badbobby Loc: Humble Texas

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There's a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water's edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.









"Hello," I said. "I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don't mind my nosiness, I'd love to know what you're doing with these turtles."



She smiled. "I'm cleaning off their shells," she replied. "Anything on a turtle's shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle's ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time."

"Wow! That's really nice of you!" I exclaimed.



She went on: "I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It's my own strange way of making a difference."



"But don't most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?" I asked.

"Yep, sadly, they do," she replied.

I scratched my head. "Well then, don't you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don't have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?"



The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, "Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he'd tell you I just made all the difference in the world."

The moral: You can change the world , maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one good deed at a time. Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference. It does.

Huntm22 Loc: Northern Utah. - West Haven

Thanks for that! We need to eat the elephant just one bite at a time - don’t try swallowing it whole.

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

That does put things in perspective, thanks for sharing!

Egghead

Alot to be learned here, what would it be like if everyone did something nice everyday. Maybe twice.hmmm.?

Lee626 Loc: Brick NJ [ near the Jersey shore ]

It would be nice if there were more people like that out there

FourchonLa. Loc: Fourchon Louisiana, South Louisiana

Mmmm. Turtle soup.

Whitey Loc: Southeast ohio

Always like parboiling cut up Turtle picking the meat off the bone an rolling it in flour fried in butter. eat it as soon as it comes out of the Iron Skillet golden brown. Gooood stuff

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

Great Moral there bb. You just may see a version of that on a upcoming thought of the day.

ranger632 Loc: Near Yosemite Park Ca.

Has anyone thought she might be hurting the turtle with kindness? All water turtles I have seen usually has some form of slime or algae on them and figure that was the way nature protect their shells. Who knows but most of the time its best to leave wild animal to their own ways. Now before you guys want to skin me alive I am sure the little lady in her heart thinks she is doing a good deed, god bless her.

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

Gotta agree with you Ranger, nature’s got it figured out and our interpretation and intervention is maybe well intentioned but almost always wrong

badbobby Loc: Humble Texas

only you Four
LOL

badbobby Loc: Humble Texas

lookin forward to that plum

badbobby Loc: Humble Texas

as I am no authority on turtles
cleaning or eating
I'll just rest on my post

Whitey Loc: Southeast ohio

Well I'm not going to agree or disagree but I know snapping turtles are good eatin lol. I once was taking my crew back to Rio Grande Ohio looked over n seen a big snapper crossing the 4-lane going back towards Athens Ohio. I turned around went back an a man had stopped got out of his car an was helping this Turtle across the four-lane highway when I got out and walked up grabbed the turtle by the tail picked it up an asked the man if he wanted it he said no and I turned and headed back to my truck and he said hey what are you going to do with that I told him I was going to eat it and that is exactly what I did I ate that turtle lol

ranger632 Loc: Near Yosemite Park Ca.

How much meat is on a turtle? I would think its mostly legs and neck is there meat under the shell that you eat? I have ate most everything that crawl or fly but not turtle.