Tim needed an afternoon break from work so we went down to the beach. On our way past Beach Pond he spotted four turtles on a rock! Tim loves turtles. He rushed over to get a better look at them, but they all scrambled off the rock and back into the water. Perhaps they would come back if he retreated.
Eventually one brave soul (above) climbed back up on the rock. In the picture below, to the right of the rock, the head of another turtle can be seen scoping out the situation.
He decided to chance it…
But then his friend suddenly disappeared…
Too much of Proof affronts Belief
The Turtle will not try
Unless you leave him – then return –
And he has hauled away.
~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #1240)
I love Turtles too. I’ll never forget one Kayak paddle on an Ontario lake where I saw, 1,2,3 … 20 !! Yes, 20, Turtles sunning themselves on a log !
Wow, Sybil, 20 turtles on one log! I wonder how close you could get to them before they might decide to bolt. Presumably you did not have a camera handy on a kayak. 🙂
Patience often pays …. I love turtles. Jane
So true, Jane. I think patience is the first thing a nature photographer needs!
I love turtles, too. Great captures, Barbara. 🙂 It’s amazing how fast they move when there’s someone with a camera around trying to photograph them.
I am amazed at the number of turtle lovers there are among my readers! Turtles do move surprisingly quickly at times – and their eyesight must be pretty sharp to spot us at that distance.
Me too. Me too. I’m a turtle lover too! I especially love the photo where the second turtle’s head is barely visible while he’s scoping out the situation!
I would love to see what the world looks like from a turtle’s point of view! I suspect we will have more pictures of these guys coming sooner or later – we pass by with the camera often…
I’m a turtle fan, too. (Seems like a lot of us here.) Something about them… I like how you captured the Return of the Turtle. And that sweet last picture.
It does seem that there are a lot of you turtle lovers. I find them interesting but don’t go crazy over them the way Tim does, or the way I do over deer. But this encounter was fascinating – there was so much action!
LOVE the turtle photos, Barbara. We’ve got some giant ones in Ecuador.
And sorry to have been gone recently. We were without internet for two weeks, and then I traveled to the US for nearly another two. So glad to be home in Cuenca again!
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
I bet you do have some giant turtles there in Ecuador, Kathy! At least 20 years ago I took Tim to Discovery Island (which is no longer there) at Disney World where we could walk among the giant Galápagos tortoises. Tim got down on his stomach on the ground and communed with one of them. I’ll never forget it.
Can’t imagine no internet for two weeks! I panic if our connection is down for two minutes! Glad you’re home! *hugs*