witches whiskers

I love this time of year. There is something new every day. Today we spotted the turtles!

In the centre of Mahone Bay are two ponds which are home to several turtles (they prefer the easternmost pond for some reason). They overwinter in the mud at the bottom of the pond where they hibernate without needing to breathe. I walk by the ponds almost every day and I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled. Today we were rewarded with three adult Eastern Painted turtles and a juvenile. They were sunning themselves. Two of them plopped into the water and swam around for a while.

They have a dark green shell with red edges and a stripy head. They are quite beautiful if you can get close enough. I’ll be looking for them every day now.