Our Impromptu Turtle Adventure

"We've got a new pet."

This is the text message I get today, accompanied by a picture of a rather large turtle hanging out in the floor of the truck.

Just another day in the life of the Walravens. We love animals.

Turns out, this giant guy was chilling out on the back porch of Wes' work. I would have been mad that he took the turtle from its natural habitat, except that the body of water I believe it came from is across a very busy highway. I've already seen one splattered turtle in the past week, so I think it's kind of cute this one was saved.

If we had a pond or large-ish water feature in the backyard, you'd better believe that turtle would be hanging out there now. Alas, we don't, so we began to figure out where to take him to live out his days. While we contemplated, we stuck him in the bathtub with some water and lettuce, to simulate his natural habitat.

I have a favorite local park that has friendly ducks, lots of shady spots and trees. We loaded the little guy up on a laundry basket and set of for the park.

As soon as we get there, the ducks greet us to check out the situation.

They are eager to check out their new friend.

We pick the perfect spot to set the turtle free. He gazes on the horizon, checking out his new digs.

Starting My Suburban Homestead

When we bought our house in the 'burbs almost four years ago, we planned to live here two - maybe three - years. We made a few changes, but I tended to shy away from anything big so that it would be easier to sell the house.

Well, how times have changed. Since the housing market tanked and our neighborhood has had a few foreclosures (including both of our neighbors), we owe much more than our house is worth, keeping us here for many years to come.

This year I've made an effort to explore our little community and discover things I like, so I would stop driving 45 minutes to an hour away just to get my hair cut. I found an amazing kickboxing gym, excellent sushi restaurants (better than quite a few I've eaten at in the city) and a salon I trust to touch my hair. I love the parks and trails, and love that I have a beautiful (traffic free!) drive to work everyday. There are farms and farmers markets, and a natural foods store I've been meaning to try. I used to dream of breaking free from this suburban lifestyle, but now actually enjoy it.

Now that I know we will be in this house for awhile, I've started working on our little suburban homestead. Tucked behind our newly completed privacy fence is the beginning of a vegetable garden and compost heap. Two small steps in becoming more self-sustaining. I'll blog about the garden later, when I have photos of my progress to add (the cucumber plants have actually sprouted!). I eventually would like to have rain barrels, fruit trees and backyard chickens, but I'm waiting for the Georgia Right to Grow act to pass before I take on a tiny flock of fowl.

I think I abandoned this blog since my heart wasn't really in suburbia. Now that I'm establishing roots, I'm hoping to post much more often.