I suppose the time I really started to like turtles was that winter when it seemed most of the animals were either gone into hibernation or had migrated down south where it was warmer, and everything was icy and dead, except for that turtle. It was actually carp that first came out swimming that warm day in December when the ice melted, and I was thrilled to see them playing--THERE WAS ONE TURTLE THERE TOO! I took a picture and had Kinya confirm it to be sure it wasn't just my imagination.
The tragic thing is, no other turtle came out of hibernation, so that turtle struggled through 6 weeks of winter alone. I remember seeing it paddle the icy waters of the pond by itself and cheered it on. Feeling it had to be the rockiest winter of its life, I named it Rockette.
Rockette toughed it out until the other turtles came out of hibernation in the spring, but her milky eyes witnessed how tired out her body was, and she had to turn in her shell a few days later.
