Many thanks to Grace Sheely for sharing this wonderful story.
On the morning of September 2, 2014, I was thinking of all the students heading back to school and the excitement of their first day. My brooding thoughts were deeper as this morning was my first September day without any students of my own to send off on that yellow school bus, because I am now an empty nester.
I headed down the path of Purgatory Park enjoying the park’s beauty and my dog’s company when I stopped dead in my tracks. The rocks below my feet were moving. I suspected that I was losing my mind. I looked closer as I pondered whether I had had enough coffee prior to my 9 am dog walk. I studied the first rock and indeed it was moving. Upon closer inspection, I watched a 2 inch baby snapping turtle totally covered in sand move down the pathway; at his best, he was a moving sandy rock. His five sisters and brothers were all within 6 feet of him and all six were marching directly down the center path at Purgatory Park. I took the time to say hello to each little baby, to admire its soft shell, to pick each one up and carefully placed it closer to a grassy edge of the pathway.
Love this story. I wish our local roads were marked as turtle crossings!
Genevieve