#the turtles in the lake

[pink-paper-cranes]

I have boba (brown sugar milk tea let’s go!) once a week, to remind myself if the sweeter things in life. I bought myself a loose, soft cardigan today, and I love it so so so much. I felt the sun today. Watched the sun set over a beautiful city skyline. Ate a very good and hearty meal for dinner. Met a friend I hadn’t seen in a while, had some great conversation. Watched the trees cast shadows on my bedroom ceiling as I lay on my firm bed and soft comforter. I’m starting at a new workplace soon. I swept my house and dusted my brain today.

Life is worth living. I’m happy I’m here.

Life doesn’t end at 18, guys. Just today I drank yet another cup of coffee and it was delicious.

Some people see routine as sad or something but every day I’m still like oh boy coffee time yum

[landsccape]

[petitworld]

Turtle Lake, China

[tangledinink]

interdimensional fankid playdate...? 👀 @beannary @star-sparkler

(they're having a playdate, too.)

[cokoweee]

Imma be so real with y’all. I was speedrunning this one cause I wanted to play more rhythm game…

SO IF IT LOOKS OFF OR WHATEVER BLAME IT ON THAT

Or I probably forgot stuff. Hmmmmmm bye bye it’s 4am 🏃🏃🏃

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[tmnt-turtle-tunes]

Here's the link for the "The Black Lake Premiere"!

Happy Birthday, @tapakah0 ! We hope you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed making it ❤️ We're so happy with how this turned out, and we can't wait for everyone to see it!

[missedmilemarkers]

[v-albion]

Dance under the Moonlight

Head empty no thoughts only Swannie @tangledinink

Song used: Swan Lake Suite, Op 20: Scene: Enchanted Lake

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Feeling Out the Florida Softshell Turtle

The Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) is a species of softshell turtle that resides only in the southeastern tropics of the United States, especially along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Within this range, they can be found in a number of freshwater environments, including ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, and urban catchments; they may occasionally also occur in the mouths of slower moving rivers and streams. They generally prefer more muddy bottoms, in which they can bury themselvesand forage for food.

Florida softshell turtles have a highly varied diet, obtained through both active predation and scavenging. When hunting, they may bury themselves at the muddy lake bottom and wait for potential prey to come close enough for an ambush. They are largely carnivorous, feeding on fish, insects, crustaceans, frogs and mollusks, as well as the occasional aquatic plant. Adults are primary predated upon by alligators, while juveniles and eggs may fall prey to foxes, raccoons, birds, and large fish.

Although A. ferox is almost entirely aquatic, adults will readily move overland to find more suitable habitat. They are also frequently spotted basking on rocks or logs. Adults are highly aggressive, and will attack anything they percieve as a threat, including birds, fish, other turtles, and people. In addition to their ferocious bite, they also emit a foul-smelling musk to drive away potential predators.

Mating for the Florida softshell turtle occurs once a year, in the spring from March to July. After mating, females lay their eggs along river or lake banks in clutches of 9-24 eggs. Although they only mate once, females may lay anywhere from 2-7 clutches in a single year. Each clutch incubates for 56 to 80 days, and are immediately independent. Males reach maturity at only 2 years old, while females take 5-8 years; both sexes may live to be over 20 years old in the wild.

Although perhaps not the most attractive turtle, the A. ferox has a very striking appearance. They have a large, flattened body which is covered-- limbs and shell both-- in leathery, olive green or brown skin, with a lighter underside. The shell may also sport darker spots, which help the individual blend in to the muddy substrate. The head is specially distinctive, with a long neck and flattened skull, terminating in a pointed, tubular nose. Individuals may use their extended nostrils to breathe without exposing their body above water. Female Florida softshell turtles are much larger than males; 40.1 cm (15.8 in) in length and 6.65 kg (14.7 lb) compared to only 35 cm (14 in) and 2.68 kg (5.9 lb).

Conservation status: The Florida softshell turtle is considered Least Concern by the IUCN. However, they are threatened by harvesting for meat and the pet trade, as well as habitat loss.

If you like what I do, consider buying me a ko-fi!

Photos

Andrea Westmoreland

Paul Cools

J.D. Willson

[swainathan]

Drednaw, cruising outside Wedgehurst

Idk about anyone else, but I love it when pokemon are presented as animals going about their day

Linktree

[thrivingisthegoal]

I love working with absolute geniuses in restoration. Like, this person knows what plants to plant to remove deadly diseases from water, that one over there understands the local area better than anyone, and everyone else understands the intersections of physics and biology and justice to a point where they could write phd dissertations if they weren't so busy doing applied restoration work.

But if there's a baby turtle on the job site, that's our WHOLE DAY

[merakimagic]

I love the future rise kids and my lil ones need to make some friends, time for a play date ft. @tangledinink Gemini Donnie & Leo’s future kids

[petitworld]

Turtle Lake, China

[tangledinink]

How long do the hatchling eggs stay inside before being laid?

here, here's way more information than your question required as an answer. [ ✩ the gemini ✩ ]

[cokoweee]

On this episode of 🐢🐉, Kendra bitches to a turtle who ain’t even fuckin listening for hours

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[thatsbelievable]

Meet Vivian Weems!

Did I mention that I had to create an entire slate* of imaginary monster movies for a movie studio that never existed, for my book, The Monstrous Adventures of Mummy Man and Waffles? Well, I did!

And here’s one of ’em! The above illustration by Robb Mommaerts features Vivian Weems, a champion swimmer-turned-actress who starred as the titular creature in The Monster From Swamp Lake.

I’m telling you, this book was a ridiculous amount of fun to write, and I’m hoping that you’ll all find it a ridiculous amount of fun to read! Click the book title above to get your own copy, or ask for it at your library!

*34 movies, to be exact. Enough that there’s an index at the back of the book.