Freckles

We have a turtle that spent all day last Friday digging a hole and laying some eggs. I was babysitting that day, so it provided great entertainment for the kiddos.
She was very intent on laying her eggs, so having me and the kids watch did not stop her at all. She is box turtle. Freckles used her back feet to dig. I counted at least 5 eggs.
Her efforts took all day. She covered the eggs back up with dirt. Then Freckles took a break under my impatient plants(even though she is a very patient turtle). We found a worm, and the kids were delighted to see her eat. She moved in behind my clematis trellis for a couple days. We gave her a slug once and even got her to drink from a puddle when I watered my plant.
The day we named her is the day she crawled away. She has been spotted in my neighbor's yard. Chances are that we will see Freckles walking around our neck of the woods in the future.
My awesome husband put a mini fence and mesh around the eggs to protect them from the neighborhood raccoon and snakes. In a couple months, we hope to see baby turtles digging their way out of the dirt.
I love that my kids (and I) can learn so much about God's creation right in our very own front yard. How often do you see a turtle lay eggs? Sometimes we need to stop and be joyful about the little things in life that can actually be pretty cool.