The pond was very deep thanks to a lot of recent rain and most of the turtle-basking perches were underwater. Oddly enough, the main stump that is usually pretty crowded had only a pair of Red-ears on it.
Walking around the pond, we saw saw this Snapper snoozing in the shade. Of course, I was alarmed, thinking it must be dead but as I stepped closer, it lifted it's head and gave me the stink-eye.
Not far from there, I pulled a piece of trash out of the edge of the pond. A familiar face started to make his way towards us. It was our old pal Whitey!
Despite the unfortunate name we gave him (his face is white! What can I say?) he seemed happy to see us. Or at least happy to beg for food.
It was almost 10 years to the day from Andrea's first encounter with this turtle!
He followed us around the pond when he saw (heard?) me removing trash from the water's edge. More started were the dozens of Bullfrog tadpoles that were enjoying the warm water on the edges. Legs!
Excuse me... GOSLINGS!!!! They're getting so big, they'll be hard to tell from adults soon!
Another familiar (begging) face is this Red-ear with a fancy shell. You know, the Red-ears are released pets, thus they're deemed "invasive". Some people say "kill it!" but these guys, some of whom have been in this small pond for a decade, don't seem to be a bother to the local fauna and hey, they're cute as hell. I love 'em.
This Yellow-bellied Slider that we'd first seen at this pond in November 2020 might have also been seeking an easy treat. He has joined the handout line in the past.
One more non-Whitey Snapper, bidding us farewell.
That was a fruitful and fun lunchbreak!
That Friday was another warm and sunny say and Andrea got off from work at 2:30 and, since she was working from home, we took a drive over to the abandoned school to see if any Water Snakes were out. It was pretty hot and the pond was quite low and we didn't see any again. It was pretty trashy again and I'll have to plan another clean-up.
We did however, see a couple of Painted Turtle ladies nesting on the island, one digging and one probably having just finished up.
We walked around, exploring other avenues in the small area. A Water Snake whizzed across the path in front of us but we had no chance for a shot. Nice to see one still exists, though. We walked around the school and when we got to the front, by the parking lot, a large Woodchuck was startled by our presence and took off flying. Literally, it seems... it is completely airborne in this shot!
If you'll allow me to end this short post with... GOSLINGS!!!! then I will. It looks like a few different clutches might be present here.
