Friday, June 09, 2006

Best of Small Town-Turtle Releases

One of the definite highlights of living in Small Town has been sea turtle releases. Small Town used to be home to a large population of two types of sea turtles, but with the growth of the human population and the oil industry, the turtle population has decreased. So, several organizations here are dedicated to the preservation of these cute creatures. They find nests of eggs and incubate them until they hatch, and then care for them until they are ready to head out to sea.

At the first one we attended, they set out a Styrofoam cooler filled with turtles. They let all the kids play with the poor little guys for an hour before they were released, in a state of shock I am sure, out into the big-bad Gulf of Mexico.


I tried to hoard as many as I could to keep them away from the toddlers and overly-excited little kids.

The turtles are released at dusk, when the chance of being eaten by a hovering seagull is at its lowest. They are released 10 Ft from the shore, and then they have to make it on their own the rest of the way.

This little guy was a straggler, but he eventually made it to the water:

This is so much fun!

***Side note: here's someone's house that we saw at the last release:

October 22, 2005 fallen house

I won't be here on Friday for Freezer Food Fun. I wanted to write it tonight (Wednesday) and post from Big City Mexico where we will be apartment hunting, but @#$@#$ Blogger is really being a pill. Check out Handiemom's blog and utmommy's site for Friday recipes!

15 comments:

Code Yellow Mom said...

Oh...I love the turtles. I saved a big forest-type turtle from the middle of the road once (he was about to become a turtle tope), but this is way cooler than that. They are so tiny and precious - there is just no end to the amazing creatures on this earth. How cool to be a part of that.

Have fun apartment hunting.

Anonymous said...

OH cute!! We just finished the process of new place shopping. We are settling in tomorrow or the next day.

Moving is hard. I am stoked to have our new place though.

Blackeyedsue said...

I SO want a baby sea turtle now! I remember in Hawaii they were warning everyone not to touch them while you were snorkling. They said they had salmonilia (sp?).

Good luck on the apartment hunt. Keep us all posted!

Grammy said...

I think that's an all time high for small town. I would love to take part in the sea turtle release. Have a great time in the big city! Good luck finding just the right place.

Nettie said...

How adorable are those! What a fun thing for your kids to witness, too. I'm sure after all the eager toddlers, they are better prepared to fight off/evade the predators in the water.

Good luck, with the apartment hunting. Moving is so hard, but what a great new adventure you have coming!

Erickson Family said...

What amazing pictures! It looks like lots of fun. I'll bet your kids just love it!

I'll miss your recipe this Friday, but good luck finding an apartment in "D.F.".

P.S. The picture of the house in the water was great. Someone was living too close to the shoreline again! (Happens to me all the time :))

Super Happy Girl said...

What an amazing thing for anyone –specially children- to participate in the releasing of the baby turtles. They’re so cute!
Have fun in Chilangolandia, hope you find a cool place.

The house with ocean view is awesome.

Code yellow mom: “turtle tope” :D

Anonymous said...

The turtle activity was really fun and educatinal. Thanks for letting us tag-along! My kids really loved it.

Good luck with the apartment.

Millie said...

Oh my heavens, those turtles are so adorable! What a fun tradition! Don't you love those fun community things?

Have fun looking at apartments... hope you find a great one!

Bright One said...

What a fun thing to do!!! I can imagine the glee with which toddlers "handled" the turtles....what other chance will they ever get to do something so fun though! Small Town has it's perks doesn't it....proximity to ocean being one!! Good luck with the apt. hunting.

Charla said...

Those sea turtles are too cute! That's such a great thing that they do that! I'm sure it was a great experience for the kids as well!
Good luck with the apartment hunting!
Charla

Super Happy Girl said...

Gariela, just so you know, last night Naddin and I were doing our monthly get together with our other friends, and we were talking about you and your cool post about the turtles
:)

Gabriela said...

Awwwww, thanks! :)

Thanks to all the well-wishers on apartment hunting, all went well, I will report tomorrow!

Super Happy Girl said...

BOFF: thanks for the “GOOOOOOOL!” shout out. You have to tell me if the canceled church in Small Town. I almost (like for ½ a second) thought maybe I should stay and watch it until the end

Katherine@Raising Five said...

That is something your kids will remember forever. What a cool thing to be able to be a part of! Thanks for sharing!