This past Thursday, during our fishing trip to the San Saba River, Wesley found this turtle, identified as a Red-eared Terrapin, Trachemys scripta elegans, he sat it down and it didn’t move during the entire time we were fishing. I thought he had just left it there.
Saturday I drove to Conroe to visit a hospitalized relative, and coming back to Goldthwaite, I stopped in Gatesville to fill up. As the gas pumped, and the dollars increased, I glanced into the back of my pickup, and there was Wesley’s turtle looking back at me.
Unknown to me he had secreted the turtle under the truck’s, tool box, and I guess the long trip, had caused it to move around. As soon as I got home, I released it into my garden and haven’t seen it since.
Talking it over with Wesley, (age 9), Saturday night, he snickered and said, “Poppy, I just plain forgot to tell you about the turtle.” Enough said!
Boys will be boys!