Monday, April 2, 2012

Turtles/Our World

 He said, she said, and now neither is speaking

It seems very early in spring to me, but already the local midland painted turtles are out basking in the sun.

These turtles are usually found in slow moving water such as the Holland Marsh where we found these. Painted turtles are "active" during the day (if you call sitting on a log "active") but spend the night at the bottom of a pond or stream.

Head, tail and legs tucked in

They are called "painted" because their olive-green shells (carapace) are bordered in red and...

Stretched out in the sunshine

their necks, heads and tails have yellow stripes.

Midland painted turtles are among North America's most common turtles and are found across southern and central Ontario. They are not considered endangered here, but they are in decline.

Click  HERE to see tons more photos about Our World.

34 comments:

Jill said...

One of my favorite turtles. These are great shots. They are shown off very well.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh I love painted turtles I have not seen one this year yet. I always look forward to that. Awesome pics. I will wave tomorrow. B

penny said...

The painted turtles you so beautiful shot, certainly do have colorful little bottoms. (pardon the pun:)

Have a happy day,
cheers :)

jabblog said...

Turtles doing what turtles do best - they are very prettily decorated.

MadSnapper said...

hope they forgive and forget soon. LOL, love the underside red markings, thanks for showing the bottom side to

Darla said...

I'd love to see those painted turtles in the wild. We don't seem to have turtles in our area, or maybe I just don't know where to look.

Darla

Judy said...

Lol, too funny on the top photo, great shot of them. They sure have a great defense mechanism going for them.

Penelope Notes said...

Lovely colorful markings on these turtles! Walking around with your house on your back seems so very portable and convenient. But it would slow anyone down. :)

Cezar and Léia said...

Thanks so much for sharing all these information about the adorable turtles.Since I was a kid I'm very fond of turtles, all kinds, all sizes!
Awesome post, congratulations!
Léia

TexWisGirl said...

love the 'he said; she said'. :)

LindyLouMac said...

Great shot and I love the caption!

Kathy said...

So early in the spring to be having a disagreement already! Shouldn't they be doing flirtatious stuff? Or maybe that's what happens in the long Canadian winters!

Paul in Powell River said...

That first shot is classic!

Jenn Jilks said...

It's too cold here! Frogs are silent again.
Spring will return soon! Love your photos!

My Happy Birthday Boys!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

I like these little guys, always have.

Lowell said...

I like. Turtles are nice. Most of them won't bother you. We had a canal behind our condo in south Florida that was full of turtles. But so many people came and caught them for turtle soup that we had to make the canal off limits.

Martha Z said...

Colorful when you turn them over but they don't seem to appreciate the inspection.

Carver said...

Fantastic shots of the turtles. Even here I don't usually spot turtles this early.

Sylvia K said...

Oh, I love your turtles!! Colorful little buggers, aren't they? They seem to enjoy the sun the same way I do -- when we have any, that is!! Terrific captures and post for the day!!

Sylvia

Snap said...

I love turtles. They are so much fun to watch. They enjoy the sun so much! Wonderful if they need sun screen? !!!

George said...

These turtles are definitely colorful, and your photos are wonderful.

Stephanie said...

Lovely looking turtles with pretty colors. Enjoyed looking at these today.

Viola said...

Oh such very beautiful turtles!! Look how you've got the red border lightened up in the sun, gorgeous photo! - and photos! :)

On the first photo, when I saw it before I read your words under, I said to myself: "Oh, look, they are wondering what the weather is going to be..!! How fun!" =D

Still they are fun, not speking to each other :))))

Happy Easter to you! :)

Giga said...

Czerwony kolor dodaje wiele uroku tym żółwiom. Są bardzo ładne jak i ich zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam. *** The red color adds a lot of charm to the turtles. They are very nice and their pictures. Yours.

Amy Burzese said...

The last shot is my favorite. Stretching. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Al said...

Very nice shots. Nothing's basking in our snowstorm for the next day!

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

What amazing creatures! You've captured them very well.

Michelle said...

Awwww...I love that last shot of the little guy stretched out in the sunshine.

Randy said...

Too cute.

Jack said...

You teach us so much about the flora and fauna up there in East G. You are a science teacher, right?

Gillian Olson said...

Yes they love a patch of sunshine, like the way you started with he said, she said, very cute.

Gattina said...

I love turtles and these once have a beautiful design ! The first picture is really funny !

Unknown said...

LOL i love your caption! i seldom see turtles here with their heads out. i guess Philippine turtles are painfully shy compared to your painted turtles.:p

Zosia said...

I had NO idea that there are turtles living in the wild in Canada. I thought it was too cold for them there.

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.