Painting Bliss

Turtling Season

 

 

It's spring, and spring means turtling season! If your a regular reader you know I have a soft heart for any creature, but especially for turtles making their way across, or idly sitting in the middle of the road. Let no turtle go un-saved when it presents itself in my path.

In the past week I have saved four turtles, just a wee fraction of the tally to come... last years total exceeding twenty I name and number each of my shelled friends.

Please don't hit or run over a turtle, love the earth and all it's creatures. After all, it's a true pleasure to help a traveler on their journey to greener waters.

 

 

 

Perkins the Painted Turtle

 

Perkins the Painted Turtle 

Born August 9, 2012

Measuring 9 1/2 inches Tall by 9 1/2 inches wide

 

This is Perkins the painted turtle, but he's also a painter turtle (his species). He's super friendly and loves long walks by the pond, warming in the sunshine, and sipping flygaritas minus the salt rimmed cup, he's not a fan of salt.

Completely handmade from design to completion he's a real handful, literally... he fits in your hands just about the same size as a real turtle, just very slightly bigger. He was made separate from his shell parts and then sandwiched between and sewn in where I broke 3 needles in the process. Perkins resembles leather once painted and has a very tough work surface. Not in hard to do, but tough as in texture.

 

 

Peek underneath to find a bright soft yellow belly complete with a heart which... if you give a little squish is filled with it's own stuffing. You might be asking yourself, how did she do the top of the shell? well does a magician hand all their tricks? nope! so just guess ;)

 

 

Until Perkins goes into his spot in my etsy shop, he will  spend his time sunning and watching me paint.

 

 

If you wanna grab dibs on this fellow just email me. He promises to always be sweet, make very little potty on his papers, and make people smile when they visit.

 

 

Baby Fawn, Painter Turtle, and two Snappers OH MY!

 

 

I can still feel it's warmth against my chest, see it's little nose twitching with the fine white hairs that grow around it's nostrils. I can still envision his/her sweet round grey eyes that have yet to change color like a human newborn's would. She felt so fragile in my arms, far more fragile than a real baby. So lanky and light. At the time I didn't know I was a kidnapper, I was running on maternal instinct. Driving home I spotted a tiny spotted fluff ball laying all bawled up flat against the grass on a the bank of someones yard too close to the road for my comfort.  Knowing nothing about deer I thought it had been abandoned or even thought maybe mom got hit and had to leave baby behind. Turning around I jumped out of the car and ran over to the teeny tiny baby who was no bigger than a human baby. I wrapped it in a vest I had in the back of my car and picked it up, speaking softly and cradling the sweet soul with one both arms. It didn't move, just let me pick it up and hold it gentle.  The above picture is the baby sticking it's little head out of my winter vest.

Looking down at the wee fawn I started to pull away but instinct hit again... what if I was doing the wrong thing!? So... when in doubt call your Daddy. My Dad who has lots of experience with deer was I think very surprised by his daughters woes of holding a newborn fawn and told me to put it right back where I found it. That mom was watching and would be there to get it, not to worry and to do the right thing. So putting the baby back is what I did... unwrapped it from my vest, placed it gently right back in the flattened spot of grass it was in a few moments ago, said a little prayer for the creature and left.

 

 

All the way home I felt horrible! the maternal part of me was screaming...  but my heart was trusting my dads words.

This part of my day was the part where I have a little time to myself. Oldest is in school, middle son in preschool for 2 hours, and baby asleep in the back seat. When I got home, wanting to know the way of deer, I researched and conversed with Mr. Google. Mr. Google led me to a really great site from a wildlife expert that explained when a baby deer is born it is unable to keep up with mom. Being slow and weak it can be easily targeted by predators... so no matter where mom is at that moment,  it lays it's baby down flat and tells it in it's own deer way to "stay". Then later, sometimes after dark mom will return and claim her baby when the time is right and she is confident she can do it without bringing harm to her child. Reading this, I felt so much better as baby was not injured, no blood or wounded limbs... nothing appeared wrong at all... so this is what must have happened. I was and am so glad I was only an "almost" kidnapper, not an actual one! if the mother in me had it's way though I would be bottle feeding that creature right now, cradling it in my arms, and keeping it in a playpen!

 

 

When time came to go and pick up from preschool I slowed down to where I had left the baby fawn and taking a deep breath hoped not to see it... and I didn't! I smiled and said another little prayer that the baby was safe with mom and hopefully he/she is right now safe in mamas fur suckling and thriving in it's new found world. That is my hope, and wish, and warmest thought... but part of me is still deeply worried for the little one, that someone else might have been stupid and unknowing and picked up the baby. Hopefully there aren't many others as observant or aware or their surroundings while driving as I am, and mama led her baby off to wooded safety.

{{For all of you worrying about my scent on the baby, research says that this makes no matter. That it is a old wives tale and that mom will absolutely attend to her baby after my scent has been on it. After all, human scent is everywhere and on just about everything, she is a mom and that is her baby and no scent is gonna keep her from her child. At this point I am feeling worse for messing with nature than leaving baby behind. Lesson learned. If you would like to read more about where I got my information from, you can do so here.}}

 

The day continued in true Ashlie Blake wildlife fashion. The rain let up, patches of blue appeared in the sky... and as did the rain let up so did the turtles come out. Here is Fang... our latest turtle rescue. Fang was really unique as he had two itty bitty fangs like snake has. I have never seen this on all the painter turtles I have rescued! he also had super long claws and the front of his shell was jagged. Perhaps on his side of the swamp he was a real fiesty one! And no, it wasn't a different species... it was a painter no doubt about it, just a one of a kind kind of guy. 

