Turtling

We’ve got a turtle in our neighborhood. Sometimes he camps out in our driveway, driving our little dog nuts. Other times we find him in the middle of the street, just daring the traffic to drive by. This morning, our big dog encountered the turtle!

Yeah, he quickly shut himself up tight as a drum when that big nose came in for a sniff. The big girl was fascinated by this elusive playmate who wouldn’t come out to play. It wasn’t until we were thirty feet away that the turtle poked his head out to see what was going on. We watched from a distance as he moved surprisingly fast into the wooded lot just up the street.

Why are turtles so fascinating to dogs and to people? They are easy to catch, but hard to get to know. They are both secluded and right there in the middle of the street. They are always at home, their houses on their back. But they withdraw when you try to get to know them.

Who else carries their home with them? Snails, hermit crabs (borrowed homes), and full time RV-ers. Backpackers on the Appalachian Trail? Cross-country bike riders? I find that self-sufficiency fascinating.

We used to have a hybrid camper trailer. The ends folded out into the tent-like sleeping areas. If we didn’t want to open up the ends because of a storm, we could just shut ourselves in safe and secure, a technique called “turtling.”

I’ll bet we all have moments when we want to “turtle.” Just pull our heads, hands, and feet in and shut ourselves off from the world.

Just for a moment.