I love my fence and how it’s enabled my garden to thrive in the absence of deer and greatly reduced rabbits. It’s even possibly reduced the number of cats visitors, which makes the birds happy. A lot of the fence’s effectiveness at its specified role of “deer-out; dogs in” comes from having closed up the gaps along the bottom.
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| Bixby's first turtle |
So maybe I was too effective? Bixby has found turtles, or possibly a turtle, on and off all year. He found a smallish one back by my shed—the closest corner to the park and creek below. It was gone in a few hours. All summer, he has found one in my shady and damp front yard, excellent box turtle habitat. When he spots a turtle, he barks at it, jumps forward and back near it, but I never saw him try to touch it with either his paw or nose.
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| Dogs just wanna have fun! |
This week, he spotted one cruising the perimeter fence heading in the direction of the creek. But as I watched the handsome fellow, he seemed to be foiled by the fence. Finally I picked him up and cruised the whole edge. I never found a place I was sure he could fit through. So I went around to my neighbor and put him down just outside the part of the fence he had been cruising, facing in the same direction. I’ve read that turtles have a strong urge to go where they want to go, so if you rescue one crossing a road, for example, you need to put him down on the side he was heading to. Otherwise, if you put him back where he came from, he’ll just venture back across. Hopefully, this guy will get where he wants to be.
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| What a handsome fellow! But apparently stymied by the fence |
VERY handsome fellow!
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