Fridays are Golden

Men would come for miles around to go quail hunting with my father and his English Setter, Peerless Dan. My father could hunt an entire field with Dan using hand signals and the occasional whistle. Dan never missed a covey and Dan never broke a point. Well, almost never. You see, Dan's only bad habit was that he would point if he found a turtle. No amount of training could correct this. Eventually my father learned that if there were no quail, then there was a turtle somewhere. My father accepted this flaw in his dog and loved him dearly.

The other day my husband called me out to the driveway. There was a box turtle just beginning to cross near the garage. My first thoughts were of my father and Dan. And I wondered what our girls would do if they encountered a turtle.

Here is the turtle, idly walking onto the driveway.

When the girls came out, Lucy immediately noticed the turtle and ran right up to investigate. As usual, Ellie stayed cautiously behind. Note the position of Lucy's tail. A straight up tail in a Golden means she is excited and tense and ready for the unexpected.

As soon as she decides the turtle represents no threat, Lucy's tail drops and she checks out the strange creature.

Ellie comes over to investigate.

The girls take a close look at the turtle.

A REALLY close look at the turtle.

The girls did not paw at the turtle nor try to turn it over. They were content to sniff it from all angles. When Ellie started to nudge it with her nose, I decided that was enough and sent the girls inside.

The turtle quickly emerged and started across the driveway once more. I decided to help the turtle cross and placed it near the edge of the woods. I hope the turtle will decide to live in our woods. What a treat.

The past weeks have brought pain and grief to many people, including some of my favorite bloggers. So this week I ask that all of us in the blogsphere lift up our thoughts and send healing energy to our friends in distress.

Have a safe and wonderful weekend as we celebrate our freedom!