| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| magnoliakathy |
Posted - Jul 09 2010 : 1:45:15 PM
Do you, pull over and help them to the other side? Do you slow down for squirrels? Try not to run over snakes crossing the road? I do. My hubby believes it is good luck to help a turtle on its way, suicidal squirrels are just confused about where they are going and need more time to decide and snakes have it tough, most people kill them on sight. He is afraid of spiders but doesn't kill them, he has me catch them and put them outside. I admit a snake in the nest box in the hen house gives me a big pause, but I herd them back out side and get the eggs later, we have not had a rat problem in the hen house since that snake moved in. It stays out of sight and I don't hunt for it. We believe in "let it be" and I know lots of others do too.
When you free your mind your heart can fly. Farmgirl # 714, |
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| Mollymaude |
Posted - Jul 26 2010 : 08:24:20 AM
I stop for all turtles and so does my son that is 36 yrs old. If necessary we move them to safety out of the road. I slow down and swerve for all animals much to the dismay of many drivers.
I took my two grandsons (13 & 8 yrs) fishing at our tank and walking around the pasture a few weeks ago and we found some of the most extraordinary spiders and spider webs I have ever seen. They were amazed and excited, took many pictures and can't wait to share with their classmates when school starts.
It was heartwarming to see them enjoy something free and and natural in this day and time. Especially the 13 year old who is not raised in the country and finds himself 'bored' during the time he spends with us in the country.
Life is full of special surprises |
| lovingewe |
Posted - Jul 25 2010 : 11:29:50 AM
I keep gloves in the back of the van just for this reason. Driving back roads, you never know what you might need to help cross the road.
Nice post!
Marlyn
http://sweetlocuslane.blogspot.com |
| Leilaht |
Posted - Jul 25 2010 : 09:14:55 AM
Of course I help turtles out of the road! I avoid hitting others too. I hit a possum once because he turned around mid run and came back. I cried all the way to work.
I once stopped to get a turtle, and while I was walking back to pick him up a man purposely swerved to hit him right in front of me! I swear if I had a baseball bat I would have put it through his windshield. My kids were sitting in my car watching. I just don't understand why someone would purposely hit a turtle. They are the most unoffensive creatures. My husband will stop to help one too, but he drives a full size pickup and he will park it across the road to stop traffic while he does it.
Liz
Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
Proverbs 31:25 |
| DvilleMama |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 5:11:01 PM
Well, I feel better knowing I'm not the only one. I have stopped to help turtles along. Call me crazy but I try to avoid frogs, catapillers and even mice when they dart out of the tall grass. Animals are much too precious to me to not make the effort to help/save/avoid them. I am also guilty of not killing spiders in my house. I do draw the line at the wolf spider and those big, hairy centipedes that are fast as lightning. {{{shudder}}}
Lyn
Farmgirl Sister #1574
Mid-Michigan Farmgirl Chapter
http://simplelifeseeker.blogspot.com |
| pnickols |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 4:00:39 PM
I shared this with my daughter cuz yes, we stop for squirrels and birds and the deer who are trying to get across the road, oh the geese with their babies too. It broke my heart one day, I cried all the way home from a deer hit on the road, I felt I should have done something to help it, but didn't know what |
| Fiddlermom |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 10:27:10 AM
I dangerously avoid hitting animals, which means I sometimes drive in the ditch, but I haven't wrecked yet! We've got a snake in our out building where the feed is kept, but I will not kill him! He's eaten every rat and no more wasted feed! He's a harmless black snake and I leave him alone. I killed one last year and I regretted it because we were overtaken by the rats! I don't like finding his skins after molting, kinda gives me the creeps!
Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders die on sight-- all others can live and if they are in the house get transported safely out. Brown recluse spiders are dangerous and if you get them in your house you will never get them out. They can live a long time without food and water and over the years will take over your house! Then you have to check everything- clothes, shoes, beds, ect... everyday so you won't be surprised and get bit! It's just not worth it! |
| Faransgirl |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 09:24:29 AM
My friend and I helped the same one three time in one day. We passed it once and he was crossing the road one direction so we helped him along. About an hour later we passed that spot again and he was on his way back the other way so we helped him along then about 4 hours later we passed again and he was headed right up the middle of the road. So we put him back in the bayou.
