Another turtle-ific day in the Great Swamp

I went back to the Great Swamp last saturday. I figured it may be my last good day out in the swamp before it gets too hot. I ventured in the wilderness portion of the swamp. I pulled up to its entrance, where I've never been before, and was excited to see that I was the only one there. Of course just as I was getting ready another person pulled in. Rats. The trails in this part are not really maintained so I can see why only the more hardy folk venture out there. No flip-flops and sweat pant shorts wearing kind come here. Then the second reason hit me quickly...the deer flies. They bite and they circle around your head like you are the sun and they are planets. Even if you kill one, another takes their place. No sprays will help and the constant fanning really does nothing. Nevertheless I continued on. After about 20 minutes of speedy walking, I decided that my trail was not very exciting..just more of the same so I turned back. I was on the prowl for some turtles and I wasn't getting that vibe. So I headed back to where we were last weekend.



Sure enough the turtles were fully representing. This time I saw 3 adult spotted turtles and a baby spotted turtle. Can you find the babe in this pic? How precious!
The painted turtles like to congregate. Can you see the baby painted turtle trying to climb up right behind the big one below? Every little bump in the duckweek is a painted turtle.
Let's not forget the baby snakes. I think this baby is a water snake. Look how tiny it is compared to the green duckweed.
This baby looks like a ribbon snake...but it might just be a plain old garter snake. Hard to tell unless you hold them. These two babies were hanging out together.
Another fun part of the Great Swamp is seeing all the random people there. You have the fanny pack crowd with their flipflops, t-shirts and sweat pant shorts. Today I saw one guy in a dress shirt and tie!!! Last weekend we passed some woman wearing heels and another chick wearing way too much perfume. I guess Americans think everywhere should be as clean and easily accessible as their local supermarket or the mall.