The turtle’s back, sunning itself on its log on West Park lake. It’s a map turtle, or perhaps a terrapin. Native to the swamps of Florida. Quite common as a pet, and evidently all too often they’re dumped in pools when they get too inconvenient.
We first noticed it in the long spring and summer of 2020, when it seemed to be out on its log every sunny morning. As the weather got cooler, it disappeared: hibernating in the deep mud of the lake until the next spring.
In recent years, its appearance has been less predictable. Last year, it was showing for some days in April, but then we never saw it again. Had something happened to it? It would seem not. Here it was, earlier this week, looking the same as ever.
It must have found some new spot to come out of the water and warm itself in the sun, perhaps out of sight of the people round the lake. If so, it may only show itself occasionally again this year. We went back to the park a couple of days after these pictures were taekn. The time was about the same. The weather, I thought, was about the same.
But that time, nothing on the log.