Friday, July 17, 2009

Free Willy!!!

I showed you a pic of this little guy last week
but I didn't tell you about him.















He is a Florida soft shell turtle, and his home is
primarily the water.
#2 daughter Mallory (23 yo) found him on our
property line on a 98 degree day. She said we needed
to "rescue" him and take him to the water. I felt sure
he could find his own way since the water is just up
the street from our house, but she insisted that we
must SAVE him! I simply couldn't pass up this
opportunity to indulge my daughter's sense of
responsibility for protecting this interesting
creature!!














So...we discussed how to make this rescue happen!
We decided to put water in the cooler, turn it on it's
side and surely he would crawl right in, right??

This guy's neck when stretched out is about 8 inches
long so there was no way we were going to pick him
up and get bit!!














Much to our amazement...the plan worked.
We got him into the cooler, put the cooler on
a towel in the back seat of my car, and drove
around the corner to the lake so we could

FREE WILLY!!!

Of course we had to snap a shot
of the rescue team in their moment of glory!!














Willy headed for the water immediately!!!














And returned to the surface briefly to show his
gratitude (I missed his head popping up,
but you can see the little ripples just above the
center of the pic) Quit laughing...this is serious
stuff here!! ;o)















So there you have it in case you missed it on the
headline news!!!

WILLY IS FREE!!

Have a great day!!
HUGS,
Becky

26 comments:

  1. What a sweet post!
    Does my heart good!

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  2. I have to confess that I was a bit teary eyed reading this as I remember the movie Free Willy. I'm a dolphin, orca, dog, lion and horses girl.

    What an adorable story and loved the photos.

    I like your new header photo too. :)

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  3. Becky, that was just too cute. I'm sure the girls will remember that for a lifetime.

    Jenn

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  4. Cute, cute, cute!! Your put a smile on my face!

    Have a great weekend!!
    Hugs~T

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  5. My children want to rescue creatures too. We found a sick mouse in our yard yesterday and boy did I have to be vigilant to keep my concerned young-uns away till Daddy came home and "took care of him" (while all the little ones were eating popcicles eleswhere :0)!!) So glad your daughter had a sucessful rescue!! Turtle looks a little scary to me :0).

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  6. What a great team of rescuers! Yes, I was losing sleep wondering about that turtle:)

    Have a great weekend, sweety:)

    Linda

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  7. Aww how cute! I just love turtles...and that is definitely one I have never seen before.
    My daughter and I always have to save the critters too.

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  8. This is something I would never do! I am so afraid of everything! But how sweet that you and your daughters did this. I probably would have made hubby take care of the situation. And I would have stayed out of the backyard until it was taken care of!!!

    Great shots and a great idea to capture it!!

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  9. That is so cute. He is a big turtle! I like it when people are tender hearted to animals. Remember my post about rescuing the baby mourning dove that fell out of his nest? It is such a great feeling to help a creature out:) Have a wonderful day dear friend! Elena

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  10. How wonderful Becky! You are an awesome mom to have helped your daughter with her "little friend". They will remember that always. You Rock!

    xxxx

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  11. Love this post. In AR we have tons of hard shell box turtles. When hubby and I first got married he thought I was crazy, bc I would have him stop the car so I could get the little turtle out of the road! True story...been freeing Willy for yrs now! Poor Sissy takes after her mama. She's even thought of being a Vet.

    I have to say...this is a very odd looking turtle. Do most FL turtles look like this???

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  12. cute pictures and i love your running commentary :). i understand completely, we rescue animals here too when we ge the chance.

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  13. Brilliant catch and release! 8 inces...really? I guess keeping him didn't even sound remotely appealing!! Good thing you have a house full of girls! My son Chris would have been begging to keep him at least for a day or two!

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  14. Loved seeing these pictures and tell Mallory I'm so glad she rescued Willy! I love wildlife and would have wanted to save him also. Glad you do didn't get bit.
    Have a great weekend.
    N

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  15. Oh how precious. I love it that your daughter has such compassion for animals of all kind. What a blessing for her that you went to all the trouble to take him back to the water. Such wonderful memories and a great story. I also wanted to let you know that the next "Cloche Party" is scheduled for Sept. 11th for the Fall season. Grab the button on my sidebar to remind you and to let your friends know. Great story, I really loved it. Hugs, Marty

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  16. Awww...wish I had been there for the heroic rescue! Love that!
    Hugs from Texas.

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  17. What a lovely story, and how wonderful that you are so close to nature.

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  18. That was you guys...no way! LOL!!

    "I love it when a plan comes together..."
    Name that show!

    Blessings to you sweet rescuers,
    Susie

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  19. Becky... beautiful story... wonderful rescue... great memory for you and the girls... made me think about how Jesus rescues us and brings us back when we wander off!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog... you are a blessing giver! Many blessings to you in return my friend.
    Karla

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  20. I'm sure we're related now. I haven't recounted the kitten rescue by the daughter in the pouring rain with you yet have I....or the dog on the loose story....my daughter is a magnent for those who have lost their way. Thanks for sharing your Free Willy story, very sweet, just like you Ms. Becky!

    Love, Hugs and Happiness,
    Nancita

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  21. Hi Becky,
    Just delightful! I am sure willy is a very happy turtle. He sure has a long nose.
    Take care and enjoy your day,
    Elizabeth

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  22. HOW SWEET!!! THAT WAS A VERY TOUCHING POST!
    THANKS TO YOUR DAUGHTER FOR BEING SO CARING OF GOD'S CREATURES!

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  23. Protecting the earth --- God bless you --- and God bless Willy!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to share some JOY!
You're a blessing to me!