Thursday, April 28, 2011

Creatures Golden and Small

I really enjoy sleeping with the windows open, but it can come with a price.  This morning at 4:30, the price was a crack of lightening, and the sound of rumbling thunder that woke everyone.  When a couple of the dogs started to pace and pant, I knew I had no choice but to get up.  CarrieAnne, the most nervous hid under my feet while I sat at the computer.  Outside, the storm battered us with high winds and a torrential downpour.  Tornado warnings were issued and there was a reported siting of one in an area minutes from us.  What a way to start the day!

I delayed the morning walk with the dogs until Carl got home from work and the storm passed.  In our yard we found this cow-bird.  My guess is that it was a casualty from the storm.  When we tried to catch it, it did fly some, but not much.
Carl finally caught it and we put it into the field next to us to keep it safe from the dogs until it can regain its strength.  I have to admit to not liking cow-birds.  They are actually the very reason why I've cut back on feeding the birds.  They come in flocks, gobble down everything and chase the little birds away.  But as it sometimes is with  people, you put all those feelings aside and do what you can to help.
Running errands this morning, I saw that the creeks are full and some of the fields are flooded.  Water was across the road in some places as well.
On my way home, I found this little terrapin trying to cross the road.
I don't know if this little guy wanted my help or not, but it got it, because I always stop and and pick them up. I think it knew it was safer in its shell because it never came out, but looked at us from the inside.  
Maybe a couple of the dogs thinking I had a snack for them was the reason....

When I was a kid and we would see a terrapin on the road, my Mom would stop the car and either me or one of my siblings would pick it up and either set it well across the road, or we'd take it to a place where it would be safe.  My Mom always told us when we let it go to wish it good luck...Afterwards she'd always ask us if we did that.
So, of course when I let this one go in our woods, I wished it 'good luck'
Funny what you can remember from so long ago...
I hope if any of you have been caught in these storms, that you've had 'good luck' and are safe too!
~Sheba~

39 comments:

  1. Glad to hear everyone is safe. Once again, we dodged the bullet. I've been watching the news, and it's so sad to see the damage and hear about the ones who weren't so lucky. My heart goes out to them...
    These pictures are great, Kim. Thanks for sharing them.

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  2. I give a sigh of relief when you and a few of the other blogs I follow which are in storm hit areas post because that tells me you all are fine. Good to see you and the dogs are checked off that list. Our dogs hate lightening as well.

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  3. I am so sorry for all you folks that are experiencing those terrible tornatos. I say on the weather last night that it is the cold air that is coming in from the west (us) that is hitting your warm air and causing them. Again I am so sorry. I pray that they will pass soon. Loved your post your pictures are wonderful.

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  4. Its been raining here for three days! But no tornado warning this far north.
    Lovely 'tradition' you have with the Tarapins.....never heard that term before.
    Great photo of Sheba.

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  5. We had tornado warnings too...and it is still VERY windy here with advisories. Fortunately, we have been lucky so far.

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  6. bloody hell tornados...

    I worry about the odd flash of lightening here!!!

    bloody light weight I AM!

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  7. texas got off easy the night before last, compared to SO many other states and places. God bless the folks devastated by these storms!

    (my dogs pick up turtles for me too - i have to chase them down and return the turtles to the pond - hopefully with only a few teeth scrapings, but sometimes worse...)

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  8. One of our cats prefers to be under our bed when it thunders. :)

    So many places have high water. Hope you will all be safe.

    God bless. ♥

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  9. ah, kim, we are kindred souls indeed! i always pick up turtles and take them in the direction they were pointed. poor things. sometimes the highway is too curvy and too dangerous so i pray for the little thing. i am glad you were spared from those tornadoes. this weather is so scary now. we have storms constantly. i believe nugget is getting used to them somewhat be he still breathes fast and is nervous but not as badly as last year! :)

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  10. Kim, I am so glad that you and your family are safe...those storms were really wicked; so much damage and destruction.
    I love ther terrapin, but it's funny, we always just called them 'turtles' and it wasn't until I became involved in basketball aka, the Maryland Terrapins that I knew a turtle was called a terrapin...learn new things all the time!

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  11. One summer, when I was a wee lassie, my Dad carved my name and the year on every terrapin we found - to this day, I look whenever I find one to see if it has my initials on it.

    Glad the storm didn't do any damage at your house -none here either except for trash cans blown around.

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  12. I am so glad to hear you and yours are alright! I have been watching the evening news and seeing all the heartbreaking pictures from Alabama and Mississippi with tears in my eyes. I had you and your family in my prayers.
    I also rescue turtles, frogs, worms....well just about anything stranded where it shouldn't be. I made the mistake of trying to rescue a snapping turtle last year and boy did he put me in my place!
    Take care and stay safe this evening!
    Tina xo

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  13. Woo, I'm glad that you're OK. Those were some intense storms, from what I hear.

    Cowbirds also do a dastardly trick that you might know about. They deposit their eggs in the nests of other species who then raise the cowbird young for them. If you ever see a fledgling who is bigger than his/her parent, it's a sure sign of a cowbird trick. The problem is that the cowbird chicks out-compete the real offspring of the parents, and often those offspring die.

    I love the terrapin photos! I've never seen one in person!

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  14. Nothing like a scaredy dog, huh? Poor CarrieAnne! Yep, bad start to a day!

    Cow-Bird? I believe we have a few of them here, terrible pigs! The weather had to be hard on the birds, my Mourning Doves looked like they spent the day in my front loader washer!

    Think everyone loves a turtle - any type. Sometimes you see one crossing the road one way and another crossing to where the first had been, makes one wonder if the port-a-potty is on one side of the road.

    Beautiful picture of Sheba!

    Have a nice evening!

