Turtle Nose!

I paid a short visit to the duck pond on campus on this morning. Ostensibly, my goal was to check on the status of the duckling hordes I'd seen there last week. Alas, the tiny ducklings had not arrived at the pond yet; perhaps they were napping nearby in some shady bower under their mothers' watchful eyes (and wings).

The clouds were clearing out and blue sky was peeking through. I was standing by the duck pond taking pictures of the reflections on the water, when I noticed several little bumps breaking the surface.

The "bumps" turned out to be painted turtles! It was apparently too early for them to sunbathe (and do their afternoon yoga routines) on the rock in the middle of the pond. There were at least three of them and they were swimming languidly around the pond - below the surface, then cresting . . . the only things breaking the pond surface were those three turtle noses.

I have to admit with some amount of . . . shall it be glee? . . . that this is probably the best turtle nose reflection shot I've ever gotten. I didn't even know there was such a category, but now there is! You can practically see up its nostrils! *snicker*

The soundtrack for this shot: Elton John's 1971 live performance of Madman Across the Water.