Itty bitty turtles, tiny frogs and a snake.

Living on a pond, we have a lot of turtles and frogs.   Each spring, we enjoy the catch and release of many. In fact, we have to be very careful mowing the lawn in the spring as the turtles make their way through the yards to lay eggs.  Today, my husband and son found this itty bitty Western Painted Turtle on the driveway and have named him "Picasso".  We will keep him for the day, and let him continue on his way to the pond this evening.  The Western is the most vibrant of the group of painters with a brilliant orange bottom.  He'll grow to be between 6 - 8 " across.

Picasso's belly.

All tucked in, just in case!

Last year we found this baby snapping turtle.  Of course, we named him "Snappy". This is the only time in their life where they are cute.  We had a little fun with it before releasing it....  We also have adult snapping turtles living in our pond (one of the many reasons we don't swim there!).  Each year, we see at least one of the big ones in someone's driveway or crossing the street.   They are usually about 18" or so in size and are terrifying.  I've been told their beaks can snap a broom handle.  I'll trust that to be true.

Snappy in Paris.

He's definitely staring at me...

So tiny, but look at those claws!

Snappy - ready to explore! Check out his long neck and tail.

When they are no longer cute.  This guy was crossing
the street a few years ago.   His shell was at least 18" long,
but from beak to tail he was double that.  

We also have garter snakes.  I don't see these as often, thankfully, but this one slithered out of our landscaping today.  I'm not afraid of snakes, but I really dislike how they can surprise me and cross my path.

Every couple of years, when the spring is just right, we also have a huge surge of frogs.  A few years ago, there were so many that there were masses of them in the streets by the curbs - I guess they were piling up there because they couldn't climb to get back into the yards.  We raised baby mallards that year, and the kids would collect them to feed to the ducks.  They were super cute - and also apparently tasted like candy to ducklings!

Teeny tiny - masses of frogs.

I wonder what we will find tomorrow?