Andrew Dumbauld’s Award-winning Photo

Andrew Dumbauld, 8, saw the turtle waddling in the grass. Calm, collected, he knew what to do, because he had done it once before: He picked it up. “It feels really nice to pick up a turtle.” says Andrew. “He didn’t have a name, because I didn’t get to keep him, and he’s probably living somewhere in the woods, probably dead from raccoons, but I hope not!” Andrew says that the turtle was nothing like his other pets, which include two cats, a dog and a guinea pig. “My guinea pig obviously doesn’t have a shell. I thought it was really cute and stuff, and it was little.”Andrew’s mother, Tracy Dumbauld, who took the photo with a Nikon D90, says that it was odd to see the turtle out so late in the season (early October), but it was a beautiful fall day with the sun shining through. “There are a lot of trees, a lot of wildlife and snapping turtles lay eggs every spring in the garden.” This was the first time they had seen a painted turtle waddling in the grass so close to their home, making its way just before the winter hit. She says she saw her son petting and kissing the turtle (which she did not recommend, as turtles can carry salmonella), and she had to take a picture. Andrew is confident that despite the turtle’s lack of fur, it made it through the winter. Hopefully, the turtle will turn up again this summer.