A Tale Of Unrequited Love And Perseverance

The turtle closest in the photo to the right is the REAL turtle! Below is the photo of him having his dinner! He is a sweetie!

My neighbor across the hall, in our

apartment building talk quite often! She is a lover of the backyard birds and like me, is constantly battling the squirrels over her potted plants, which the squirrels LOVE to destroy! About a month ago she began telling me about her visitor who "comes a courting"! We live along the back of the building, with our patios about 20 feet from the wood line! I played in these very same woods when, as a child I lived in a duplex just up the street! If you step about 5 feet into the woods, they turn swampy! My Ma chased a huge snapping turtle off our patio a few years back. But that's another story!

My neighbor (Anita) not only has potted plants on her patio, she has the odd decoration. One of those decorations is a cute, Plaster turtle! Now, this plaster turtle is painted and although it doesn't look real, it has attracted the unfaltering attention of a local turtle! The turtle loves to snuggle-up with the plaster turtle, happily passing time just sitting there by it's side! This turtle appears reliably on must days! If I have some over-ripe fruit or lettuce that is passing it's prime, I take it to Anita. I was fortunate enough to meet "Mr. Turtle" (who remains un-named) the other day! I snapped a few pictures of him!

When Anita went out onto the patio to give him some Kiwi fruit & lettuce, he stuck his little neck out & turned his head to the side, looking at her as she spoke to him in a soothing tone! She greets him and feeds him! He is still just a bit shy. When she quickly bends down to sit the food before he, he jumps back a bit. She couldn't find a suitable water dish for him, but I had one that was quite perfect and happily donated it! When the harsh Maryland winter closes-in he will be sadly missed! We hope he will return to take comfort in his sweetheart next spring! He can't get love from a plaster turtle, but he certainly has captured the hearts of Anita and I!