Nay-est.

Says Wyoming but I think she's from much further south.

And east.

This turtle is famous here. I can't believe I got close enough to take pictures like this because despite what many think...turtles are fast. Once she got sick of me she ran like a rabbit! This was right behind my house, next to the river.

I put my sandal next to her for perspective. I wear a size 8 and a half. LOL

What kind of turtle is she?

She's some sort of softshell turtle. Maybe Midland Smooth...but none of the cursory research I've done has definitively said they should even be found in my county. She was attempting to lay eggs when I came upon her, and that was a bad spot where cars park. Maybe the rain we'd had had made the river too high for her to find any good spots nearer to the river.

That's a cool looking turtle. We don't have any like that around here, as far as I know.

Fresh turtle eggs taste pretty good.

The soft shell turtles can be pretty fast. It's the other ones that are slow.

Several years ago, there was a chipmunk population explosion here in my neck of the woods. Little fuckers were everywhere, making all sorts of odd and annoying noises, day in and day out.

One morning, I was in my garage (really just a three-sided, 24 x 24' metal shed), and heard all this furious scrabbling and scratching over in one corner. I carefully approached the sound and quickly realized it was coming from an open/empty garbage can I'd stowed in the far corner. Above the garbage can, on either wall, were high wooden shelves. Inside the garbage can, beneath the gap between the shelves, were seven - count 'em, SEVEN - freaked out chipmunks.

They'd apparently tried to jump from one shelf to the other and missed - one after the other - and fell into the garbage can below, which was too slick/tall for them to climb out of.

Proof that chipmunks do not have an effective warning / communication system.

:D

That is how fast she was the first time I saw her. Running down the grass towards the water. I was like 'WHAT'? ;)

I only found out a while ago that some people call chipmunks 'ground squirrels.' I think that's weird. Maybe it's a local thing. But it totally fucks up Alvin et all if you call them that. And don't get me started on Chippendales. (Apple core! Who's your friend?)

What about Chip and Dale?

Yep, that was my 'funny' reference. Glad someone remembers that! Makes me feel less old. ;)

You can't be old, you must be younger than me.