Tuesday, February 11, 2025

All Things Ellie - Ellie meets Percival

One day, Ellie and I were walking in the yard.  Her hound-nose led her to some large azalea bushes on the south side of the house.  This was not her usual "I'm smelling to see if there is something to find" smell, it was clearly her, "There is something here, let's go find it."  Underneath the Ligustrum bushes, Ellie encountered a turtle.  A Gulf Box turtle, to be exact.

At this point in my life, I knew almost nothing about turtles except that some could snap at you and bite you.  All Ellie knew was this critter smelled good (by her standards, not mine!) and she wanted to get closer.

I was intrigued, not only by the turtle but by Ellie's reaction to it.  She wasn't frightened at least and she also wasn't aggressive to it.  She did smell it quite a bit, though.

After that, every morning, Ellie looked for the turtle. Sometimes, he was under an azalea bush, sometimes under a hydrangea bush. Thanks to her wonderful sense of smell, she could always find him. The result was always the same: They looked at each other curiously, but neither showed any aggressive signs or even signs of running away. 
When Ellie met Percival


At some point we decided to bring something with us for the turtle, whom I began to think of as "Percival". (There is no rhyme or reason for this name, but it did form the basis of his character when the children's books began to be written.)  My husband read that turtles like greens, so we had some spinach in the house and took him some.  This is where the title for the first book, "Greens for Percival", came from.




Percival on the Carport

Later, we began to bring him little bits of chicken breast, which he really liked!  Ellie does too! Then, as summer started, we brought him some canteloupe.  Percival LOVES canteloupe!  This began a long season of Percival being part of our daily routine.  For a while, we would find him under the bushes along our driveway.  Then, he would be under our car!  We had to make sure each time we went somewhere that Percival was not under the car.  On more than one occasion, I had to move him out of the way.  One morning, Glen went out to find Percival standing at the door to our carport!

We all got so friendly with Percival that he started coming to us in the morning as soon as he saw us. (Of course, we realize it was because of the food, but we think he likes us, too!)

Last year, Percival found the perfect place for himself. We have some kayaks, which we store against the back wall of our house. He started living there. How do we know this? Ellie hunted for him until she found him there. So, each morning, Ellie and I would go to the kayaks, I would say, "Good morning, Percival," and he would come trotting right out to see us.  

This past fall, when Percival left to brumate (the reptile version of hibernation), Ellie looked for him at the kayaks every morning.  After a few days, she sniffed and sniffed and then turned back toward me with her head tilted in that very cute way she has as if to say, "Mom, where is he?"

Last year, he came back around Easter, so we will begin looking for him about that time this year, too.

Hello! I am Percival! I am very pleased to meet you!
"Any friend of Ellie's is treasured by me!"




Friday, February 7, 2025

Friday Photos-Steele Creek Park

 

This picture was taken at Steele Creek Park in Bristol, TN, on October 26, 2022.  We were in Virginia for hiking.  Since our beagle, Ellie, came to be a part of our family, we haven't been backpacking the Appalachian Trail.  Instead, we have been trying to find other hikes that all three of us will enjoy while minimizing any danger to her.  We know her nose well enough to take her into too much wilderness.

We try to time our fall hikes with the color change, and this year, we chose it perfectly.  This was a wonderful hike on an easy path around the lake. The weather was perfectly cool, and we decided to return in the Spring.


 

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

"All Things Ellie" Tuesday -- Other Animals

 Of the fun things with Ellie is to watch how she responds to other animals.  We have many feral cats in our neighborhood, and she usually responds as you would expect.  However, the more she sees each one of them, the less she reacts to them.

One spring, we hiked part of the Virginia Creeper Trail from Abingdon, VA.  This particular part of the trail had a good bit of farmland.  At one point, we passed some grazing cows.  There was a bench across the trail, so we took that opportunity for a water break.

Ellie wanted to see the cows. As we sat on a bench, she didn't take her eyes off them. I truly believe if I had dropped the leash, she would have been at that fence in a second.

The next day, while continuing our hike on the "Creeper", we again encountered cows and Ellie didn't even turn her head to give them a look.   This was a very different reaction to what she had to the horses.


The Virginia Creeper is not only a very popular trail for hikers, but bikers and equestrians utilize this trail as well.  Ellie seemed totally shocked by the horses.  I couldn't tell if she wasn't frightened at all or was so frightened she couldn't even move.  Maybe she was thinking, "Those are the biggest dogs I have ever seen.  And the humans are riding them!"

I kept her as far away from the horses as I could because I didn't know how she would respond to them up close.  As it turned out, when they passed us on the trail, she did very well.



Ellie has some other animal friends, too.  One day, she was smelling around under the bushes by the house and became very excited.  I looked under the bushes and saw a turtle.  At that point in my life, I knew almost nothing about turtles.  I certainly didn't know that this particular turtle was going to be a beloved part of our lives.  I also didn't know I was to write four children's books about his relationship to Ellie! (The fourth is not yet finished.)  I didn't know that each morning would begin with Ellie looking for Percival (as we call him) and even feeding him.

Next Tuesday, I will introduce you to Percival and share more about his unique relationship with Ellie and with us.

                                                                 



Friday, January 31, 2025

Friday Photos

 




This is one of my favorite photos of all time. We had been kayaking along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, and I took this picture from my kayak when we reached our put-in.

When I placed the trilogy of pictures at the top, I wanted to emphasize the change noted in the verse I used. All Christians are in a state of growth and change," from glory to glory."

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord; are changed into the same image from glory to glory, 
even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

2 Corinthians 3:18