Sammie Finds a New Home

We were driving in the New Jersey countryside where we live, and were coasting along a fast- moving, two-lane road. We were enjoying the lush, fertile countryside, admiring the blueberry fields in our local county. All of a sudden, we straddled a round object in the road. We both turned and looked at each other and asked "Was that was a turtle?" Since we both expressed the same, we were pretty sure it was a turtle. We immediately stopped the car, turned around and went back. Sure enough, it was a turle, but it was not moving. We pulled to the side of the road and my brave, handsome guy got out and went to the middle of the road to rescue him. My knight in shining armor.

We had to do something. Where could we take this little guy? Yes, I assumed it was a male turtle, since obviously, a female turtle would have painted her nails before heading to the city.

We were going to place him in the blueberry fields, but we did not see a nearby water source. We didn't want him to go back toward the street, so we decided to take him to a local state park closer to our home. We put him in our car to transport him. Since there are several to choose from, we wanted to think about it for a few minutes to come up with the perfect place for our new little reptile friend. We wanted a special place so we could always say "Remember when we released our turtle here?"

Our little friend, which I named "Sammy," poked his curious head and legs out while we were driving. I made sure I placed my feet up on the dashboard so he wouldn't be tempted to nibble on my bare toes. The rule in my car is "passengers may have bare feet," and when I am the passenger and not the driver, I keep that rule. (I like to think that others feel the same way when I'm in their car.) When we took Sammy's picture, he looked right at us. I bet he already knew he was a star.

When we got to our favorite part of the park, we saw one of our Park Rangers blocking the entrance. Oh no,did they close the park for some reason? Will we be able to get in? The Ranger approached us and advised us there was just one parking spot left. What luck! See, it was meant to be for us to rescue Sammy and bring him to his new home. I love it when I'm at the right place at the right time (usually, it's the other way around.) We squeezed into a spot between the canoers and tubers parked for a day of heading into the river to cool off and have some outdoor fun. I just love it when a plan comes together.

We took Sammie to our favorite hiking state park where there was plenty of water and vegetation. We were sure he would be able to find more of his reptile species there to connect with and make a new home for himself and be comfortable. We wanted to make sure he would be in a place where he would be able to survive and maintain his lifestyle.

I hope he likes living in his new digs. It has plenty of food sources and water. There are trees for him to sun himself on and leaves to nibble on. He should be safe here. We're pretty sure he is definitely safer here than in the middle of the street. It will be easier to duck under water when the tubers and canoers came barrelling down the river highway.

Meet Sammy's new home. There are plenty of fun things for him to do now that he is back where he belongs, the way God intended.

May Sammy live long and enjoy the rest of his life in peace and tranquility among his soon-to-be, new forest friends.

Hopefully, when we come back here hiking through, Sammy will pop his head out to say "Hello." Who knows, there may be a whole Sammy Family waiting to pop their heads out saying "hello."