Fields and Box Turtles

I haven't seen the environmental report for the proposed field on Chestnut Street yet, but people who have seen it say that the land has only the same background level of minerals you'd expect from areas of igneous rocks. All of the northern half of town has igneous bedrock. Most people don't realize that while the major minerals in granite are harmless there are trace amounts of heavy metals and even radioactive elements. There's even gold in "them thar hills," but in amounts too small to bother with. Over on Elm Street extension, there are the remains of a silver mine dug by some overly optimistic investors in the early 19th century.

I love the idea, proposed by Meredith Keach and Nick Ventresco, to name the new Chestnut Street recreation area for Edwin Keach who was killed in a tragic accident there a few years ago.

Yesterday I promised a quick summary of the Massachusetts Wildlife article on Box Turtles. We have an Ornate Box Turtle, a subspecies from the Plains states, at Sheep Pasture. Francine is her name, and the fact that some pet store had her for sale is one cause for the decline of this species across its range. In Massachusetts we're at the northern edge of the Eastern box turtle's range, something that helps make the reptile rare here. Box turtles are only terrestrial turtles, and they get their name from their ability to shut themselves up completely in their shells. Unlike painted or spotted turtles they are not tied to often protected wetlands. Instead they prefer the same land we like to build houses on. Despite having the cruising speed that handicapped them in that famous race with the hare, box turtles travel miles in a year. Last year a box turtle was discovered on one of the trails of Sheep Pasture. Tragically, a week later the poor beast, which could have lived more than a century, was crushed by a driver on Route 138. Mowing for hay is another cause of mortality. Another problem is that Box turtles are very attractive animals which causes both big and little people to want to take them home and make them pets. If you find a box turtle, take pictures and leave it alone. The only exception to that rule is when you see a turtle in the road. If you can do it safely, take the turtle across the road in the direction it was going. Turtles are stubborn and will turn around and try to recross a road if they are not moved in the direction they were going. Both box turtles and spotted turtles can be picked up to move. The third traveling species is the snapping turtle-I carry a snow shovel in the car to help those guys across the street.

 And yes, the unwillingness to change direction and the desire to ignore changes around them by shutting themselves up in a shell are traits that make them a better mascot for the new Republican Party than that darned elephant.