Missed the Tortoise by a Hair

...silly as it sounds, it happened; and on the 241 (our local tollroad) of all places. And here's what happened...

Saturday night I had plans with a childhood friend (dinner and a musical). I planned on arriving at her home around 5 p.m.

As I entered the tollroad about 4:45 (Los Alisos near the Mission Viejo Reservoir) I spotted an object at the bottom of the ramp. I hadn't a clue what it was until I was so close, realized it was "moving", I had to swerve to miss it! "It" being a turtle. What?! A turtle on the tollroad?! I know...right?

What the heck was a turtle doing on the tollroad? How did he get there?!

Because I was running "on time" for once I didn't want to chance stopping to assist the poor lil' guy; so my second option was to call my hubby to hopefully come to the turtle's rescue.

I grabbed my cell and in a frantic voice told Jim my turtle tale. His response..."You really want me to drive up to the tollroad and rescue a turtle?" (I remember him asking me this question three times). And each time my reply was "Yes! Will you please?!"

I suggested that he might even tell our neighbor that recently lost their turtle, to see if they wanted to go to the rescue if he didn't.

As I hung up from the call, I thought to myself "Well God, the turtle's life is in your hands". Which really is silly to say as all God's creations are in His hands.

Even if Jim would not go to the rescue or the neighbors would not go to the rescue, I still prayed the turtle would not get hit by a vehicle and his life squished out of him. We see way too many squished critters around town.

About 10 minutes later my cell rang! It was my "Hero" calling to ask where on the ramp that I first saw the turtle? I told him near the bottom of the ramp. And as they (my hubby AND the neighbors - the turtle rescue team) drove down the ramp they spotted the turtle in the...

...wait for it...

"Slow Lane"! (I know, I giggled too.)

Jim carefully jumped from his car and as he picked the turtle up, water spilled from the shell. I know this because I heard the neighbors (still in the car) say "Oh NO! The turtle peed!"

Might have been stress related? Might have just been water from the lake?

I felt relief that the turtle had been "saved" from inevitable doom. But now, what to do with him?

Jim, along with the rescue crew, spent the next hour searching for an open vet (remember it was 5 p.m.) that could give some kind of information on the turtle. They phoned several places with little to no luck. They did manage to locate a bird & reptile vet still open that told them "the turtle was a red eared slider" and that turtle species resides in and near water".

And with that information, Jim and the rescue crew drove the turtle back up the hill to the reservoir, drove onto the private property (rebels), and placed that turtle about two feet from the water's edge.

I will say I was concerned when Jim said "When the turtle saw the water, he bolted". Jim had never seen a turtle move so quickly. He told me he wished he'd dropped off the turtle at the reservoir in the first place (to avoid the time spent searching).

I personally was happy they didn't. I was grateful they took the time to search, rescue and research before releasing.

Awe...a happy ending to my turtle tale.

I made sure to ask my hubby to take a picture of the little guy (though Jim tells me the size of the turtle was about a foot in diameter - not so little). And YES, I could not pass up naming the turtle.

What better name to give the turtle?






















Meet "Tollway" :)