run Deb, run!
How cool is that turtle momma!
And, how much more interesting to run a wild road than a treadmill machine in a gym.
You go girl!
Hi Deb,
For the most part I just lurk here and never comment but I just had to say what a great set of photos.
Congrats on being where you are in life that you live somewhere where you can take photos of turtles nesting in your driveway - I am envious!
Keep up the good work.
Lynne- thanks for the encouragement. I just keep praying to not be the parent whose kid follows the wrong path.
FC- I see all kinds of interesting things, and hear the birds calling. I don't even want to bring my Ipod, because I'd miss out on all of the natural sounds.
Terry- thanks for coming out and commenting! I'm pretty happy to see turtles in my driveway...when I take a day off. But I get to spend days in a boat when I'm working, so what's there to complain about? :)
Very cool turtle photos, indeed! (Good luck with the rabbit.)
Deb, way to go with the running!! My back won't allow the pounding, but I'm walking and riding my old bike. We live so near the Sakatah State Trail. It's wonderful! Keep up the good work! I always feel I don't have the time, but after I always feel so glad I took the time.
I also need to get back into my walking routine desperately, and you've inspired me. Running? Not so much. But I can walk a good clip.
Love your mom turtle dropping her eggs on your driveway!
Penelope- thanks. As you probably saw, Cocoa avoided surgery and seems to be doing better.
Cindy- I had to miss my run/yoga today because I had to leave before 7 for the vet's. At least that's my excuse- I could have gotten out of bed at 5:30 I guess.
Jayne- I was walking during lunch last fall at work, but I seem to enjoy running better. Especially when the mosquitoes are chasing me!
I heard on a local radio nature program this morning that it may not be until next spring before the young turtles emerge from the nest. That sounds like a long time though; I'll have to do more research on that.
Hey Deb, good for you enjoying your daily run and all the neat things you get to see along the road! I've never seen a snapping turtle outside of the water and didn't even realize they would lay their eggs in a driveway? Does the mama snapper live in your pond?
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