Turtle Sighting

I came across this turtle with a domed shell sunning itself towards the end of September. Its sluggishness and reluctance to get back into the water reminded me that I'd come across one of these Eastern musk turtles (Sternotherus odoratus) previously. Their shells aren't as flattened as Painted turtles, which are very commonly seen on our lake. I was initially concerned that it had become entangled in a rope fragment, so I kept trying to get closer - it turned out to be a robust, stretchy Spatterdock stem.

Also very obvious from the photo is the drop in the lake level that is clear from the coloration differences, making tide lines on the stump. The lowering was scheduled for Sept 9 to allow for dam repairs (again!), but the dearth of rain recently means that as of this writing, October 11, we are still not back up to our normal level.