Renewal

There's a few things I'm sure about. One of which is that if I wash my car, it will rain the next day even in a drought. I haven't washed my car in like a month and decided it was time on Monday. Cue the thunderstorms and torrential downpours. But the rain brought needed water, especially to the swamp where I released Cashew. I decided to check on it and see if there really were any turtles left there. I figured since it was so dry that all the turtles had migrated to the big pond. Sure enough, no turtles were seen even though the rain helped make it a real swamp again. The sweet pepperbush was blooming and fragrant. It was so pleasant out that even the treefrogs were calling. Here's my first test video from my work camera of the treefrogs calling.

I checked out the big pond and spotted a big snapper lurking amongst the duckweed. There were several more close muskrats calls. But as soon as the camera was out, it jumped into the muck.

One of the nice things about the swamp in the summer is that there are barely any people there. It's just me, the occasional overhead plane, and the sounds of nature. It's real tough to get actual silence anymore....at least silence from man-made stuff. So it's a nice respite after a long day of work in the office, which has become the norm rather than the rarity. Hopefully some fun field work will come up next week. Although it's looking like it's not going to happen.

Potential Cashew Sighting

At least a few times a week after work, I stop by the swamp where I let Cashew go. I must have been there like 20 times and have not had any success. I've seen a bunch of cool other things and lately I get to munch on blueberries and huckleberries. BTW, the berries are in full steam. See these berries below there were just out of my reach. Today the swamp looked really really dry. I didn't have too much luck finding much of anything until I spotted a little painted turtle and noticed it's shell was different. Could that be Cashew??? It quickly went under leaving only its head out. I must have had like 2 seconds to see the turtle fully out. It then hung out under water for like 20 minutes. I moved around a bit and called out her name. I was about to give up when I noticed the head was gone. Then I saw it a few more feet farther away. It was swimming on the surface but not fully out. But again, the shell seemed abnormally bumpy....bumpy enough to be Cashew. So I really think it was Cashew and it was only like 20 feet away from the release point. I'm just glad to see that she's adapted to being wild.

I was pretty groggy this morning eating my breakfast in front of the tv when I saw this news story flash on the screen for like 15 seconds. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. A man in Florida saves a black bear from drowning!!! That's what the pictures showed and all I could hear. It's true, but I missed the critical part of the bear being tranquilized and then running into the Gulf of Mexico as it became groggier and groggier. That's a man who loves his work.

Independence Day for Cashew

Today was Cashew's big release. I fed her a bunch of extra times the past couple days in preparation. I was accompanied by my mother and it was a perfect day for her first day in big real world. She's come a long way. When I first got her in September, her shell was just barely an inch long. Today, her shell is about 3.3 inches long.
I was hoping to drop her onto this bunched sedge. Unfortunately I missed and she landed upside down in the water! She sat motionless for several minutes. I knew she was in shock but I couldn't get her out since I released her off a boardwalk with an array of barriers on the railing. I had to lay on my belly with my arm extended and she fell about a foot down. She's fallen farther at home onto a hard surface and was perfectly fine. So I knew she wasn't hurt but rather alarmed at what she's fallen into. We were going to look for a branch to push her onto the bunched sedge. By the time we got back, she was gone. We periodically came back to check the area but there was no sign of her. I went home and off turtling for the rare turtles. When I came back I still couldn't find her but most of the turtles were no longer basking since it was so hot out.
I'll go check on her after work this week to see if I can spot her. The area isn't that large and its full of other types of turtles including several just like her. She's come a long way and it's sad that I won't have a critter to take care of. But something tells me that by fall, I may have another baby to foster.

The Thirsty Turtle

Sunday was supposed to be my turtle free day. I was going to run an errand in the morning and then the afternoon was going to be devoted to a wine festival. I was driving past my local wetland and I see a turtle on the shoulder of the road. I slam on my brakes and quickly turn around. Sure enough it's another spotted turtle. It's a real old dude and almost all his spots have been worn away. I don't have any equipment nor a real camera so he rode shotgun back to my place. It's only like a couple minute drive. Music is pumping but he is brave enough to come out of his shell and start to walk around. I get him home and take notes, measurements, and pics. Poor chap has lost his front left claw and he has a growth on his tail. He didn't seem to have a real idea of where he wanted to go on the road when I saw him. He wasn't crossing the road but was sitting parallel on it. I was concerned about putting him back where I found him and there really weren't any real wetlands in that spot. So I put him in the same wetland I found the other spotted turtle.

The wine festival was great. It was held at a former estate which is now owned by the County. I've been lucky enough to be inside that old mansion on the hill. I didn't know there were going to be so many wineries but we lucked out and the first one we hit was great and cheap. We had to be smart about our selections since it would be impossible to do full tastings at like 20 wineries. It was a cloudless awesome afternoon and I bought 6 bottles of wine.
Monday was spent doing household chores and getting my car's oil changed by my dad and brother. I decided to bring Cashew along to crawl around in the grass for the first time. At first, she was brave and craning her neck in amazement. Then she got freaked out and hid in her shell for at least 20 minutes. I got tired of waiting for a good camera opportunity so I put her back in the tupperware. She came out of her shell again and I let my mom and brother watch her in the grass. She walked around a little bit more (each time my mom squealed which probably didn't help the cause) and had a staredown with an ant. Then it was back to her tank for now. I'm running out of food so this weekend will be her release date. The weather is finally being consistently nice and warm and I found a good spot for her to go. It's going to be bittersweet but it's for the best.

The turtles are out

It's official...well officially the season to start looking for the super rare turtle happens next week, but the other turtles are definitely out. The fever and unfortunately the competition at the office has begun to find the most turtles. Don't be alarmed. These pics are from last summer. It's just that I forgot my camera during the last field outing and my co-worker didn't feel the need to take any pics of the painted turtles he caught.

