Turtle Island
Hello Community!
I built Turtle Island in a lake near me. It has been an interesting and fun experiment!
It started with a log that washed up. Turtles piled on it. Then that log floated away.
I love ecosystems so made a note the next time one washes up that I'd anchor it. I did. Then that one got waterlogged and started to sink. I put a life jacket on it and then a water noodle. That helped, but then it started to sink again, because it became too heavy.
Next up was the boogie boards and wood planks. I visited a sea turtle rescue in Jekyll Island. They were using this car wash foam material (the type you drive through) so I got some of that and put it on the sides with my daughter. The turtles started climbing on it. Then my oldest daughter came home and we added another boogie board and another plank.
Our current record is 8 turtles at one time!
I realized that this is how those people with tons of Christmas lights and decorations start. Just a little to begin. Before you know it you have got a Santa, reindeer, thousands of lights, a snowman etc. People are driving by your house just to see your decorations.
Thankfully, I became aware that it would be far too easy for me to keep adding more and more islands, so I'm stopping now. I'll continue to iterate on the platform I have now without adding too much more.
What I really enjoy about them is the way they communicate. They talk acoustically to one another with clicking noises and with non-verbal behavior. They are like my customers on Turtle Island. I can tell when things are not quite working for them. The plank isn't deep enough. They keep circling it. Or the obstacle is too high to climb over etc. I keep iterating and the basking structure gets better with time.
I'll share the adventures of Turtle Island here. I'll start with the early versions and then work towards the more recent versions and anything else I learn. The pic here is a recent one. I say it has "max shimmah" in my best Massachusetts accent.
Thanks for tuning into Turtle Island!
Here is version 1!
@GlenM
Loving this! 😊 I have subscribed to turtle 🐢island and so, will stay tuned.
All the way around, this is just adorable and the Christmas lights analogy..... 🤣🎄🎅
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@GlenM
I don't know, so maybe an odd thought from me here? 🤔
There have been a few times around here where I have read a forum post, I responded because I really liked the post, and yet, walked away with this feeling, some sort of feeling like, there was more to it for me. Something that is pulling me back in, makes me want to read it over and over to figure out what that feeling is or what is registering, something is there, more, something I missed. Some sort of thought, feeling, emotion or connection is there, but I just can't quite put my finger on it and it needs a moment to "cook". So many times I truly just sleep on it, wake up in the morning and it may come to me and with perhaps better ways to articulate.
Well, Happy Wednes-yay! 🥳 and I'm circling back around as I have found resolution to what it was that was so deeply resonating with me about Turtle Island! 🐢
I enjoy your writing style and how it is that you explained the steps that have been taken, your thoughts and feelings behind why it is that you did so. I'm a huge fan of Shel Silverstein. I love his writing style as well. I like how his work is presented as Children's Books, however when we as adults look into the deeper meaning, so very much is there, so very much to learn from. We can take so much away from what it is that he is sharing with us and sometimes we grow from it. Wisdom💡embedded there if someone reaches enough to see it.
Turtle Island 🐢 strikes me as the perfect basis for a children's book, written in the spirit of the great Shel Silverstein. I saw a theme, or how Turtle Island translates to me as a human being that engages in relationships with others no matter what type of "ship" it may be.
Underlying themes for me are resilience, trying over and over with nothing, but good will in ones heart and expecting nothing in return. Doing ones best to accommodate others as making others happy may bring joy to ones self simply for the act of doing so. Dedication, working for the greater good in relationships even if it comes at a cost and sometimes a bit of disappointment. The understanding that people communicate in different ways and that sometimes we have to slow down to really hear them as they are giving us all the information that we need if we are invested enough to truly listen. And then finally the pause "so I'm stopping now" as you said.
Just like in human relationships, it can be good to pause and know that you did your personal best and give things a rest to see where "the turtles" 🐢 take things next. 😊
Sure would be neat if you took this to press! I'd be the first in line to buy a copy.
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@SparkyGizmo thanks Sparky! Honored that you think this could be a children's book. My wife is actually working on a children's book now - called Sam the Cat. It will likely be out in a few months. It'll fun to see if this story evolves here. I love Shel Silverstein! Are you also a fan of Raffi? These artists that have a gift at simplification...I'm thankful for them!
@GlenM
I'm glad to hear that you are a fan as well! 😊 ❤️ I haven't heard of Raffi, but I'll look them up seeing as how you are a fan and that there are similarities to Silverstein. I love the gift of simplification too!
This is pretty exciting news!!!! *high fives* 😊 to your wife! I would love to buy a copy of her work, "Sam The Cat" whenever it comes out. I'd like to be one of the first in line for that one too! It will take an honored space on one of my bookcases, right beside my collection of Silversteins works and a few other treasured childrens books.
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
This was version 2 after the log started sinking. Not my best work, but practical and easy to implement!
and v3! this lasted for several months. check out the very small one on the far left.
@GlenM
The little one, far left, that's Edna!!! 🐢 I'd know her anywhere, haha hahahh 😊
Need the shot from the other forum post pic right underneath to be to be completely certain though. 🧐
@GlenM
You are a real-life Ninja Turtle hero! it is so powerful to follow through the story and how thoughtful you have been in problem solving how you could best support these turtles.
Sometimes, not giving up helps so much and it is fascinating that we can offer the same hope and care for animals.
Following along!!
This was such a fun post to read! I love how a simple observation turned into an entire little project, and how you kept going back to the drawing board, figuring out what worked best for your little visitors. It's also lovely that it became something you could work on with your daughters.
I do wonder how the turtles see you! Do they recognize you by now? Do they see you as the mysterious man who keeps showing up and rearranging their little island? I wonder if they have come to associate you with their favourite basking spot.
I think there's something quite special about these little moments in life. When you're simply watching nature, you get that gentle reminder that there is so much more to life than whatever happens to be occupying your mind at the moment. Nature has its own pace. Things unfold, adapt, and find their way without everything needing to be rushed or forced. Moments like these can become little glimmers in an otherwise ordinary day, and sometimes that's all you need.
