Micro-joy

Took Merlin for his walk early this morning to avoid the heat and humidity of a Georgia July day. Even at 7am though, there was humidity, heat and mosquitoes and the promise of more to come. Walking through the woods, he kept stopping, looking longingly back towards the house and coolness.

Strolling along by the stream, we came up upon a beautiful little box turtle, not much larger than my hand, plonked in the middle of the path, head out, curious. Merlin and I stopped and both parties stared at one another. Merlin advanced a cautious step or two to sniff, causing the turtle to pull in. Even without his beautiful black beady eyes staring at us, he was a pleasure to see with a fresh and strongly marked carapace.

I lifted him up and put him off to the edge of the path three or four feet, under the shade of some bushes. A privilege to start the day with a small service to such a handsome creature.