topsail


This is the view North on North Topsail Beach around 7:30 p.m. on August 18, when I was there and a little loggerhead turtle emerged from one of many protected nests along the dunes.
topsail turtles

This woman is a volunteer from the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island. She was there for that singular loggerhead. She protected him from predators, including the well-intentioned children prancing about and climbing around the nest.



topsail turtles

This woman also counted the number of shells of hatched turtles. There were more than 100. Below is one of the seven that didn't hatch. She dug another hole for them to give them another chance. She put the broken shells back in the original nest.



topsail turtles

She kept the lone hatchling in a 5-gallon bucket until she helped him make the journey into the Atlantic. After that, the sky darkened to black and heavy rain fell as I made my way home.

The time and effort that goes into looking after these turtles is amazing. There are a lot of big hearts out there.

My World Tuesday