photo by Jonathan Schechter

Look closely at this photo and check out the second turtle in the lower right hand corner. Perhaps a caption contest should be in order. "Hey! How did you get up there?" or maybe "Come on! Jump!"
(Post your suggestions to the blog site if you wish, but the only prize is your moment of printed fame.)
Eastern painted turtles spent winter in pond bottoms in a near state of suspended animation waiting for spring warmth.  And then last week as I hiked about the trails of the E.L. Johnson Nature Center in Bloomfield Township as the sun fnally warmed the land,  this log-perching opportunist turtle used his claws to climb out of the water and then align his shell towards the sun to catch warming rays. Time for a  sun-soaked snooze with legs tucked back into the shell as he perfected the art of balance!
 (For more on the E.L. Johnson Nature Center trails see the hiking column in the Mother's Day edition of
The Oakland Press.)