Joyce and I were at my daughter and son-in-law’s house for Christmas. After all the presents had seemingly been distributed, I was told there was one more for me in the next room. Imagine my surprise when they showed me this giant present.

What could it be?

It Is a new turtle raft! My grandchildren,Katie and Jack, selected the materials and assembled the raft. We were lucky to have an unusually warm day for the launch right after Christmas.

Here are Katie and Jack, ready to help launch the raft and put it in its final position in the lake.

Our son-in-law, Mike, put the some final touches on the raft.

Mike has just launched the raft.

Getting in position. The metal hardware cloth on the raft is to allow turtles to get a better footing when climbing onto the raft.

Towing the raft to the final location. In the background are the two poles which will keep the raft in position.

Katie and Jack are maneuvering to secure the raft to the poles. The poles will be inserted through the raft, but not fastened securely. This arrangement will allow the raft to slide up or down the pole in response to changes in the water level.

Raft is now secured to the poles. This position for the raft was selected because it is the only place where I have an unobstructed view from the house when leaves are on the trees. I need such a view for photographs of turtles on the raft.

Grandchildren and me. The raft floats serenely in the background.

View from my living room window. The only thing we need to complete the picture is some turtles.

We chose to call this raft Turtle Raft 2.0 because this one is the second in the series. Turtle Raft 1.0 was also constructed by Katie and Jack. It was a great success, but it eventually became a bit dilapidated. Turtles had produced enough excrement to support a thriving plant community. We also learned some other steps to make the new model more attractive to turtles.