Tiny turtle

I was on a very pleasant bicycle ride with friends Gary and Rick today, heading down the bike path to Easthampton, MA, when I spotted something quite small moving at a pretty good clip directly across my path. At first I thought it was some weird-looking bug, but as I slowed to a stop to take a closer look, I realized that it was a tiny turtle!

I got out my camera and a quarter to indicate the size of the intrepid little critter, and took a photo...

... then gently picked up the turtle and moved him to the relative safety of the side of the path toward which he had been heading. -- PL

Turtle sighting

Yesterday was a hot one here in western Massachusetts, and my friend Rick and I decided to take our bike ride on one of the shadiest routes we know of -- the rail trail bike path from Northampton up to Look Park in Florence. We often do this, in large part because Look Park is just such a beautiful place to ride through.

Like many times before, we took a break for lunch on a bench overlooking the small pond at the park. While sitting there and talking, I noticed out of the corner of my eye an object which seemed to be making its way across the pond, but just under the surface. We were about a hundred feet away, so it was a little difficult to discern details, but I soon realized it was a big turtle! I would guess that it was about a foot and a half long.

I couldn't remember ever seeing a large turtle swimming like this. I've seen similar beasts sunning themselves on rocks or logs near water, but never cruising along just under the surface. I tried to get a good shot of it, but my little pocket camera could only manage these:

       Here's a cropped version of the second one:

Though I couldn't see a lot of detail, I think it looked like a snapping turtle. -- PL