“Please do not take anything out of or put anything into the ponds. This includes fish and turtles.” So the tower ponds on campus were not an option when we discovered a red-eared slider luxuriating under the spray this morning before it was even light. When we heard the papers dropped before 4:00 am, knowing that today is our watering day and awake anyhow, we arose to set out the sprinklers. This guy was as big as sliders get: his shell was easily 11 inches long. He was picked up with gloves and placed in a cardboard box. Blunn Creek wilderness or Blunn Creek outside the preserve was the next option. While we were reading up on what he might require, he tipped over his carton and was on his way. He didn’t get far. Now, handsome creature that he is, he’s at home in a neighborhood pond habitat. Since his locomotion is rapid, though, and he appears to be in his prime, we’ll be keeping an eye out for his return.