Turtle time

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist

Every year, when the earth warms, they wake up and head out into their world. There is a curious smell about them: damp soil and wet leaves. Dried mud might encrust their shells, and their toenails might be decorated with clumps of dirt, but their eyes are bright, and they are hungry.

Turtles, those shelled creatures who live mostly in the water but breathe air, will first make their way to shallow water. There, they will rest their forelegs on something solid, a rock or a creek bank. They'll stretch their hind feet out behind them, the bottoms turned up to better catch the sun. They will bask, perfectly still, until they are fully warmed. Only then will they dart into the deeper water in search of food.

The snappers, sliders, and painted turtles, who all live along our creek, are omnivores, and eat a varied diet of insects, fish, crawdads, snails, and common creek plants like still-water duckweed and wild garlic and strawberry. When young, the turtles tend to eat more of a carnivorous diet, yet once grown, their metabolisms slow and they can forego the hunt, and turn to leisurely dining on sedentary vegetation. The high protein diet of the young turtles helps fuel their rapid skeletal growth, which includes their sturdy shells.

Tortoises also make their home in the creek valley. Tortoises are actually land-dwelling relatives of the valley's semi-aquatic turtles, and are considered a subgroup within the larger taxonomic order of turtles. Thus, it is just fine to refer to a tortoise as a turtle, though in the evolutionary scheme of things, tortoises are a younger relative. The tortoises' shells are tall and box-like, hence their common name, box turtle. Their strong stumpy legs and feet, that look rather like those of an elephant's, are perfect for holding their bellies up off of the ground as they awkwardly walk cross the land.

Like the turtles, as tortoises grow older, they turn to eating a mostly herbivorous diet, though when younger, there is nothing quite like a fine dinner of worms. Their eagle eyes and keen sense of smell help them find land-based foods such as snails, insects, berries, pawpaw, and even certain kinds of fungi. I can't help but smile when I find one of my garden's low-lying tomatoes with its bottom perfectly chewed upon by a passing tortoise.

Driving down the creek valley road the other day, we came upon a turtle. Greg stepped out of the truck to give her a hand across, but the turtle took one look at Greg and quickly scooted the rest of the way over to the other side. I had to laugh to see my dear husband chasing after this creek valley creature.

Then the next day we came upon a tortoise. I stepped out of the truck and went to assist him across the road. He drew his legs and head deep inside his shell. Only the top of his nose showed as well as his long fingernails. No amount of coaxing would encourage him to venture out. I set him down in the grass far off the road, headed in the same direction as he was going. This last is important, as both turtles and tortoises are stubborn creatures, and if placed on the wrong side of the road, they will simply turn around and head back the way they were going.

You may wonder how I knew that the turtle was a female and the tortoise a male. It is really quite simple. The males sport long fingernails, the better to caress the shells of their loves. Should you happen to lightly stroke the shell of a turtle or a tortoise, you might just find the creature's neck arching in a form of reptile bliss. Their shells are very sensitive to touch.

I always enjoy this turtle time of year. Perhaps it is because I am somewhat turtle-like, for you see, like the turtles, I know that there is nothing quite like a good back scratch!