Ms. Turtle

So, our turtle (perhaps a spiny softshell turtle?) came back a few hours later, and this time we kept everyone off the beach while she did her thing (about 20 minutes once she found her spot—about 5 minutes for digging and about 15 for laying). Afterwards we went over to the nest and uncovered it to get a look at the eggs (they're not like birds who will sometimes not care for their young if they smell like humans have been near—turtles don't take care of their young at all, no matter what). We couldn't find them. We uncovered sand until we hit the undisturbed wet sand below and nothing. Then Sasha dug for a few seconds and found the top of the nest—most impressive, both for his egg-finding ability and for how deep the mother buried her eggs in such a short time. They're a little smaller than ping-pong balls and harder than one might think. Underneath the one we excavated you could spy some of the others. We re-buried, of course.