Saving the Turtles

Back in August when a granddaughter was visiting we saw a Painted Turtle laying eggs.  That is the only time I have ever seen that.  I found out what the gestation period was and marked the calendar.  Starting a week before the date I checked 2 times a day.  I continued checking for over a week after.  Never saw a thing.  We had the girls this week end and they asked if the turtles had ever hatched.  I said no; Let’s dig them up and see what happened.  We dug out a big clump of dirt and took it apart carefully.  We found the eggs shells and 7 little turtles about as big around as a nickle.  The mother laid the eggs in heavy clay soil and I figure the turtles could not dig themselves out.  A couple looked like they were still alive.  We put them in the pond and all 7 eventually swam away or crawled up on the bank.  The picture is of a 12 year old thumb and a turtle to give you an idea of size.  Getting to share this with a 12, 10, 8 and 5 year old was pretty special.