Happy #WorldTurtleDay

It's almost cold enough today to send our local turtle populations back into hibernation instead of seeking mates and nesting sites. Please be careful and slow down as you drive local roads. Be sure to watch for crossing turtles whether or not they're in a designated turtle crossing.

turtle crossing sign

Photo by J. Harrington

In case you're unfamiliar with what some of our local turtles look like, here are some examples:

snapping turtle

Photo by J. Harrington

Blanding's turtle

Photo by J. Harrington

painted turtle

Photo by J. Harrington

If you look carefully, you may notice that snapping turtles think they can cross a road wherever the hell they want, while Blanding's and painted turtles are more discrete and cross on gravel roads. Often, but not always, true!

Turtle

By Kay Ryan

Who would be a turtle who could help it?

A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,

she can ill afford the chances she must take

in rowing toward the grasses that she eats.

Her track is graceless, like dragging

a packing-case places, and almost any slope

defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,

she's often stuck up to the axle on her way

to something edible. With everything optimal,

she skirts the ditch which would convert

her shell into a serving dish. She lives

below luck-level, never imagining some lottery

will change her load of pottery to wings.

Her only levity is patience,

the sport of truly chastened things.

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