 

 

And if that weren't enough there were two snappers who need assistance! sheesh! it was a freaking zoo today!

 

 

I swear people think I'm crazy when I'm out helping these preastoric creatures! and I am... really I am cause they could take a toe off if they wanted to... but I gently kick them (you can't hurt them they are like a miniature tank!) back across the street. I always have my camera slung over my shoulder so when people aren't thinking I'm mad in the head, they just think I'm a photographer. Which I would be if I wasn't a painter, then again why can't I be both!?

 

 

Turtle Rescue and Greenhouse Revery

 

 

I'm the kind of girl that stops traffic, uh huh that's right you heard me. Wait! not like that! I mean for turtles! (as most of you probably already know). Two more painter turtles have crossed my path this past week and two more saved souls are under my belt. As you may or may not remember I photograph and name each turtle I save. This years tally is 3... not much, but wait until September when my tally has reached almost 20! :)

 

This past week we visited our little locally owned garden place probably three times. Not only did I need some plants but I mostly needed dirt for the many potted vegetables I am growing this year. Pulling into Sleepy Hills Orchard, that's the name of our garden place. It's not really an orchard, although they do have a few apple trees in the distance. Mostly they have mostly plants, dirt, mulch... the basic garden necessities. I love places like this because they know my face, say hello with a smile, and well shopping local is one of the best things you can do for your community. Anywho though! pulling in I spotted a painter turtle and right away I noticed it had a pool of blood near it. But there it was, so small on a road SO big and it looked so scared. I figured he/she hadn't made it and that it was a lost cause.

 

 

We shopped and rolled our wagon around, choosing perennial Lavender some cascading annuals for my planter boxes, and coleus. Turtle aside, going to a greenhouse is like going to an art museum for me. I swear if the owners didn't think it was weird I would stay there all day just looking at the plants, photographing, and drawing. Maybe your tired of reading about me and flowers, or just tired of these lengthy posts I have been writing... but gosh, it's just the world is so beautiful right now and there is so much to be inspired by that I feel I must share it all!

Plus, I took some really stellar photos, if I do say so myself ;)

 

 

So fast forward through picking plants, purchasing plants, getting into the car and driving out of the parking lot which I didn't do. I got to the entrance and said outloud "Oh ok! I can't just leave it!""... and I usually would leave it if it was a smashed turtle, but this one wasn't smashed... it looked whole. So I put the car in park, hopped out, crossed into the road and lifted up my wounded comrad. The back of his shell was cracked into 3 small sections, there was some blood, but he was alive and better yet stuck his head out and looked at me! sooooo... I dumped out a shopping bag in the car, layed him on my lap and there he sat like a puppy all the ride home.

Not scared at all, head sticking out.

 

 

Hubert as I have named him, don't know why so don't ask. There's no method to my madness... is now healing in a 10 gallon tank on our front porch. His shell is still cracked but the flesh looks pretty good and even better news, he's eating :) I was going to return him to a natural setting, but none of us are ready to part with him/her so we are going to see that it is completely healed before introduction back to nature.

Hubert aside, I also saved Pip a smaller painter that now lives in our tiny hand dug pond along with cricky and croaky our resident turtles. I had to stop in the middle of the road for this one and yes stopped traffic. Luckily a man passing in the opposite direction had a good soul, jumped out said he had a cardboard box and said "good for you" as he got back in his car (I smiled all the way home). He gave me a Timberland shoe box which had the MOST appropriate saying for that exact moment! And this is what I choose to end this post with... a very important message indeed...

 

 

Turtle Crossing

 

I am here today but guess what? I'm somewhere else too! Today I am sponsoring The Enchanted Pixie's blog and I am featured today with a guest interview/giveaway.

Want to read my interview and enter to win an original piece of my artwork? Click here.

I'm super excited to be sponsoring and also to bring my artwork to a larger audience.

so without further adieu onto your regularly scheduled Paintingbliss post! :)

 

 

As some of you know I rescue turtles that have wandered into a dangerous path... a.k.a. the road. Wherever I am, no matter where they are... I'm there, pulling over and retrieving my wee shelled friend.

Yesterday I was so excited when returning from my grocery trip to see my first save of the season! Each turtle I save has his photo taken and is given a name by me or my hubby.

This is Dilbert the painter turtle. The season is just starting and last year I saved 18 painter turtles! who knows how many it will be this year!

 

 

Some of the painter turtles I save are really energetic and fight me with their tiny little clawed paws. This one was super shy and stayed in his shell the whole time. Thankfully I was right in front of a swamp, so while the pairing geese honked at me, I scooted this guy back into the water.

 

You can see on Dilbert's underbelly why he is called a painter turtle. The underneath of his shell is a bright and vibrant cadmium red (red with a tidge of orange).

 

The top of his shell is a nice brown, same color as the waters he lives in. These creatures LOVE to sun themselves atop of rocks when the sun is shining... when you drive past any just about pond  here in N.Y. you can see one or multiple painters getting warm in nature's light. They have even been known to climb right on top of each other as if the one underneath is just a rock!

So this is #1 of the season! YAY! join my cause and stop to save a shelled friend :)