creatures

Our youngest is an animal magnet. This is Henry, our snapping turtle, on a walk in the house when he was about 6 months old. Henry was hatched in the sandy soil near the shop and moved in with us around his 2 or 3 week birthday when he was roughly the size of a quarter. Since this was taken he has grown another 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Obviously, the result of his eating habits...he is a PIG! He now spans nearly 4 inches across his shell.

Anyway, Henry is only one of the critters in our little zoo. We have had a hamster, a ginea pig...all the usual pet options. Now we have ventured on to raising turtles (besides Henry, we have Mudge - a painted turtle - and Ellen has high hopes of finding a box turtle to add to the collection). We have also adopted a mini-rex bunny whom I adore and am currently beginning to litter train...stay tuned.

Well, those are our domesticated animals. So far. Since we moved and Ellen has a room with an egress window, she constantly has some thing residing within it's walls. Last year we had some sort of grey, long nosed, long tailed creatures I took for mice (yikes!), a baby bird, a frog, another baby bird, and another frog...and a mole? If I remember correctly, I think there was a salamander in there some time also. In fact, last year Ellen FELL IN the window well peering over the side at something. At least we know now that she can escape a fire emergency with ease.

THIS year, to date, we've had another baby bird, a large frog, and tonight Ellen and two of her friends rescued 12, yes TWELVE, frogs from her window well (she climbed out of her bedroom to snag them more easily!) and there are about as many frogs in her sister's window well that she plans to capture tomorrow night! She and her friend release little buggers at a nearby marshy area.

Do you suppose any of these contact hours will count towards her Veterinary degree?