Late Summer Find: T for Turtle, Threatened

Carla Jandelle Petters

Late Summer Find: T for Turtle, Threatened

This splendidly colored male Ornate Box Turtle was resting under some tree roots the other day as I was looking for mushrooms. I just happened to glance over and saw the sun shine on his shell.
WOW
Talk about COLORS! He honestly, had to be one of the prettiest ones I’ve ever been blessed to see. Reds, oranges, yellows…........those bright red eyes…......he was fabulous..and shy as heck. Couldn’t get him to even come out far enuf to eat a mushroom I tried to gift him with.
When I came back the next day I found the hole he’d dug himself to prepair for his winter hybernation.
Found in NE Kansas….a wonderful new-age dinosaur! These will live to about 50 years if left alone with no damage or human intervention.
I’ve raised tons of these as a kid, and even up till 4 years ago they were still pretty common in my area. Sadly, because they DO make such easy pets, their lives have become very limited now in the wild. Habitat loss, human encrouchment, poisons, pesticides…........all has made this turtle become more and more scarce. This year, we only saw 3. 10 years ago, 30 wouldn’t have seemed odd.

Featured in:
100%
THANX SOOOOO MUCH!

Late Summer Find: T for Turtle, Threatened belongs to the following groups:

! 100% !, ** Super Macro Photography (Two Per Day ), All That is Nature (Photography Only), All the Colors of the Rainbow, Americas ~ Rural, Urban, Wild, Free, Animal Kingdom, Bits and Pieces , Cards: Animals and pets (2/day - NO WRITING), Day Hikes , FEATURED ONLY, Midwestern United States Photography, Nature's Wonders, Reptiles, The Beauty of Nature (Nothing Man-Made), The Scavenger Hunt, The true beauty, United States and Vibrant and Vivid Color Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints
Late Summer Find: T for Turtle, Threatened by Carla Jandelle Petters
Late Summer Find: T for Turtle, Threatened by Carla Jandelle Petters
  • Malcolm Chant

    Malcolm Chant

    A trullu Beautiful shot Carla, excellent work.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thank you Malcolm! he was a gorgeous turtle to photograph. i’m glad to see him and happy to know he found a good safe spot to hide for the winter

  • Cadence Gamache

    Cadence Gamache

    This is a brilliant image – the colors, the focus, the way you captured his shy nature, etc – but the story of how turtles are becoming more and more scarce is very sad =[ What a shame…

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thank you Cadence….and very sad that this issue is happening for many of our species thru-out the world…not just with this beautiful harmless creature.

  • Lenny La Rue, IPA

    Lenny La Rue, IPA

    WOW! Another unreal find! :-D

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    talk about a surprise! can u see it hiding there under that tree? i was lucky the sunlight had hit it just right.
    the local parks guys had just mowed only 2 days earlier (normally this area is left natural to grow)...so he was VERY lucky!

  • Chuck Gardner

    Chuck Gardner

    . I haven’t seen one of them since I was a kid visiting my grandmother in Okalahoma, Carla; Great capture, love the colors.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    i’d visit my aunt and uncle in the Ozarks each summer and had many pet ‘Henry’ turtles….one was a Henrietta and gave me 15 eggs!
    i’ve raised several of these plus the 3-toed ones as well…....but since I’ve noticed the decline I’ve only rescued…rather then kept. Thanx Chuck…these are such fascinating creatures…wish their habitats were dissappearing so quickly

  • velveteagle

    velveteagle

    This looks great Carla.. I love these types of turtles..
    Chuck..

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx Chuck…i’ve always loved them. turtles are my favorite creatures so i’m an idiot dancing when i find another one. this one has always been my favorite species though…non-agressive and so beautiful and sturdy

  • Lys •

    Lys •

    oh wow, very nice :) i love all the colourful details!

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx Lys…he was gorgeous!

  • Bunny Clarke

    Bunny Clarke

    Great find and capture. Love the eyes on this one too. As you mentioned, wonderful colors.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    the males will have those vibrant red eyes….we once had one named after my son’s school principle because of the eyes…hehe

  • Baynanno1

    Baynanno1

    Great find and lovely detail in the shot Carla. Hope it stays safe.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx Baynanno….i hope he stays safe too! i’ll keep an eye on that area thru the winter and spring…keeping fingers crossed and prayers going

  • Shannon Donovan

    Shannon Donovan

    Fantastic!

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    oh awesome…thanx Shannon…glad u liked him! :o)

  • terrebo

    terrebo

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    lol…thanx terrebo!

  • janfoster

    janfoster

    great capture Carla : )

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx Jan!

  • Esther van de Belt

    Esther van de ...

    Owww, What a stunning image. Congratulations on your Feature Carla. Well done.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    aw thanx Esther! it was so tempting to keep him longer but he needed to start on his winter home. :o)

  • XOXanimalsXOX

    XOXanimalsXOX

    WOW, gorgeous image.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx animal lover! :o)

  • Karen Kaleta

    Karen Kaleta

    Totally awesome shot Carla. Instant Fav – Again!

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    awesome…thanx Karen! he was a favorite for me too. :o)

  • smileykaye

    smileykaye

    phat phat phat i love it….smiley

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    lol…thanx Kaye

  • Deborah Allen

    Deborah Allen

    This is an incredibly AWESOME shot!

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx Deborah…he was an incredible model! :o)

  • Ingrid *

    Ingrid *

    fab! very very cool.

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thank you Ingrid!

  • jacqleen

    jacqleen

    This is seriously AWESOME…...and I’m not a BIG fan of faving ANIMALS :)))) lol…...and NOT that I don’t enjoy or love them…but I’m really drawn to peoples’ faces and expressions…but this is TRULY a masterpiece :))

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    well see…it IS a face….and his expression of ‘leave me alone’ at least keeps u in that train of thought…lol
    glad u enjoyed this fellow
    thanx jacqleen

  • Paulette x

    Paulette x

    Ooh, superb

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    Thank you Paulette!

  • FallingHorse

    FallingHorse

    What a find! Great capture :-)

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    he really was a surprise….found right before the 1st day of Autumn. thanx FallingHorse for the comment

  • jacqleen

    jacqleen

    lol….and Carla, YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOO RIGHT :))) Loved your reply :)) xx

  • red addiction

    red addiction

    AWESOME!!!!

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thanx addict! :o)

  • Steve Bullock

    Steve Bullock

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    oh awesome…thanx Steve! haha…that feature flag is great with that gecko tongue…lol

  • Mark Robson

    Mark Robson

    Awsome macro :)

  • Carla Jandelle... replied

    thank you Mark…they’re beautiful animals

  • silvercircles

    silvercircles 4 days ago

    Wow, he’s just barely peeking out—excellent macro!

  • Carla Jandelle... replied 2 days ago

    he was terribly shy! lol
    a very good trait for many of these turtles to have…......keeps most safe but not all. thanx for the comment!

Add your comment

You need to login or signup to add your comment to this work.