On my walk Thursday afternoon, I came upon 2 turtles, in 2 different locations. I would have liked to photograph them, but as soon as I came near, their heads & legs disappeared into their shells, and I'm really not interested in getting photos of turtle shells with nothing else showing. So I just removed them from the road and continued on my way.
This afternoon I encountered 2 more turtles. As I noticed the first one from a distance, I thought something looked strange, and was hoping that it had not been run over. When I arrived at the spot where it was I found that its head and front legs were inside the shell, while its rear legs were out, and it had begun digging a hole in the dirt road with them.
I recently read that the reason we see turtles in the road is because the females leave the waterside areas where they live in order to find a place away from the water to dig a hole and lay their eggs, after which they will return to their home near the water. Now, the spot this turtle had chosen, right in the path of the tires of passing vehicles, was not a good place for her to even be stopping, never mind lay her eggs. So I removed her from the road, with little hope that she would stay off. But as I returned that I way I did not see her anywhere, so am hoping that means she decided to go somewhere else to lay her eggs.
Farther along the way, just as I was turning back from the end point of my walk, I noticed something crossing the road in the distance ahead of me. I could see that it was not a rabbit or a cat, and it didn't cross very quickly, though it would have no real reason to, with no preadators nearby, so I kept my eye on the spot at the side of the road where I last saw it. When I finally reached it, sure enough, it was a turle - a rather large one at that.
Unlike the rest, this one did not pull in its head and legs as I came near, but kept watch of me. In fact, it hissed at me repeatedly as I photographed it. When I tried to get a side view of it, it turned to face me again, more quickly than I could get focused and shoot. I don't know turtles very well, but I suspect it may have been a snapping turtle, and I didn't stay around to try to get friendly with it!
Later, I turned to glance to the left and saw a doe and fawn watching me pass. I hoped they would stay put long enough for me to get a shot of them, but as soon as I stopped and faced them, they took off. Oh well, someday I'll have the equipment and the skill to photograph birds and other animals (other than turtles), but for now, my nature photography consists primarily of flora, and not much fauna! 
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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.