We also had a puppy killed at the intersection of our street two days ago. I was calling to get it picked up when my husband came home and said the teenage boys down the road had picked it up and were burying it on the side of the road where it was hit. I was surprised as we normally refer to that group as Richard and his Highwaymen. I guess their meanness doesn't include small puppies.
Farmgirl Sister 572
When manure happens just say "WOO HOO Fertilizer". |
| emsmommy5 |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 11:36:49 AM
Spiders are more than welcome to live outside, webs and all. We occasionally get these HUGE creepy ones in the house that will actually run at you.... sorry, no can do.
The cat keeps the mice out of the house and hopefully they have learned to avoid the dog's yard. I think he's as good a mouser as the cat.
The only other critters that cannot stay are the slugs which invade my garden. Still wishing for chickens.
The bees, birds, snakes, frogs, etc... no problem. Even the racoons are left alone, at least by us, the dog doesn't like them. We don't have turtles....
Do what you love, love what you do. |
| Annab |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 10:04:20 AM
that's funny Heather!
We get 1 or 2 of those kind too. Long about August they appear and spin the biggest webs on the front porch.
I love turning on the lights and watching them catch stuff.
Have also on occasion in the early a.m. forgotten about them and yep, walked square into the web too! I felt badly for the spider havng to redo it all over again, but I guess that's what they do! |
| Bonnie Ellis |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 03:43:24 AM
Everyone should read this book. "The Turtle Saver by Laurie Parker. It's a children's book that tells of what happens when a man saves a turtle he finds on the road. The story is heartwarming and true. Find it at the library.Quail Ridge Press. I teach in an environmental school program for kids 3-8th grade on an island in the middle of a lake in the summer. The kids love this story. Bonnie
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
| junkjunkie |
Posted - Jul 12 2010 : 4:22:13 PM
It's funny how that you asked that question...a week or so ago, on the way to work, I drove on a super highway (I-295) that people go 80+ mph...a little box turtle started to cross on the left lane of the highway. I was in the middle lane and no one was on the left lane, and a fleeting thought was to somehow pull over to save it. Of course, I would put my own life in danger, so that was out of the question. All morning, I thought of that turtle. It really bothered me! I always try to swerve or avoid any animals in the road...but, infortunately, it's not always possible. I don't think I've ever hit anything yet. In my area, you see a lot of squirrels run over and a lot of dead deer on the side of the road. I always feel bad.
"To have life in focus, we must have death in our field of vision." Benedictine monk John Main |
| sherone_13 |
Posted - Jul 12 2010 : 11:15:57 AM
I think if a turtle was crossing the road in Wyoming, there would be lots of people who would stop. However, it would not be that they were going to move it to the side of the road. They would all be just sooooo surprised to actually see a turtle in Wyoming. :o)
Sherone
Farmgirl Sister #1682
My Blog - www.annapearlsattic.blogspot.com
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| harmonyfarm |
Posted - Jul 12 2010 : 09:21:22 AM
I always stop to help turtles cross the road. The only thing that makes me wonder is what if the car that passed that turtle before me accidentally spun it around in the opposite direction it was going? That means I made it's day a little harder....bummer...
Debbie
"If you can't find the time to do it right...how will you find the time to do it over" |
| oldfashioned girl |
Posted - Jul 12 2010 : 08:49:24 AM
Kathryn, I had to laugh when I saw the title of your topic! I tried to help a turtle out of the road many years ago and I will always remember it because he was not a very cooperative fellow and the other thing is that he was a snapping turtle and just about bit the broom handle in half that I was using to get him out of the road! I would have left him alone to fend for himself, but it was raining that day and the skies were gray and you could hardly see him in the road! I finally got him out of the road, but he didn't stop to thank me, just kind of hissed at me! :)
Monica
farmgirls rule!
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| knitnpickinatune |
Posted - Jul 12 2010 : 07:46:25 AM
I've saved a turtle or two on our residential street that got loose from their pen in different neighbors yards. I cringe when I think they may be hit by a car or something!
