Yesterday, we happened to be visiting my parents-in-law's cottage, the backyard of which is right off the shore of a canal that connects two lakes. Earlier in the spring, they'd seen some mommy turtles laying eggs, which is pretty common there. But yesterday, some babies decided it was the best day to hatch!
Hubby was helping his dad with some gardening when he noticed baby turtles everywhere around him in the grass. To make sure we didn't step on them, we started gathering them up in the wagon in the photo below to take them down to the water. The edge of their backyard is on a very steep cliff, maybe around a 25 foot fall, and if they'd walked the more gentle slope down to the water, it would be about 100 feet distance, so we figured we'd give them a hand.
We did find the nest and made sure all the turtles got to the water. Hubby guessed there were at least 30 babies! On the shore, we placed them on the ground and watched them climb into the water and swim for the first time. A couple of them hung around the shore for a while, checking out the lily pads and such, maybe to tell us, "Thanks for the lift!" My mommy-in-law only got one photo of them, but I'll never forget how cute they were!
Hubby was helping his dad with some gardening when he noticed baby turtles everywhere around him in the grass. To make sure we didn't step on them, we started gathering them up in the wagon in the photo below to take them down to the water. The edge of their backyard is on a very steep cliff, maybe around a 25 foot fall, and if they'd walked the more gentle slope down to the water, it would be about 100 feet distance, so we figured we'd give them a hand.
We did find the nest and made sure all the turtles got to the water. Hubby guessed there were at least 30 babies! On the shore, we placed them on the ground and watched them climb into the water and swim for the first time. A couple of them hung around the shore for a while, checking out the lily pads and such, maybe to tell us, "Thanks for the lift!" My mommy-in-law only got one photo of them, but I'll never forget how cute they were!
