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