This is a painted turtle by the brook in the yard of Meadowbrook Log Cabin.
We don’t see them often by the brook. Painted turtles prefer slower moving water. But, in the Spring, when they are looking for love, they range. Later they will lay eggs. Painted turtles can lay just one egg or a nest of up to 11 eggs. The eggs hatch and the hatchings stay in the nest all winter, not coming out until spring.
Did you know that baby painted turtles can freeze in their nest in the winter, then thaw out in the spring and be absolutely fine? The only other turtle that can do this is the diamondback terrapin.
