The Tale of the Turtle

"Summer-time and the living is easy"...

So another start called to me.

This is "Bright Summer".
It is part of "A Quaker Year" series by Homespun Elegance.
I'm looking forward to using the Belle Soie silks. 

We had a Nature Adventure last evening!

This guy (gal?) was climbing up our step gravel driveway in the heat of the early evening.

Don't know where he came from...

Don't know where he thought he was going.

Up hill is not the right way to go in search of water!

 

He was a good sized turtle...

And as our seasonal creeks are dry right now, we took him over to a neighbor about 1/4 of a mile from our house.  Their property has a good sized pond.

Turtle seemed to approve of our decision!

He was so pleased to find water, he forgot to say

thank-you! 

I found The Native Turtles of Oregon website and I think that our visitor must have been a Western Pond Turtle.  Interestingly Oregon has only two native turtles - the Western Pond Turtle and the Western Painted Turtle.  Both species are listed as "critical" on the state's sensitive species list.

Here are some facts about the Western Pond Turtle from the Native Turtles of Oregon website:

"Habitat includes streams, large rivers and slow-moving water.

Not fully aquatic: may spend part of the year in upland forests.

Prefer living in areas with large rocks and boulders, and use them to bask in the sun.

Basking in the sun is an important behavior and is crucial for thermal regulation, digestion and other life requirements.

Can survive drought by digging into the mud in dried up riverbeds.

Diet consists of insects, larvae of caddis flies, dragonflies and nymphs."

So I guess it was not so unusual to find Ms Myrtle the Turtle so far from water!