ODD OGG

Odd,Ogg,

As it seems,

I think on,

The Second Day of Christmas,

I’ve found,

The cure for the common Cold,

Two turtles,

In my manger,

And from old,

A bunch of Love,

Among each other,

From above!

*Just like snowflakes, no two Calico Map Turtles are exactly alike ! These Turtles are crazy little explosions of color all over their shells, heads and skin, that hold their patterns and bright colors as they grow. They are actually a geographic variation of Mississippi Map Turtles. Calico Map Turtles originally evolved in one isolated lake that allowed them to develop spectacular patterns and colors not seen anywhere else in their natural range. The turtle depicted is not a Calico but a photo courtesy of the Biodiversity Library and is in the public domain.

Author’s Note: Dr. Nicole Ogg is my PCP, with a local Family Practice in my hometown of Weaverville. When’s the last time you lived in small town Appalachia of 3500 people and could walk to the doctor’s? She’s the best! If you visit her office she has an enormous collection of tiny turtles laying all around every which and aware’s, kinda like a turtle museum. Not having any turtle photo/poems, On my way to visit her on this Second Day of Christmas (for my common cold), I decided to work up a photo/poem as a gift for Dr. OGG. Instead of “two turtle doves,” why not just two turtles, I thought. Two very uniquely indigenous “Mississippi Map Turtles.” Why not? They love crawling all over the manger set, stepping on Baby Jesus and playing in the little pond bowl of water. Jesus doesn’t seem to mind at all, nor do I.

Happy twelve days of Christmas to all y’all and a heathy Happy New Year!

tom tenbrunsel

Poet Laureate of My Domain