When writing this blog, I am usually sitting at the computer desk in my living room, which is right next to a window overlooking my back yard and Ballard’s Pond. Not long ago, I glanced out this window to find that this little lady had crawled up from the pond and was laying eggs in my yard:

I snapped the picture above through the window, then had some lunch, intending to go outside and get more pictures after I ate. But before I was done eating, she had already meandered back down to the pond. I went outside anyway, to get this picture of the nest and a foot o’ mine, to show how small this turtle is. Note that the mama turtle buries the nest and its eggs in mud, which is why you can’t see actual eggs in this picture.

On her quest to establish a nest, mama turtle had crawled uphill until she got to the first sandy spot she could find, which turned out to be the “patrol trail” that Bear has worn down by repeatedly running from one side of the yard to the other. So, to protect the nest from Bear’s trampling, I erected barricades on either side of the nest, as shown below:

If my resources are accurate, the bebe turtles should emerge between August 12 and August 20. I hope to be ready and waiting with my camera when it happens.

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Meanwhile, at the front of the house, another little lady had already laid her eggs. This is a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) who has built a mud nest at the top of my front stoopid.

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In another meanwhile, Bear went to a groomer. Bear’s super-fluffy tail was so full of vegetation and gunk that the groomer had to just shave it off, leaving a rat tail. Here’s Bear with his glorious, majestic tail intact…

…and here he is now…

Any predictions on how long it will take to fully grow back?