turtles

yesterday, we went to the library, and had a really special, unexpected experience. behind the library, we saw 19 little baby turtles coming out of a hole in the ground. baby snapping turtles, just hatched, and we stood there watching them in awe. i felt like it was such a privilege to witness this, and even the kids were moved by the experience, and were very quiet and respectful. the library maintenance man was there, and he told us that he saw the mother snapping turtle lay her eggs in that spot every year in february. he said that she's big, maybe 2ft in diameter, and when she comes, she digs a hole in the ground, deposits her eggs, and then goes back down to the water, where she came from. on her way to the pond (behind the library), she leaves a scent marking a trail for the babies to follow. i find it amazing that the mother makes the trip from the pond all the way to the library (she has to go through the woods and then across the parking lot), in the winter, then digs the frozen ground, and then leaves her babies there. i also find it quite moving that the babies are on their own from the begining, left to rely purely on their instinct on their treacherous trip back to the pond.

of course, the kids and i really want to read up on snapping turtles now, and make a mini-project out of it. it would be interesting to verify the info the maintenance man gave us, and find out more.

unfortunately, the babies coming out of the hole were going all over the parking lot, trying to follow their mother's trail. one of them got squished soon after he emerged, i don't know how, but probably someone stepped on it. they were so tiny, easy to miss unless you paid attention, and they were everywhere. so the few of us who were there (librarians, maintenance man, our friend dianne, and us),decided to bring them down to the pond and spare them the trip through the parking lot and the woods. i hope this didn't mess them up, we were hesitating quite a bit before deciding to interfere...but we could easily see lots of them getting killed before they had a chance to make it very far.
dianne, the kids and i took them to the pond. we put them down in the mud, on the shore, and it wasn't long before they found their way in the water, and disappeared.

when we got back to the library, there was another little turtle coming out of that same hole, and this time, i took it to the pond all by myself, while the kids and dianne went in the library. i'm glad that i went alone, because i had a really cool experience with this little friend. before i put him down in the water, i held him up in my hand and looked at him. he stretched his little neck and seemed to be looking back straight at me for a moment. even though he was so tiny, his eyes seemed wise and ancient. as we peered at each other, i felt something stir inside of me, and i almost started to cry. then he started to squirm and i took that as a signal that he wants to go. i put him down in the mud and off he went into the water.

i didn't understand my experience right away, but as i thought about it during the day, it kept making me feel weird as if i had been touched by something mysterious. i felt a bond with this little creature and his ancient eyes. when he looked at me, i felt like another soul was looking into me from beyond time.

this morning, the kids and i were looking up turtles in the encyclopedia, and it turns out that their lineage is the most ancient on the evolutionary scale, older than that of the dinosaurs. learning this moved me, and i felt that it confirmed what i saw in those tiny eyes.

unfortunately, i didn't have my camera with me, so i don't have any pictures to share....
but i'm left with this feeling, and that is enough.