Hub City Times

Top Menu

  • Contact Us
  • E-Editions
  • Subscribe

Main Menu

  • Home
  • News
    • Around the County
    • Arts & Ent
    • Education
    • Government
    • Local
    • Police / Sheriff Calls
  • Covid 19
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Coming Events
  • Business
  • Obits
  • Classifieds
  • Military Photos
  • Contact Us
  • E-Editions
  • Subscribe

logo

Hub City Times

  • Home
  • News
    • Around the County
    • Arts & Ent
    • Education
    • Government
    • Local
    • Police / Sheriff Calls
  • Covid 19
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Coming Events
  • Business
  • Obits
  • Classifieds
  • Military Photos
Outdoors
Home›Outdoors›Tea parties and snapping turtles

Tea parties and snapping turtles

By Hub City Times
October 11, 2017
521
0
Share:
The author's daughter, Addy, holds a baby snapping turtle.
The author's daughter, Addy, holds a baby snapping turtle. (Ben Gruber photo)

By Ben Gruber

Columnist

Sept. 23 was the opener for northern zone duck hunting, and on the Friday night before, instead of packing up hunting gear I found myself packing up a tea set and a camping supplies for my daughter, Addy, and myself. The weather forecast included a temperature with a 90 in it, so there was no way I was battling mosquitos and wearing sunscreen to hunt ducks, especially when it would mean battling the opening weekend warriors who flood the marshes to make woeful duck imitation sounds on calls that have not been touched in a year. Instead, I opted to finally make good on a promise to Addy to spend a night in the tent.

We loaded the canoe and some fishing poles, a few hooks, a tent, and blankets and headed for the southern-most unit of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. A quick hour drive north on Highway 13 and then some dirt road travel took us to a Forest Service campground on the Miller Dam Flowage.

It is a large campground with many modern loops for those with RVs and a separate, “rustic” loop for antiques like myself, who think camping means a tent and cooking on a campfire with no TV. We were the only inhabitants of the rustic loop, and I only saw a few campers in the nearby modern campground.

With the tent up and beds made, Addy insisted on getting her tea set out and having a tea party. Once that was complete, we headed for the beach nearby. The water was cool enough to be refreshing from the 88 degree heat but still warm enough to be fun.

On the beach we found a baby snapping turtle that was only a few days old. Addy instantly fell in love with the cute little fella and named him Lou, and he was her constant companion for the remainder of the trip.

Part of me said I should not let her handle the wild critter and leave him be, but the other part of me knows that a weekend pet of a baby snapper might be the experience that creates a young conservationist instead of a teenager who tries to run over turtles. Sometimes, getting hands on with the wild creatures can leave a lasting impression.

Lou the turtle had his own place at the dinner table, and Addy fed him most of our fishing bait, which he did not really eat. He sat at our campfire and went swimming in our cooler. When bedtime came, he had a nest built for him in a small box, lined with sand and rocks from the beach and an old snail shell to “remind him of the beach.” I was glad that our Momma Bear was not along on this trip as I have my doubts that she would have allowed a snapping turtle in the tent.

We woke early as this body of water was popular for local duck hunters. Shooting was pretty steady for the first hour, but I was not jealous. Hunting is supposed to be a cool weather sport, and I get crabby when I get hot.

First thing in the morning, Addy set Lou down on top of me and promptly informed me that she had a dream that Lou was actually a princess, and her name is now Cinderella. With that out of the way, we cooked some eggs over the campfire and loaded the canoe with fishing poles and headed out. We managed to put a good dozen nice bluegills in the boat, all within 200 yards of the landing, and cooked a few up for lunch over the fire.

It was an impromptu trip, taking advantage of some unseasonal weather. Without any advance work or planning, we made a pretty fun weekend out of it. Cinderella was released back into the wild, and hopefully she will always remember being the guest of honor at the tea party at campsite No. 37.

Ben Gruber can be reached at bwgruber@gmail.com.

TagsBen GrubercampingChequamegon-Nicolet National ForestFeatured
Previous Article

Held Hostage by Heroin: Drug-free school policies

Next Article

United Way accepting applications for 2018 funding

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Kay Scholtz, right, recently attended a retreat in Gold Creek, Montana, for ovarian cancer survivors.
    Opinion

    Letter to the editor: September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

    September 23, 2016
    By Hub City Times
  • Sports

    Marshfield’s Nolan Hertel loses consolation match, eliminated from state tournament

    February 26, 2016
    By Hub City Times
  • Education

    Marshfield Area Community Foundation Scholarship Bulletin now available

    January 29, 2018
    By Hub City Times
  • marshfield police department black and white squad wrap chief rick gramza
    Local

    Weekly Police Blotter: A double shot of vodka theft

    December 18, 2015
    By Hub City Times
  • From left, Marshfield Police Chief Rick Gramza swears in department chaplains Jeffrey Peckham, Patrick Bousum, Tim Houk, and Daryn Bahn.
    Local

    Chaplains sworn in at Marshfield Police Department

    August 19, 2016
    By Hub City Times
  • monarch caterpillars butterflies lincoln elementary school first grade class peskie
    EducationLocal

    Monarch magic: Lincoln first graders to witness caterpillars become butterflies

    September 14, 2015
    By Hub City Times

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

About Us


Hub City Times is published by Multi Media Channels LLC, N2919 County Road QQ Waupaca, WI 54981.

Timeline

  • March 3, 2021

    City may cut ties with police chief

  • March 2, 2021

    Security Health Plan marks 50 years

  • March 1, 2021

    UW-Eau Claire regional nursing program to move to Marshfield

  • February 27, 2021

    Marshfield Fire and Rescue and Mid-State partner on local fire training

  • February 25, 2021

    Marshfield man arrested on drug charges

Find us on Facebook

Copyright © 2020 Multi Media Channels, All Rights Reserved. Designed by MMC Team Awesome
×