Our World Tuesday: What Mama Did

For me, this is the most exciting sight in the world.

The the right of this image, you can detect the regular pattern of indentations in the sand.  They are turtle tracks.  Mama turtle made her way up the beach near our crossover the other night and entrusted our dune--and us--with the future of her brood.



Check out the deep indentations in the sand. They are the marks her body left as she pulled herself forward along the beach she first knew when she came into the world.


Sea turtles start their lives two feet below the surface of the sand.  After they break through their shells, they climb their way up to the surface and then make their way to the ocean.  Around here, they do that with the systematic, highly organized help of the turtle people, who do all they can to keep a safe, clear way between the nest and the shoreline for as long as it takes from the nest's due date to the final hatching.


Here you can see the tracks mama made when she came down the dune and made her nest.  You could miss it if you didn't know what to look for.  I think it's amazing.

This morning, I came across a family with half a dozen little kids parading around the thing like it was the May pole and sucking on their juice pouches.  My inner hall monitor made her way to the surface to see things right by all the work that turtle had done.  I educated a few young 'uns though their mother's pursed lips told me I went a little too far in her mind.  (Which is fine.) 

People talk about the sacred as if it were an out-there kind of thing.  Where your feet touch the earth?  That's sacred.  The beautiful thing about where I am right now is that so many people work so hard to protect the sanctity of life as it manifests itself in sea turtles.  I don't want to be anywhere else.  This sand is my holy place, and it fills me with hope.

Our World Tuesday

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27 Comments

  1. Bravo for educating the kids. Maybe one or all of them will eventually join you in this cause...or a similar ecological challenge.

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  2. It always makes me tear up to hear of this...and today was no exception
    hugs
    Sandi

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  3. Wow! Truly a wonderful sight.
    Hope the newborns will be safe.

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  4. ah i agree with you on the sacred...where our feet touch the ground...and new life...the possibility of it...always brings me back to that awe

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  5. Sacred indeed!! And good for you to take the time to educate the children -- too bad the parents didn't join in! If more did perhaps we -- and the turtles would have fewer problems!

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  6. i hope they remain safe! and good for you for educating some folks (and their mothers!)

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  7. What an amazing sight! Thanks for educating those kids. :)

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  8. How beautiful. You are blessed to see the sacred in what some consider ordinary. You remind me how important it is to focus on the miracles before us.

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  9. OH wonderful Sandy! Wonderful that the turtles are on "your" dune, wonderful that the babies are safe, wonderful that you taught some kids (and their mom) ... and wonderful of you to share this with us.

    The sand dunes on your part of the ocean made me happy, even without seeing any turtles. They really are magical.

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  10. Wonderful post and it is exciting to see the turtle tracks.

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  11. good for you. That same mother probably lets her children watch horrid movies on tv. Just as well they know the truth.

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  12. I now have an image of you sitting in a deck chair daring anyone to come within 6feet of that nesting ground.

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  13. I say good for you too, Sandy! It seems nature today needs some help. Or else it would get trampled on. Thank you for caring! Have a happy week!

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  14. How lucky you are to have the turtles so nearby. I feel honored to have bird nests!

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  15. Commendable courage to educate those young 'uns, especially if their mother was the pursed lip kind.
    Isn't nature amazing!

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  16. Thanks for the lesson, I would have missed those tracks entirely.

    Amazing that so many people make it their mission to help these critters along.

    I agree the sacred is here, now, and with us, not some vague feeling somewhere.

    Great post.

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  17. i like your sacred place
    very much
    i like how much you care about the turtles
    i hear that our lake turtles lay their eggs in the hills around the lakes and when the babies make their way to the lake... it is at night hoping no birds swoop to get them

    amazing.

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  18. We need people like you Sandy and I applaud your interaction with the children. I'm sure Mother Turtle thanked you too :)

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  19. Thats wonderful
    I would love to see them as they try to make it to the water.
    That would be the best thing to see ever.

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  20. Anonymous1:01 AM

    Your words moved me a lot today. Thank you.

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  21. the turtle protector rises again...lol!

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  22. So many treat the natural world as if it were trash or perpetual with no consequences of our actions. To instill in a child the wonder of the turtle world is important to our future.

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  23. glad these are found and cordoned off for protection

    I'm inviting you to join us with your travel images for Travel Photo Mondays next week, please link up with us :)

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  24. I wish I could live so close to sea turtles and nurture them as you do!

    "Where your feet touch the earth? That's sacred. "

    Enjoyed this post very much.

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  25. This makes me so happy to see!
    We love turtles, though we are far from sea turtles. But still, it always makes me happy to see the mothers laying their eggs in the sand.. and hopefully, after the long winter, seeing tiny new turtle hatchlings in the early summer.

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  26. I've seen the adults in the sea, but would love to see them on the beach.

    Nice pictures.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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Thanks for being here.