July 22, 2010

Molly Buries Box Turtles



Most of you remember Molly, my sweet Jack Russell Terrier.  My sweet girl, Molly buries box turtles in my flower beds.  She picks them up and carries them to my flower bed where she digs a shallow hole, tucks the box turtle inside and then pushes the dirt around the turtle with her nose. 


I saw her do this the first time at the farm and thought it was a strange thing for her to do, but thought she did it on a whim.  When I saw her do it again this week in the city, I knew that was the true relationship she has with box turtles.  She buries them in my flower beds where she buries her most prized possessions like rawhide pieces, bones, and various toys.  She seems very pleased with herself when she is finished, bounding up the steps with her short little tail wiggling with glee.

A very large box turtle has made his way into our fenced yard to eat the peaches that have fallen from the tree in our garden.  He's rather large and barely fits in Mollys mouth.


Photo - Evan Shaw Blackerby

It's the game they play, Molly picks turtle up, carries him to the garden, buries him there then runs away.  The turtle climbs out of the shallow hole and goes about his day.  They have done this everyday this week.



I wonder if the turtle thinks, "Oh Great!  There's that nasty little dog that buries me everyday.  Can I make it to cover in time before she see's me?  One foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other....  Blast!  Tuck into shell quick...here we go again.  Rotten little dog."


It's been fun for Molly and me, and a nuisance I am sure to the turtle making his way back to the peach tree from the flower garden each morning.  Just another fun morning at my house...while I sip my coffee and watch the antics in the garden.


"You see Peter, there's this nasty little dog that picks me up in her jaws and carries me to the garden where she buries me under the cone flowers every morning!" exclaimed Turtle.  "Oh no, gasped Peter, how dreadful."

I have been organizing my studio space.  I have moved into a larger space and haven't had time to really organize until now with the Spring and early Summer shows which provided the perfect excuse to avoid rolling up my sleeves and getting organized once again.  It isn't one of my favorite things to do, but when things get out of control, you just have to take a pause and do a bit of housekeeping.  I still had bead stashes in plastic bags from the Gem Shows earlier this year.

I brought in three new shelving units, a new desk top made of vintage wicker that I love and a couple of vintage mannequins to model my jewelry as I work.

I am hoping to complete the space in time for a Fall Open Studio show but, I have a long way to go to bring it all together in time for a show this year in between custom orders and new jewelry for the Holiday season.

This is one of the things on my wish list for 2010...

Larger Studio Space - check
Hiking on the Konza Prairie - This Fall
Learning How to Make a Delicious Pie Crust -check
Mandolin Lessons - This Fall
Gardening and Planting Trees - check
Getting Physically Fit - in progress
Cleaning Up My Diet - check
Spending Time with my Parents - the very best of all - check

I highly recommend this excellent cookbook.

Over the weekend, I made my first great pie crust!  I was so excited, my crusts are usually doughy and tough.  But, I made an apricot galatte that was declicious with the apricots from our trees!  I couldn't wait until Winter.  One more thing off my list - check it off.


What was on your list this year?  It's not too late to make one filled with some of the things you have always wished you could do.  Work in a few of your dreams.

Blessings - Julie

13 comments:

Alice said...

What a funny story about your dog burying turtles (though I don't think the turtle appreciates it).

Way to go on making a list, and being able to check off a few items! I don't have a written list, but do have some things in the back of my mind. But sometimes things happen that make you slow down and realize what matters, and what things don't really seem as important as you once thought.

Caterina Giglio said...

your Molly is so adorable and yes can you imagine what those turtles think about that! I have never seen a dog do that!! just crazy!!
love Deborah Madisons book and your galette looks yummy!

Anonymous said...

Oh hes cute arent dogs funny,lol.I ahve two a westie and border collie.Couldnt live without a dog.

The pizza at the very bottom actually looks good.I just had some pizza but by no means was it what you call healthy,lol.

happy weekend!

Anonymous said...

Oh I forgot to say your blog looks sweet.I have the same type of background but from a different place.Actually I thought I clicked on my own blog,LOL

Anonymous said...

That looks more like a pizza than a pie,I just looked again.Looks yummy.

Jann said...

Loved your post! That is just too funny about the dog burying the box turtles! The apricot galatte looks like it was delicious!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

My neighbor has two Jack Russells, and they are such characters, always escpaing under his iron gate or through the bars of the iron fence. They are funny! Not sure if they bury turtles, but they do love a good tennis ball! ;-) Loved reading this, and that crust looks YUM!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Oklahoma Granny said...

Got a big kick our of reading about your pooch! Our Lab-mix likes to carry turtles around and sometimes it's hard to get the little (sometimes big) buggers away from him. He doesn't hurt them, just carries them around. I guess our turtles should count their blessings they don't get buried.

stregata said...

Poor turtle! That pie crust does look fantastic!

fanciful devices said...

awwwwwww!
I love how dogs insist on doing whatever weird thing it is they unexpectedly do, as if they are asserting their personalities. That's what a dog's personality is to me, the things they do on their own for their own reasons. And it doesn't matter how often they dot it, it's adorable. almost like the repetition itself is what's endearing. i'm nutballz insane about dogs, btw.

Juli said...

Cute story about the turtle and Molly!

I will have to find that book, I am always looking for a good vegetarian cook book..

And that Apricot galette looks wonderful,I wish I could make a good pie crust, mine never turn out good..

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Doreen said...

Your story about Molly and the box turtle made me smile! Thank you! I love that cookbook too. Another good one is Veganomicon.

Lesley Edmonds said...

Hi Julie,

Thank you for sharing your funny story about Molly and the Box Turtle and great photos too! Aren't they adorable.

I like your challenge list for the year and you seem to be achieving a lot on it! Well done you!

That pie crust looks scrumptious!

Lesley x