Do you ever feel cooped up? Frustrated by the same old-same old? Restricted, not in control, with zero spontaneity in your life? Furious with boredom? Restless with ennui? Well, this is a little story for those of us who feel that way.

Well actually, it’s a little story about a little soul who lives in a 1 x 3 foot tank–and has lived in those glass walls for at least 32 years. This is about Forrest, an Eastern Box Turtle.

Forrest lives next door. He’s lived there for eight years, belonging to a teenage boy. Prior to there, he lived with another kid for about 20 years. And it is likely he came from another aging kid before that. Lucky or not, Eastern Box Turtles can live to be 100-years-old. By current estimates, Forrest is in his thirties, if not older.

In any case, for eleven days this summer, we dog and turtle-sat for our neighbors. As I put fresh lettuce down for Forest that first day, I noticed the quiet in the room, the isolation in that tank. He sat staring into a corner. It was as if boredom had an odor that I recognized. I decided to take Forrest out to the backyard for a walk. Maybe it was a little bit risky–what if something happened to him? And maybe it would take a little too much time–I had a million other things to do. But, a little walk in the grass and some fresh air to add some spice and variety to his life seemed like a good thing to do. Give him something he could ruminate on in his memories for days yet to come.

And so, for the next eleven days, Forrest got to stretch his legs in his backyard. He got to smell the grass, the mulch, feel the dew and the sprinkler rain, and lift his head into the morning sun. I enjoyed those days very much. These photos are from those days.

Forrest kicked me into action. Or maybe it was that he saved me from action. There was something about his situation, about his life, that settled on me. Something that nudged me to try different things, to add new things to my routine.

I did some research to learn what else I could feed him to liven up his life. I brought him a grape, apple bits, arugula, spinach, romaine, carrots. I also learned that box turtles are slow crawlers, slow growers, give birth to few offspring, and are extremely long lived–yet the species is vulnerable due to death by agricultural machinery and cars. I learned a new word: ANTHROPOGENIC or human-induced mortality, as in what’s happening to the world’s species and environments because of human overpopulation.

I can sometimes see Forrest in his tank next door when I take our stairs, but the light has to be right and he can’t be hiding under his bridge or astroturf. I hope he enjoyed those eleven days. I did.