Sept. 17, 2017 - Summer Photos

This summer has been a good one for taking pictures of Painted Turtles at our lake home in northern Minnesota. Several logs that stick out of the water are reliable places to find turtles soaking up the sun. I especially like it when the water is calm and I can get a nice reflection in the photo.

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When I looked at this photo on my computer, I was shocked to see the condition of this turtle’s shell. After searching the internet, I discovered that turtles do shed. The outside of a turtle’s shell is covered in plates called scutes, which are made of material like our fingernails. As the turtle’s shell grows, the scutes are shed and replaced by new, larger ones. I learned something I hadn’t known about turtles.

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Here’s a different turtle that is starting to shed its scutes.

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This is a Gray Tree Frog found in the vegetation near our wind turbine. No, it’s not gray; this is one of the creatures that can change its color. It can be either gray or green depending on which color is a better match for its surroundings.

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The X on the back of this small frog identifies it as a Spring Peeper.

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One day, Diana and I were driving along a county road not far from our home and we saw this Coyote searching for food in a field. Coyotes are more often out at night but it is not unusual to see them during the day as well.

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