I recently came across this image of a turtle with land on its back. It is a representation of Turtle Island. Many First Nations cultures have stories of Sky Woman falling from the Sky and landing on Turtle's back. In the stories, the turtle becomes North America. Sky Woman is North America's first inhabitant. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people have this story, and so do the Algonquian Nations.
When I saw this image, it reminded me about the Turtle Nest Monitoring program that I volunteer for every year. This year the program will be using biologists to monitor the turtles' nests but I will be volunteering to help in other ways. In particular, the biologists need people to search out other places around the park where turtles are laying their nests. The biologists need this information so that they can create more nesting beaches, if necessary. I certainly hope that we do find more potential nesting sites.
The above image also reminded me about how wonderful it is to work with turtles. Helping the endangered turtle population gives me great satisfaction. I adore working with these animals. I tell my friends all the time that it is difficult to hold a turtle and still be in a grumpy. There's something about handling turtles that makes one smile. Perhaps it's the fact that they initially hide in their shell when you pick them up, or perhaps it is the way that they look you right in the eye or crane their necks. Turtles always put a smile on my face. The same is true whenever I pet my cat and he purrs. I can't help but smile at the sound of a purring cat. So, today I leave you with the thought of how animals can lighten our moods. Think about moments in your life when an animal put a smile on your face, and how lucky we are to have animals as part of our lives.
