I live on the second floor. My studio faces the backyard lawn which borders a small woods. Consequently, as I write, and look upon this vista, I have had the pleasure of seeing a variety of lovely creatures.
I have seen white tail deer, a mama groundhog and her baby, countless birds, from cardinals to ospreys, my favorite roaming black-and-white kitty whom I have named Tux, a Siberian Husky named Koda, and now, a turtle.
Yes, a turtle.
It’s been raining a lot, so I imagine my guy (or could have been my gal; I was too shy to ask) was seeking some dry land and an abundance of grass to eat. Maybe he was lost or simply wanted to stretch his legs. Whatever the reason for the appearance, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for not tucking your head in too much and letting me take your picture. I hope I didn’t freak you out.
Thank you, Turtle. You made my day.
Jim Garber says:
Those are usually snapping turtles and are females looking to lay their eggs. They usually are in water but have to lay the eggs on dry land. Many years ago I was driving to work and I saw what I thought was a black trash bag in the middle of the road. It wasn’t. It was a mom-to-be snapping turtle. I nudged it a bit with my foot to encourage it to go to the road side away from traffic and it hissed at me like a pre-historic reptile that she was.
I saw another one last week near the Somers, NY library.
June 9, 2017 — 10:36 pm