With apologies to T. WIlliams and E. Taylor who was no turtle.
Hey, gnarly dude hangin’ twenty.
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08.03.2014 Turtle on a Hot Wood Raft
This entry was posted in Animal Behavior, Nature Photography and tagged Amherst, Chrysemys picta, eastern painted turtle, Owens Pond, water. Bookmark the permalink.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Painted turtle? Very nice uncluttered shot.
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No, it’s a photograph, Yvonne. 🙂
Yes, painted turtle on what has become my favorite local pond. I looked out there and thought the title so took the shot just as a fun post.
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That’s pretty funny. Smart guy.
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Sometimes I am the blind monkey that found the peanut, Jim.
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Maybe the turtle was smart for using the tool.
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Uh-oh. Guess I exhibited a little ego there.
I wonder about the population in the pond. Sometimes one can see a dozen or more turtles lined up on a log in a pond or lake. I wonder how many could coexist sunning themselves on this platform.
I’ll have to find out what its purpose is.
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I hope you didn’t think I was being a Red Forman smart a** for calling YOU a smart guy. I know you are, but in a different positive sort of way. 🙂
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Oh no, not to worry, Jim. At first I thought you were calling me a smart guy…then the turtle exposing my “it’s all about me” side. 🙂 Either way it’s all in good humor.
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You need to photoshop the image adding a sail and pirate clothes.
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Haha, yeah. Tubular, man
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Gnarly was the lingo limit for me, Melissa. I don’t know how to respond to tubular. 🙂
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What’s the story behind the platform? Happenstance or a permanent structure of some sort? Beautiful specimen. Just a few weeks ago we were biking along a rail trail when we spotted a snapper out sunning on a rock in the creek. I only had the 24-70 with me so knew I’d have to get close. You know how the rest of this goes … off the bike … get the camera out … scramble down the very steep embankment (get really dirty, I’ll do anything for a nice shot) … approach quietly … bring the camera to eye level … inhale … PLUNK, off into the water he goes! I don’t think I’m much of a wildlife photographer! How did you manage to get close without disrupting your subject? Luck, or skill? D
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I’ve heard that kerplunk more often than not, D. It’s almost like they know what you are doing and wait until just the right moment to frustrate you to damnation.
Wildlife photography is not my forté either. This was with a 300 f/4 and a 1.4 extender plus about a 50% crop. So not as close as it seems, but with precise focusing for the crop.
As far as the platform, I don’t know why it is there. There are a couple of them on the pond. I should find out. They are anchored so obviously intended to be where they are. It is possible that they are for the turtles.
Here’s a post where I did get pretty close. https://sggphoto.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/11-19-2013-balancing-act-and-a-turtle-turf-war/
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I’ve since contacted someone more in the civic know than myself and she isn’t sure, but thinks it could be for the turtles in fact. I don’t know if news coverage made it to WPA, but Amherst is somewhat well know for creating 2 salamander tunnels, with very large terrestrial funnels to guide them under a road so they can safely make their spring migration to their frenzied mating dance without being run over. So why not turtle sunning platforms too?
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Makes sense … and good-for-Amherst, I knew that was a forward-thinking part of the world. Far-cry from life out here in frack-world. D
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Talk about keeping the image clean, well done! Great turtle as well.
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Thanks, James. I’d rather it was on a large rock or log, but in the middle of the pond sure did help.
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I want to sing “I love Turtles” but I don’t want to give free advertising to the chocolate company.
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Sing away, Rod. I am not supposed to eat chocolate anyway. 🙂
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Do you remember The Turtles and “Happy Together”?
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Of course, I do…I am old, remember? Did you know that the two singers from the Turtles were Flo and Eddie and they toured with Frank Zappa for a while?
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No, I didn’t know that. Speaking of old things, it just dawned on me that the title of your post is a parody of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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And thus my apology to T. Williams and Liz Taylor who was “Cat”. 🙂
I was going to link a Flo and Eddie performance with Zappa, but I couldn’t honestly in good taste as pretty much everything they did with him was tasteless….and as I have never been praised for my good taste in things social, you can imagine how bad it must have been.
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Gosh, that’s a great photo. I see a lot of turtles, and have a few photos, but our turtles don’t always clean up so well for their portrait sessions. Mine usually are covered in duckweed, or have their head inside their shell, or something.
I have seen as many a dozen all lined up together. I suppose the sociability level might vary among the species, too. I just don’t know. But this one looks pretty happy.
In one of his short stories, Williams talks about the “rocking horse weather” of California. Easy, rhythmic, comfortable. It looks to me like the turtle has himself some rocking horse weather.
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He does seem pretty laid back, that’s for sure Linda. I’ve seen plenty of messy turtles and frogs, but there usually are a few that are nice and spiffy for their portraits.
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