And this was no ordinary day - I was writing an article that was gonna save the town! Well, ok, not save the town, but the community! No, not even quite the community...but darn it, I was trying to save the community garden.
It seemed that the local community garden had become somewhat of an eyesore and neighbors were complaining. Heck I didn't even know this town HAD a community garden and since I had just found out about it, I took it upon myself to go down there, take some pictures and post an article in my Urban Agriculture column on Examiner.com. (Note: shameless plug alert!)
Something had to be done! We couldn't just let this project go to waste, people somewhere had poured their heart and soul into this garden and by gosh, I was gonna stir up some noise and get people motivated!
But have you ever tried to use a wireless mouse with the batteries going dead? Or to type on a wireless keyboard in the same condition? Aggravating to say the least.
So it was time to head out to the store to get some batteries.
Oh, wait, you haven't done the laundry...you don't have clean socks.
The Heck with it! I'll wear yesterday's socks. I know, I know, "eeewwwwwww!" but I was just running to the store for batteries...jees, give me a break!
"Oooo, I'll stop by a department store and buy MORE socks while I'm out." (just one of those things that I've needed to get for a while and just haven't and there is no time like the present.)
But as penance, as SOON as I get back I will start the laundry.
So I headed off to the store to buy socks and batteries.
"I hate this store... why did I come here... on a saturday afternoon?"..... sigh....grumble.....moan...."Oooo, those are nice pants, do they come in my size? I'll go ty them on"... "OH! Those are horrible pants".... moan...grumble...."they never make anything to fit me - if it's too big there, it's too small here...am I shaped SOOO very differently than the entire female population?" I think there might have been a touch of PMS going on at this point, just to kick things up a notch.
"Socks! I'm here for socks!"
Grab the socks...walk towards the front row of cash registers.... "Ooo.... they have clearance................Stop it! Go pay for your socks we have a garden to save."
So I waited on line for a cashier who hated her job to ring up my stuff and flirt with the guys standing behind me...."Ugh! I am so glad to be out of that store!"
"Batteries!" I remembered as I drove out of the parking lot. I spotted a pharmacy and turned in to buy the batteries... more grumbling..."Oh, yeah, need conditioner" and I proceeded to wait on that line, noticing that they had Reese's Dark on sale..."OK, fine!"
Wow, wait this article is about the new species..... Oooooooo shiny!!!!!! SQUIRREL!
Sorry, back on track now.
So as soon as I got home, the dogs started whining as though they had been left home alone for days, the roosters were crowing and I swear I heard the pigs grunting from where I was in the front yard.
Animals! Have your ever just had one of those moments when you look around a your dogs, chickens, pigs and undone laundry and just wanted to quit? Well, OK, have you ever looked around at your dogs, children, spouses and undone laundry and wanted to quit?
It was one of those moments.
So I took a breath, greeted the dogs, checked on the chickens - who were fine, just greeting me, I guess - and determined that the pigs would be fine until feeding time.
I grabbed the laundry and walked outside to start the process.
On the way out there, on the hot Florida afternoon concrete, was a baby turtle. Laying there looking dried out and covered with ants. The poor thing kept kicking with it's back foot to try and get the ants off (I suppose - at least that's what it looked like to me at the time.)
"Leave it" I said, "its mother will be looking for it." "It is NOT your responsibility." And I finished my walk to the laundry.
When I returned, it was still there.
I looked at it closer and couldn't quite tell what kind it was. Was it supposed to be in the water or on land? Did it belong to the box turtle that lived at the end of our driveway? Should I put it up there where she can find it? It looked dried out, and as though its shell hasn't even developed yet - almost like a soft-shell crab I had seen once as a girl.
So he just laid there, on the hot concrete, drying out further, twitching his back leg every once in a while to kick the ants away.
"Great!", I said" Just what I need is another animal to take care of. I don't know anything about turtles." So I grabbed the spatula off the barbeque grill and carefully carried him into the house, making him a home in a plastic tray, half dirt and half water so he could decide which he liked better while I investigated what to do.
He was a strange looking turtle, with a long point at the end of his nose. And as I looked further I realized that his feet were webbed. As I investigated in the internet, I discovered that it was a Florida Softshell Turtle - I didn't even know they existed - and he belongs in the water. As I watched him, he made his way from the dirt that I had placed him on inside the tray down into the water. He tried to swim, but I hadn't given him enough water for that. 
So I read some more about their habits and habitat and decided that he would be better off outside in the swamp (which is probably where he was heading when he was disrupted by the concrete driveway). So I brought him out and placed him down next to the water and said goodbye.Another species identified and returned to the wild on the homestead.
Here's a cute video I found on YouTube of two Florida softshell turtles bought and kept as pets. And another one (adult turtle) rescued from the middle of the road. Florida softshell turtle video
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