Last night a little after 7 pm the HH came in the house to tell me he had noticed a “little disturbance” to the turtle nest in our driveway. He was so calm about it… but as soon as the words left his mouth I was jumping up off the couch and bolting out the door and shouting like a crazy person.
The eggs were laid in our driveway on June 18th, and we’ve been patiently waiting ever since for their arrival.
Our first turtle baby!
The poor little guy, he must have been exhausted. All he wanted to do was make his way into the garage and come inside for a nice warm bath and a little bite to eat. 😉
But after a minute or two of watching him crawl across the driveway, we decided to pick him up and re-direct him back towards the pond area. He slowly made his way back across the driveway and then to the garden bed in front of the potting shed.
I think he was too tired from the days events of having to break out of his shell, climb out of the hole and then crawl a marathon back and forth across the driveway that when he finally landed on a soft piece of ground, he decided to hunker down for the night for a nice long siesta before continuing on his journey.
While he was napping, The Girl and I set up a path of tealights down to the pond to help guide the rest of the turtles back to their homeland.
Mrs. HB texted to say it looked a bit like a landing strip. 🙂 My neighbor thought it was a great idea. The HH thought we were a bunch of nutters. But c’mon now, I’m still pretty fresh out of suburbia, and I guess I went in to total helicopter parent mode with the tea lights and soft birthing music on in the background.
And then with headlamps on and mugs of hot chocolate in hand…. We waited. And waited and waited and waited.
Until the HH finally came out and said the babies were probably stuck under all the compacted gravel and needed some assistance. {His assistance apparently, because you know, The Girl and I were just going to sit there like a bunch of dingbats and let mother nature take it’s course.}
So he gently moved the big rocks away from the hole and loosened the soil around the area where the first turtle appeared. And before you know it, more babies started making their way out into the great unknown.
We watched 7 babies make it out of the nest last night before deciding to pack it up and go inside.
Living in the woods… there’s never dull moment around here, that’s for sure.
Wishing you the best of Fridays,
~Grandma Mavis
Susan says
Hi Mavis, that is so cute, I love the tea lights, I’d do the same thing.
I’m a bit of a lurker, I always read your posts and enjoy them, but never get around to commenting, so hello from Sue in Melbourne Australia.
Wendy Clark says
Love it!
Lisa says
Me too…especially “Grandma” Mavis!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
Oh Mavis, I am chuckling out loud at your tealights and “helicoptering”. I know nothing about land turtles, but sea turtles move towards the moon, so perhaps your tea light “landing strip” was helpful in pointing the way to the pond. It was good you let baby number 1 crawl independently a while. For sea turtle hatchlings, that independent movement towards the ocean is important to developing strength in their legs. But, also good you re-directed your little guy when he was going in the wrong direction. Enjoy the hatchlings!
Jeni says
Love the commentary. Hilarious and too much fun!!! Maybe you should tag them somehow so when they come for a visit when they’re all grown up, you’ll know which ones are your grand-turtles 🙂
Linda says
It’s been fun to watch and wait for the arrival of the babies. I’m curious though, never having been fortunate enough to partake in the hatching of baby turtles, are they baby snappers? If they are, sweet and cuddly isn’t what they’ll be when grown. If we find snappers on our property, we relocate them (very cautiously) to state forest land.
Becky says
These are definitely not snappers. They look like some sort of basking turtle, like a red-eared slider or painted turtle, but the markings aren’t obvious. I would still go with these are painted turtles though.
Holly says
Oh my goodness, they are so tiny and cute! Yay!!!!!
Sue says
How exciting!
Christie says
This is so great!! Love the story and the fact that you cared enough to save the nest and help the baby turtles find their way. We need more people like you in this world!
Kari says
So exciting!
Sean says
This is the best.
Deborah says
Congrats, Grandma Mavis! Times 7!
Chrissy says
I’ve been waiting all summer for this post! They are so cute!
Martine says
How wonderful. This news has brought a smile to my face. I love your life!! x
Susan says
So adorable !!!!!!
Teri says
This is just the best news!! You, your HH and the girl all rock!
Marlena says
How cool!! Congratulations and thanks for all the pics. Love the landing strip!!
Joely says
I love your new little turtle babies!!! They are absolutely adorable.
Erin Middlebrooks says
Oh Mavis, you just made my day. What an awesome post.
You’ve gone from HOA hell to this! Congrats.
Rynda Gregory says
What a precious thing to have experienced! Great memories! Thanks for sharing.
Katherine says
Mavis, thank you for sharing this exciting experience with us.
Lolly says
Eeeee! How exciting! They are sooooo cute!
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I was breathless. Wonderful story. Well documented.
Chrissy Griffin says
I’m hoping for names.
Nancy says
The wonders and joy of nature!!!
Reid Larimore says
That’s So Cool Finally!! been Following you for years and thought it was so cool when Mama Dug Your Driveway for her nest! I been waiting with you for them to show! They sure took their time about it!! Congrats G’ma!! Peace!!
Linda T says
That makes you Septo-Turtle-Mom! What a story. I wonder if they all hatch at once or if this is it. Do you know?
Great job!
LindaT
Vicki in Birmingham says
Congratulations on the new babies!
Helen in Meridian says
When I got up in the middle of the night to pee, and the bright moonlight was leading me on, I thought of you and the little turtles.
Rosi says
Thank-you!! For documenting and sharing this wondrous event. I can’t stop grinning like some mad fool…
Oh and I love the picture of you having a little pep talk with the teeny baby…
Laura Smith McKenna says
Congratulations! Your stewardship is much appreciated. Thank you for sharing the photos.
robin says
TURTALLY COOL!!!!!
Andrea says
How wonderful! Congratulations. They are so sweet.
tia in boise says
soooooo sweet! look at that long tail! welp, now you can get back on track with those races. ha ha.
kCindy says
Wow, that is so amazing!!!
Honeybee says
WOW!
Lace Faerie says
So exciting to read about the hatchlings! Thank you for sharing another fun adventure with your readers!
‘Nutters’…..is that New England for nut-house crazy!?! I totally heard a New England accent when I read that! Thanks for the smiles!
LauraArnett says
I have been in pins and needles waiting! I wouldn’t have wanted to keep them- as always you did the right thing. Loved the part where HH stepped in like 911 responder and got the other ones to start their way out. The candles were amazing- I would’ve never thought to do that. Did Lucy get to see any of it?
Allison Kitfield says
I love how you the three of you (and yes, I do mean the HH despite his attempts to seem gruff and practical) see the magic that is around us, and then step bravely in to help bring it to its fullest–and I especially love that you then help the rest of us see as well. The tea light-lit path brought me to tears….of the happy kind. Thank you.
Marilyn Yamada says
Mavis, we have been traveling and messed your turtle post. Thanks for sharing. I always love your commentary! Hugs from the Pacific Northwest.
Hanna McCown says
That’s amazing. They are beautiful. You are a wonderful mother, keeping watch and building a landing strip for them. Wonderful story,