elliot's return.

elliot, the snapping turtle, came out of hibernation and returned to the rook farm today. to refresh your memory, elliot was the baby snapping turtle my friend susan rescued from the highway during her visit here over two years ago. we kept him inside our house during that winter and gave him food and shelter. in the spring, he was released into one of our ponds where he quickly disappeared into the muddy waters.

last year, i was convinced i saw him again. he had grown. about the size of a medium box turtle. i got close to him and called his name. i swear his eyes recognized mine. he looked at me a while. never once did he snap. we sat together by the pond, enjoying the sunshine and then parted ways.

this morning i noticed the dogs were putting up quite a fuss at the front gate. barking low and into the grass. i went outside to take a look. what i found startled me a bit. a giant snapping turtle trying desperately to get through our range wire and into our yard. i carefully bent down to take a look. he looked at me and i knew it was elliot. he had come home!

i scooped him up with a shovel and placed him in a bucket to keep him (and my hands) safe. then i transported him to the far field where his summer home awaited him. along the way, i attracted quite a crowd of curious pigs. when we got to the pond, i let elliot crawl out of bucket. where he immediately let pigs know who the new boss was. after a few snouts were snapped, the pigs caught on and went about their business. elliot stood at waterfront. i called his name and he looked up at me. i said welcome home. he looked at me for some time. then turned and swam off into the muddy waters. disappearing once again.

personal bucket transport

elliot returns to pond