Seeing those painted turtles made me feel bad about Cashew. The wild turtles were out having fun and doing their turtle thing. So I set the date for Cashew's independence. It's literally Independence Day or sooner if the food runs out. It'll give me enough time for some more training and for her to grow. Yes. I'm really starting to think Cashew may be a girl. I'm also thinking of releasing Cashew to my favorite turtle pond. I was apprehensive about that because there is a snapping turtle that has a head literally the size of my fist...big enough to eat a little turtle. But I'm hoping Cashew will grow another inch or two before then.

I did get a chance to check out my co-worker's turtlets....and I do mean turtlets. They literally have not grown at all since they hatched September. I felt so bad....like I wanted to scoop them up and take them home and feed them. It would so bizarre to have a twin brother/sister that is like 4 times as big as you....or still be the size of a newborn years later. Something is just not right there. If you recall, this was Cashew at the bottom of a paper cup when I first got her as a hatchling.

Now Cashew's got weight and her shell is about 3 inches long....a long way from a nickel sized shell.

Paging the Annie Sullivan of painted turtles

On my recent outing to my local wetlands, I harvested two small egg masses in hopes that Cashew will gobble them up. Apparently easier said then done. I wish I could communicate somehow to Cashew to let it know that those egg masses are food. Cashew expressed no interest whatsoever. Not even a sniff at them. I left for a couple hours and checked back on the situation. Still no change. A couple days passed and the eggs were growing and I was worried that the eggs would hatch and I would be inundated with hundreds of salamander and frog larvae and tadpoles. So I scooped them back up and returned them to their original locations. A few frog eggs were left over and the eggs have been growing. Perhaps by tomorrow I'll have a handful of microscopic tadpoles. Maybe that'll be more of Cashew's liking. I read in one of my field guides that painted turtlets like crustaceans and insects. Sigh. Next menu choice will be some live fairy shrimp....if I can find some.

Then today on the advice of a co-worker I got more fish. Three to be exact. I put them all in a tupperware with just a little bit of water. Cashew spent 90% of the time trying to scratch it's way out and 10% of the time just staring at me. So everyone got dumped into the fish tank. Hopefully Cashew will broaden its menu of food.

Chariots of Cashew

Field work has come to a grinding halt thanks to two large projects that require a lot of office work and have short deadlines....aka the boring zone. So in the meantime, enjoy my latest video attempt. Not heard on this video is the funny hissing noises Cashew makes. Apparently it's just a reflex of air going in and out of their lungs....not an angry noise.

Cashew update

I had another photo sesh with Cashew the last time I cleaned its tank. Cashew was less than pleased and didn't want to be photographed. It was hiding in its shell and once it popped fully out and proceeded to scramble full speed off the table. Thankfully, there was a carpet underneath and it only fell like a foot.


Cashew's shell is now 2 inches long and has doubled in size since I first got it. Plus, I'm starting to think Cashew may actually (GASP!) be a girl. I'll have to wait and see about that. Cashew is still really small and young.

What you can't see is that while posing for the pics, Cashew is lightly pumping all limbs...like stretching movements....so cute.

Are you looking at me?

The tank is all clean and filled with warm water! I guess Cashew thought it was spring because of the warm water and started acting a bit crazy and trying to wedge itself in the corner.

ANTEPT

America's Next Top Eastern Painted Turtle that is. I had a photo sesh with Cashew today. He did pretty well, but needs to work on conveying more emotion in the eyes. There he is being silly with some shrimp pellet pieces on his head.

He gave me a scare yesterday. I believe it might have been a near drowning. I was in the basement working on resecuring the ceiling to stop the mice/chipmunk entry, when I saw him walking around the bottom of the tank. This was odd for him, but I let him go for about 15 minutes. He made a few attempts to escape the situation by clawing at the tank walls. But he's always done that at all water levels. Finally I got worried, grabbed him and put him on the floating rock. He usually scurries off it and hides in the aquatic plant. But this time he just sat there, front feet limp, and breathing real heavy for a couple minutes. Freaking me out all along. Then I shut the heat lamp off and he moved and turned toward the water. And then he went back into the water and into the plant. All was well. Of course a few minutes later he was on the bottom of the tank again, but he found his way back up. I think the filter system has made some currents he can't quite fight yet. But he should manage to find his way to the filter box (it sucks toward it) and then can climb on top of it and then be almost out of the water. He did this the second time he was hanging out on the bottom. I wonder if this was what happened to Peanut.

This is the usual spot I find him...tangled in the roots of the aquatic plant. He's grown quite a bit. His shell is 1.3 inches long. I'm really hoping to keep him out of hibneration this winter so he can grow and be large enough to be free by next fall. But he has to learn how to eat live food before then.

The Mommy zone

Workwise, I spent the week working on big reports and going to meetings. No outside fun work for me. Next week I do have one day scheduled outside and it should be pretty nice. But again, more meetings and big reports are the main focus.

At home, I've spent many hours watching my babies...baby painted turtles Peanut and Cashew, so that partially explains my absence from blog country. Just like a new mommy....except different. I had the unpleasant task of cleaning their tank yesterday. Since then, I have decided to feed them in a separate tupperware to help reduce the mess. That means only one feeding a day for them during the week. But they were totally uninterested in eating this morning aside from the shrimp, which is really just supposed to be treats. I use it as appetizer for them. One shrimp each and then they should be gulping down real food. I measured and attempted to weigh them on a postage scale. The scale didn't budge at all. Peanut, the little one, has lost his egg tooth and his shell is very fat. Cashew, the big one, still has his egg tooth, and his shell is much more flat. My co-worker claims his baby turtle is a girl. But really at this age, you can't tell. For whatever reason, I refer to my turtlets as boys.