A couple days ago, I was looking out my bedroom window into the pasture and I saw Brave & Claire tap-dancing around “something” on the ground…

They were both acting silly…

There was a shiny/lurching mound on the ground…

It was a large turtle…

I booked it out the front door as quickly as possible…..I didn’t want the horses pawing or trampling the poor turtle…

So, I gingerly navigated and dove through the electric fence…..I knew one of the wires was grounded out…..but I wasn’t sure exactly which one…….

…..but I picked the right one (fortunately)…

Flailing my handy-hanky from one of Patrice’s pockets, I quickly shoo’d Brave and Claire away from the turtle…

He or she was big…….(from what I’ve recently read…I think she was a she)

***Description Of Florida Soft-Shelled Turtles***

I took this picture with my foot near her shell so you could see how large she was…

Years ago, I did learn the hard way…….that soft-shelled turtles…….have VERY long/agile/quick necks…

I found that out when I tried picking one up to help it over a curb and off the road…….

…..I managed to save the beastie…….

…..but not without loosing a chunk from the skin between my thumb and my index finger…….

…..there used to be a scar there…

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On a less happy note…….

…..my older daughter was recently roller-blading and saw where a very colorful snake had been run over by a car…….

…..she took a picture of it and showed me when she got home…….

…..unfortunately it was a Scarlet King Snake…….they are good snakes…….something to keep around…….and (sadly) not too common anymore…….

…..probably because of their unfortunate…..(but similar)…..coloring to the very poisonous Coral Snake…

We all know that quick/survival rhyme…….

*******Red & Yellow…Kill A Fellow*******

*******Red & Black…Okay Jack*******

~~~~~How To Tell The Difference~~~~~

~~~~~King Snakes vs. Coral Snakes~~~~~

But who wants to…..OR even…..who CAN…..pull that little ditty from the murky recesses of their panicked brain when it becomes necessary with a striped-snake staring you down?

…….even so…….I still felt bad for Mister Colorful King snake…