Watch your step
Remember her? The snapping turtle we photographed in June, laying her eggs by the shore of Como Lake?
On Saturday morning, we started seeing these little guys:
I love that last one, glaring up at us fearlessly.
You can't tell from these pictures, but these hatchlings are tiny, tiny--a little bit bigger than Doug's thumb.
We encountered several of these tiny turtles in the grass, and a few more over by the walking path that runs along the hilltop above the parking lot. It was Doug and Riley who first noticed them; Boscoe was oblivious, and I had thought they were just small clods of dirt.
We encountered several of these tiny turtles in the grass, and a few more over by the walking path that runs along the hilltop above the parking lot. It was Doug and Riley who first noticed them; Boscoe was oblivious, and I had thought they were just small clods of dirt.
Labor Day weekend seemed like a good time for them to emerge. The park is pretty empty, with so many people at the State Fair or up at the cabin for one last long weekend.
The little turtles' job that day was to break out of the shell, claw their way up out of the dirt, and then crawl back down the hill to the lake, all without being eaten. By the time we found them--about 8 a.m.--they had already conquered two of those goals.
Once at the water, would they be safe?
Do I face a moral dilemma, wanting both great blue herons and snapping turtles in my lake?
The little turtles' job that day was to break out of the shell, claw their way up out of the dirt, and then crawl back down the hill to the lake, all without being eaten. By the time we found them--about 8 a.m.--they had already conquered two of those goals.
Once at the water, would they be safe?
Do I face a moral dilemma, wanting both great blue herons and snapping turtles in my lake?