    XXX

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  15. All the nature and animals in your neck of the woods are so pretty in all your pictures! The bird looks like he is happy to have help! Glad you weathered the storms OK. We had a lot of wind damage but are OK too. What a spring!!

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  16. Love the pup investigating the turtle! We lost some sleep due to a nervous doggie last night too :)

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  17. Turtle cookie! That popped into my head when I saw your photo. (I think I need a break from the computer.)

    :)

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  18. We are glad to know you are safe - we are worried about all our blogging friends and are waiting to make sure everyone has checked in.

    Sam

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  19. We had the same warnings & watches last night here in Pa.I was up at the same time you were,shutting my windows against the lightenning & rain,but when I went back to sleep,the dogs let me sleep till 8:30.I never sleep that long.
    I haven`t seen any turtles yet this year.I believe they get on the road because they need a hard surface like that to mate,I read that somewhere.I always move them off too.Glad all that you had was flooding,our roads were flooded too,have a great weekend!phyllis

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  20. Wonderful post Kim. Always love reading about a slice of life at Golden Pines. Is that Hamlet inspecting the terrapin?

    So happy all is safe and well. I've never had a Golden that is afraid of thunder, but I think I might have one now. Not much banging around here normally. Easton is happy about that.

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  21. Kim
    I am so worried,,,,,,
    so much is happening in our world,,,,
    i pray for all of you,,,
    i pray for the animals.
    I am happy you and hubby helped the bird... I am sure its little heart was racing,,,
    and the turtle,, I am wishing it good luck where ever it is
    please be safe
    love
    tweedles

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  22. Girl...I think you and I have twin hearts! I just know God send little animals and creatures to me who need help and looks like he does to you too! God bless you :D

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  23. We've been horrified to read about the weather Stateside. It just doesn't seem possible that there can have been so much loss of life. Glad that all are safe and well at Golden Pines - terrapin included.

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  24. Hi Kim
    We're glad to read that you & your family & dogs are okay. The weather has been volatile this year already. Great pictures of the terrapin & the cowbird. Love the shot of Hamlet sniffing.

    Woofs
    Nadine & Neeli

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  25. all we got was rain here, and I can't tell you the number of calls and emails i have had asking if we were ok.
    Hey, I am going to be in WV for a week in June for work. I need to chat you up-I have no clue which airport to fly in, what's there to do nearby-and maybe you don't, either, but I thought I'd ask.
    You can email me at phuff"at" abac"dot" edu

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  26. So sweet to remember traditions from your Mother. Been watching the horrific tornadoes on the news.
    I think we are due ome thunder & rain - it's been dry & hot for weeks now. Take care xx

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  27. Pleased to hear that you are all okay. We hate storms, Louis especially shivers and shakes when he hears thunder. What lovely wildlife photo's too! Dex & Louis x

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  28. I loved this post. Sorry you had to get the awful weather, but we don't much like cowbirds either. They use other bird's nests and are generally miserable birds, but we' would have helped the little fellow find a safe spot to rest.

    We always stop for turtles and try to help them across the street. Rob has often come home with one or two in the car that he found along a highway and felt needed a safer place to live. I hadn't heard about wishing them luck, but I guess I actually do it when I let them go in the woods.

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  29. Hubby finds those turtles on our property from time to time and usually has to move them out of the way so he doesn't mow over them.

    Pretty crazy weather we are having this spring. Let's hope things settle down soon!

    DI

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  30. I'm glad to hear that you and yours were unscathed by another round of terrible storms and I hope CarrieAnne recovered quickly.

    Love the turtle! We used to find them all the time growing up in Pennsylvania. Pretty neat!

    Have a good one!

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  31. That storm was a doozy. I remember our dogs being scared of them, and always on Guy Fawkes night on 5th November with the fireworks. Your photos were lovely, gorgeous dogs and a cute story on rescuing the terrapins in your childhood.

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  32. Yesterday we had a real bad storm that did a lot of damage just down the street but didn't hurt us at all. The damage down the street was trees down and some fell into houses and one man is in the hospital tonight. Others were taken to the hospital and treated and released. We were so lucky!! About 15 houses were damaged.
    We always stop and pick up turtles too to help them across the road. I wish every one would.
    Thanks so much for your visit.
    xx, Bambi & Fern

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  33. Goodness ~ you had quite the day! Storms and saving animals ~ hopefully your weekend is a lot less stressful Kim!!!

    xo Catherine

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  34. We had some threatening storms. Sirens went crazy and we went crazy down to the basement - cats and dogs in tow. Thank goodness nothing major happened around here.

    We also pick the terrapins out of the roads. Just enough to cross, because I always think they must have something in mind, like visiting their "compadres" on the other side.
    xoxo

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  35. Sorry about the yucky storms. We've been having some too but probably not as bad as the ones you're having in your country. That bird is lovely & I hope it has not been hurt. I hope it has regained its strength & flown away.

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  36. Good for you for helping the little guys! I'm like that with little critters too...and bigger ones of course. Once a chickadee flew the wrong way out of the cedar tree next to my bedroom window and ran right into the window and knocked itself out and landed upside down in the first floor gutter, so I put on my sneakers, opened my window wide, pulled out the screen and went out on the roof to pick him up out of the gutter. I held him in my hands for a bit and then set him down on the roof and went back inside and watched him quietly until he flew away.

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  37. Still wondering how things are down south...please take care of yourselves. Peace and Love~~~coming your way!

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  38. Sending love and huggs
    xoxo
    tweedles

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  39. Kim,
    You are so kind-hearted to even stop and rescue the terrapin.
    Some things just bring back instant memories as I'm sure this did of your Mom.
    I wish we had some terrapin here.
    I used to have turtles when I was younger and loved to watch them.

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