We saw this as we were driving out from the dead end road to which our driveway leads.
This is Mrs.* Painted** Turtle laying her eggs.
In the middle of the road.
Not the most ideal place for baby turtle to hatch. That is, assuming no one drives over the nest and squishes the eggs before they hatch. Painted turtles always lay their eggs in sand. Or gravel, as the case may be. One year she, or one of her distant cousins, laid her eggs at the end of our driveway. So sad.
Push, Mrs. Turtle, push!
::cleansing breath::
Push!
* I know she is a Mrs. because painted turtles are nothing if not conventional.
** You can tell she is a painted turtle because the edge of her salmon-colored underplate plastron is showing. Here is a better view I found on the web:
