Ok, here's my latest news. Although there won't be any sun today around here, the steady, drenching rain of the past few days has subsided, and so I have stopped building my ark. This is a scene I pass each day heading to work. That's some tall, wet grass right there. Tall grass provides lots of adventure. One August, the City of Portland forgot, I guess, to mow our baseball fields down back, and we needed to play ball. The grass got to be almost knee high, so we took it upon ourselves to get the job done. Eddie, Leo and I got our family lawnmowers in action and the infield and outfield were taken care of quickly. While mowing the outfield near the swamp, Eddie almost ran over a huge snapping turtle. It's shell was about 2 1/2 feet in diameter, as I remember. The sight of it brought the whole neighborhood out to take a look. We tried to lift it and get it back to the nearby water, but it was too heavy and pretty angry. So we left it there, and in the morning, it was gone. Years after, we were still talking about that 'find' in the tall grass.
Finding a turtle in the grass.. what an adventure to remember! turles don't live everywhere, it's not easy to find them! No wonder it's one of your ever lasting memory..
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me a little bit of the steppes of Eurasia.
ReplyDeleteHere in Oklahoma you might have found other reptiles besides a turtle plus chiggers and a few ticks.
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice photo evocative of childhood.
ReplyDeletewhat great kids you all were.
ReplyDeleteInquiring minds want to know . . . whatever happened to Eddie? Is he still around? If so, does he read your blog?
DeleteHere you are soaked with recent rains and we've already had some nasty fires because everything is so dry. Oh, the differences in this fine land of ours.
ReplyDeleteEddie was quite a guy. He struggled in school enlisted in the military after HS and sadly died of cancer too young. Dad and I went to his service. His mom and sister were so happy to see us.
ReplyDeletehow cool that you boys mowed your own playing field! nice!
ReplyDeleteGlad the waters are subsiding.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised Birdman, that's not an everyday find!!
ReplyDeleteI caught a snapping turtle many, many years when fishing. At the time it seemed a whole lot like a dinosaur. With a bad attitude.
ReplyDeleteAnother great Birdman story!
ReplyDeleteSnapping turtles, especially one this big, are dangerous! Leaving it alone was probably a good move. Good story.
ReplyDeleteGreat memory. A massive snapping turtle in high grass sounds like every little boy's dream come true.
ReplyDeleteDarryl and Ruth :)
Gosh in New Mexico we only had lizards and my brothers were always catching them. Kansas City could use some of that rain, send it back this way.
ReplyDeleteNice shot. My mom would kill us for coming home with wet jeans after trekking through areas like this.
ReplyDeleteLooks a lot like the field and one of the outbuildings at the Olsen House near Cushing. Been there twice to shoot with my MMW classes.
ReplyDeleteIs that an old barn peeking over that tall grass? This is a great photo, Birdman. You should do more like this.
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