World Turtle Day

As Annie reminded me of World Turtle day only after I had posted a Frog on Wordless Wednesday,  I decided to do a little feature on some of the turtles around me.  They are wonderful, surviving creatures which we should all respect and enjoy.  Be careful though, because some of them can be pretty nasty, but then, that is why they survive.    I won't claim to be an expert, but I can give you the common names of the few that I have pictures of.  For more information go to McGuffy's Reader where she has posted information from Animal Planet. Enjoy ...

This is the well known smile of the Blandings Turtle.  This turtle is endangered, so I was very lucky to have come across a family of them in the irrigation pond on a perennial

farm.   

Every spring we see the female Painted Turtles in the area, leave the water and make a trek to where she will lay her eggs.   Weeks later the eggs hatch and all of the baby turtles start making their first journey to the water.  This little one is on his way ...

We placed a quarter under him to show how small he is ...

There are many obstacles the babies have to overcome, not the least of which is the rugged terrain they have to travel over ... 

The temptation is great to step in and help him on his way, but this trek is necessary for his development and to interfere could cause more damage then good.

The painted turtles are the most commonly seen turtle in our area.  They seem to thrive in our Midwestern environment.

The only other turtle I have encountered here is the snapping turtle ... they are generally ill tempered and it is best to leave them alone.  This turtle, however, is at the Rehab facility and has become rather tame.  He will eat out of my hand, but his movements toward the food are so rapid that it is a little scary.

All for now ... Happy World Turtle Day everyone ...