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Carroll Family Art Studio |
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Excerpt from Year of the Turtle: I look at this turtle now in my hand and wonder what grace allows me to hold and ponder such a tangible piece of the history of life on earth and, whatever the great separation, of my own life. I take out my small sketchbook and, gingerly balancing it and the four-inch turtle in my left hand, make a drawing of her carapace and its arrangement of spots, which is different with each spotted turtle. These records of shell patterns allow me to recognize spotted turtles I am fortunate enough to come upon again. Then I release her where I found her and continue my walk. I may meet this turtle again during nesting season, out on the sandy fields at night, or in some other part of the Digs, years from now. I leave the marsh at twilight. Rose-gray reflects from every bowl of water held by the earth...evening star will have a mirror. Chill air drops into the hollows and quiets the frogs. Wing beats and whistlings divide the darkening air as a male woodcock takes up in his wild, spiraling ascents and reckless, plummeting descents back to earth. In the alder thickets, his intermittent, buzzing calls punctuate the otherwise silent world I leave behind. Click here to see some reviews of the Year of the Turtle.
©2006 David M Carroll |
Year
of the Turtle