Normally, this is strictly a piglet blog but… today we have some highlights from the animal, aquatic and reptile kingdom. Namely the tiny turtles inhabiting our pond. They are not the only things in the pond as we are awash with moorhens and their chicks which cruise around the surface of the water, sometimes making a mad dash for the bulrushes or, doing impersonations of a submarine: “Dive! Dive! Dive!” as they tip up their tails and vanish, only to reappear in some far off location having foraged for goodies along the bottom of the lake.
It also has to be said that our escapologist piglets can also to be found scavenging on the edge of the pond but on this occasion it was a turtle on its way back to the pond from who knows where that caused Zara such extreme interest and excitement. Ella was carrying out hydro-therapy as she swam across the water, very good for her gimpy leg; whilst Zara was interviewing something in the grass.
I was some way off so it took me a moment or two to realise she was interviewing a small turtle. Turtle is the exact translation from the Portuguese, and whilst they resemble a tortoise I am advised they are called turtles. Strange really, as my vision of a turtle is somewhat larger and normally seen on a David Attenborough programme making its way onto the sand in some far flung land, before giving birth to copious amount of eggs, which are then covered with sand before returning to the sea.
I’m afraid our aquatic reptiles are not quite so exotic, but they are fascinating nonetheless. As I sit by the water I suddenly see something that resembles a periscope pop out of the water as the turtle lifts its head to look at me whilst its body dangles in the water soaking up the sun’s rays. Then another pops up somewhere else and suddenly I realise there are five, or eight, or maybe more pairs of eyes bobbing up and down as they check me out.
Meanwhile the moorhens scoot from one patch of reeds to the next; the dogs disturb frogs sitting in the shallows; turtle periscopes go up and down; swallows swoop over the water; piglets jump in the water… a haven of activity… heaven.
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