This reaching turtle icon is a wood block, designed and carved by a long time turtle person, Martha, from the San Francisco Bay area. She has turtle dreams. This wood block is one result of her dreams and artistic talent. Following is a narrative Martha wrote relating how this and other turtle wood blocks sprung forth from those dreams.

"I did the turtles because ever since I was a child I've had a recurring dream about box turtles. The dream varies somewhat but the basic elements are the same. I'm kneeling on the ground in a garden or grassy backyard. It's a sunny morning in Springtime; the earth is warm and the grass and plants are dewy. I start to dig in the earth with my bare fingers, as though I'm looking for something. Suddenly box turtles start to emerge from the earth around me. They're digging themselves up and out with their claws. They are moist and, the markings on their shells and heads are beautiful and vivid. They look happy. Sometimes the turtles are juveniles and small: sometimes they're adults. The dream generaly ends there, with the turtles coming out of the ground, and a sense that something good is emerging".