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farlaToday I went to browse through a gardening store. I've wanted a pond and my mother's starting to agree, so we were checking out items.
They sold koi and goldfish too. It's kind of sad when you look around at a bunch of animals being held in inexpert tanks and realize they are still better off than those in pet stores. They actually seemed in strangely good condition. They were horribly overstocked for an actual tank, of course, but their water was clear (except for those swimming around in the plants, and they weren't crowded) and almost none were dead.
We were just driving back when I saw a huge snapping turtle standing on the lawn of what was basically a small park. After seeing all the fake ornamental animals back at the store I almost didn't realize it was real. My mother stopped the car and my brother and went to look at it.
The turtle basically ignored us. The only thing she did was start to withdraw her head slightly when I got within two feet, at which point I backed up. Snapping turtles have no fear at all. A little one once wound up on my lawn and it whacked me with its tail. She was waiting for me to get in range for a bite.
Once I was quite definitely out of range, I circled around and saw she'd scraped up some of the grass. Oh, I thought, she's digging a hole for her eggs. Then she pulled one leg out, exposing a second, hollow cavern. She hadn't just made a straight hole, she'd dug out an area without damaging the top. I never thought turtles were so good at it. I could see plenty of eggs in there, and she was still laying one every thirty seconds or so.
If I hadn't noticed, we'd have missed it all. It's strange, because I don't necessarily notice much outside the car. Just a few hours earlier, my mother was pointing out someone riding a bike to my brother and I didn't notice it until she mentioned it. I tend to be almost completely oblivious of people moving around on sidewalks, but I notice things like broken trees, birds and squirrels.
They sold koi and goldfish too. It's kind of sad when you look around at a bunch of animals being held in inexpert tanks and realize they are still better off than those in pet stores. They actually seemed in strangely good condition. They were horribly overstocked for an actual tank, of course, but their water was clear (except for those swimming around in the plants, and they weren't crowded) and almost none were dead.
We were just driving back when I saw a huge snapping turtle standing on the lawn of what was basically a small park. After seeing all the fake ornamental animals back at the store I almost didn't realize it was real. My mother stopped the car and my brother and went to look at it.
The turtle basically ignored us. The only thing she did was start to withdraw her head slightly when I got within two feet, at which point I backed up. Snapping turtles have no fear at all. A little one once wound up on my lawn and it whacked me with its tail. She was waiting for me to get in range for a bite.
Once I was quite definitely out of range, I circled around and saw she'd scraped up some of the grass. Oh, I thought, she's digging a hole for her eggs. Then she pulled one leg out, exposing a second, hollow cavern. She hadn't just made a straight hole, she'd dug out an area without damaging the top. I never thought turtles were so good at it. I could see plenty of eggs in there, and she was still laying one every thirty seconds or so.
If I hadn't noticed, we'd have missed it all. It's strange, because I don't necessarily notice much outside the car. Just a few hours earlier, my mother was pointing out someone riding a bike to my brother and I didn't notice it until she mentioned it. I tend to be almost completely oblivious of people moving around on sidewalks, but I notice things like broken trees, birds and squirrels.
