Terrapin Time

I found this terrapin shell on the south bank of the creek on my parent's property a few days after they bought rights to it. Walking along the dry creek bed looking for nothing and everything it was easy to find, gleaming bright yellow against dark brown in midday sunlight.

An exquisite specimen in every respect, it has been inside out of weather since it was found.

Considering its size, it's an appropriate symbol of the current pair of landowners' longevity.

Both now on the cusp of nine decades alive, they have prospered, living happy and content.

At almost one foot long, this was probably a female terrapin that also lived long and prospered, many of her progeny still freely roaming the wooded creeks around the property.