A painted turtle basks in the sun on a log after a long winter buried in mud at the bottom of a pond. As cold-blooded animals, they must be careful not to come out of hibernation too early during warm weather because they can freeze if caught off-guard.
"Today I observed 10 Painted Turtles at the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands Nature Reserve for the first time this year. Someone told me they had also seen some early last week." Ken Orich Lethbridge, Alberta April 29, 2014
