A trip to the lake just wouldn’t be the same without spotting these little guys enjoying their favorite sunning spots.
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Who says a turtle can’t climb a tree? This little fellow was determined, and up he went, climbing higher and higher. I imagine he was also seeking a sunny spot to relax.
“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” ~Jack Ma
walking on a country road 
Nice photos and I really enjoyed them.
Thanks so much, Mags.
I love turtles, they always seem ancient, patient and wise. 🙂
Do you know the species of the first turtle? I can’t find it in a search engine…
I believe it is a Mississippi Map Turtle.
Thank you! Not one I would be likely to know. 🙂
Me too and yes, they do. They are one of my favorite animals.
Those are happy turtles.
They do look pretty content. 🙂
They all look so peaceful sunning themselves don’t they? I have never seen two things that you have in this post Rebecca: a turtle swimming with its head above the water, nor have I seen one climbing a tree. Your turtles are obviously more ambitious than our Michigan turtles.
The one climbing a tree was a new one to me also. If you do a search, there are apparently several species that have the ability to climb though they do it at their own risk.
We can always learn something new about nature it seems. I just did a search and map turtles and snapping turtles climb – we have both species here in Southeast Michigan so I’ll have to watch for that. I’ve only seen them basking in the sun and I just learned in the last week from a site I follow on social media (National Park Service) that turtles bask in the sun to regulate their body temperature and also to keep their shell dry from algae (I guess that’s when they’re not shedding the outer layer).
I wonder how it got back down? Unless It wanted to show off it’s diving skills?
It appears that we do have a Vancouver island turtle but it is endangered.
Great study Rebecca.
Thanks, Wayne. I wish I had stuck around a little longer to see how high it went and how it came down.
It’s not easy to keep hoping for that day after tomorrow . . .