One more sure sign of spring is the march of the turtles. There are only three in this photo, but don’t let that fool you. By mid to late summer there will be thirty or so turtles hanging out on this bank, sunning themselves lazily.

They will, however, be keeping one eye on the nearby roadway…watching for my truck, apparently. Every time I got within 75 feet of these little buggers, they would sprint into the water! And they’re quick!

Then all you see is a pool of water with little heads poking out like this:

We played that little cat-n-mouse game all summer last year. They may be a little less skittish this year because of improvements in the area. You see, these guys occupy the backwater on the south side of Fox Island Road, and last year the city paved a sidewalk along the side of the road. Prior to that it was just an embankment, weeds and a culvert. But with regular foot and bike traffic going past, perhaps they’ll grow accustomed to it. That will allow photographers to get somewhat nearer to them.