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| texdane |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 6:53:46 PM
I giggled reading this sweet post. I do the same thing! I saw one about a month ago, and I pulled over and helped him across. People fly through our little roads and I just knew he would get squished. I've seen a couple of them this year on walks with the dog. I used to not mind spiders but since December and the nasty poisonous bite I got (that resulted in a scarred chin) I have not been so nice to them. (Except for Daddy Long Legs).
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE |
| missmuffcake |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 2:00:51 PM
Yesterday at a craft show I was vending at me and 2 other people all allergic to bees trapped a bee in the venue and took him/her out to the garden!
------------------
http://www.missmuffcake.com/ |
| barefootmama |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 1:33:40 PM
What a delightful post! I too am a "critter crusader" and will stop to help turtles and lizards and anything else that crosses my path to cross the road. I get teary eyed at the site of a dearly departed animal and used to (before I had my kids) keep a shovel,old towels,and rubber gloves in my truck to get them off the road and bury them..I know its odd but If a cat was dead along the road I always felt better if I gave him/her a proper burial.
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves,for they shall never cease to be amused:) |
| KathleenL |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 11:20:07 AM
Well, we don't have turtles on the road around here but we get lots of other critters. Even though I hate the pesky rabbits and deer eating my flowers and garden I go out of my way to avoid hitting them. Of course, a deer would damage my car so that's another good reason not to hit them. :-) The rabbits are nearly impossible to avoid. They go one way, then the other, then the other. It's best to just stop and wait, if possible.
When I'm out on my walks I always see beetles on their backs flailing their legs around so I stop and flip them back over. I see this so often I'm beginning to wonder if they flip over to die or something and I'm just thwarting their efforts.
Spiders I usually ignore but we have had a couple of HUGE spiders in the basement where the girls' bedrooms are and I'm afraid to touch them or try to catch them so they get squashed. But snakes terrify me! Lucky for them I'm even too scared to try and kill them. I know they're beneficial in the garden but for some reason I'm still terrified of them. A couple of years ago I was in the front yard pulling weeds and I reached down and nearly grabbed a snake. It really freaked me out. I started sending hubby out to rustle the garden before I'd go out and pick anything. It took me until this year, two years later, to get up the nerve to work in the yard again.
Kathy |
| craftystranger |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 04:25:58 AM
We had a large old wood spider, is what I have always called them, at an old house we lived in...my boys 4 and 7 (long time ago) would love to see how large his web would grow. We never would have messed up his web for anything. Hey, I have a black cat that I rescued she would have added something to your story. LOL Those poor birds just think what they must have been thinking:) Barbara
Don't forget to laugh! |
| Sarahpauline |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 02:15:28 AM
I have a strange fascination with spiders. We had a spider as a pet called Aragog (from harry p). I have spider t-shirts and earrings. They are amazing creatures.
fat people are harder to kidnap.
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| maggie14 |
Posted - Jul 11 2010 : 12:06:56 AM
We do it too!
Hugs,
Channah
Farmgirl sister #1219
Just a small town country girl trying to live her dreams. :) |
| Lin |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 10:21:58 PM
Heather, I absolutely love your story!!! Sounds like the police officer needs to come sit on the porch for a spell and learn to appreciate our beloved nature!!! We also have huge fat spiders that spin amazingly huge webs close to our side door. Once they show up, we have to be careful when we head outside, but once we establish where they are, we can duck under or walk around! Their webs are amazing, but they move them every night....we love "Charlottes Webb" and always think about Charlotte when the fat spiders show up!! Hugs, Lin
"Our beautiful earth is worth saving"!! |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 7:37:43 PM
oh BTW, did I mention my uncle liked to call our house the Adam's Family house. lol hahahaha
That night with the police officer always reminds me of some episode of the Adam's Family, I'm sure he thought he was in a episode of it too! hahahaha
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 7:33:49 PM
lol Barbara I still laugh about it myself! haha
What makes it so funny to me, is he was so scared of the very things that relaxed me!
There was nothing more relaxing to me in the evening then to sit on my porch swing in the dark (the light would scare the birds), and watch the mama and daddy bird care for their babies, and the spider spin it's HUGE (went clear across the whole front of the porch!) web so diligently each night. I would just sit and swing gently, on a cool summer night there was nothing more relaxing then just watching the nature right there in front of me.
And to think the very same thing shook the poor police officer to his core! haha
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
