A perfect day to bury your eggs

She's got her foreleg extended for extra leverage. Now push, push, push!

Most of the work is done by the hind legs,
lubricated with bladder water. Look
closely and you can see the leg sticking way out.
The typical hole is two to four inches.

It was 85 degrees today, optimal temperature for a painted turtle egg-laying party. They're cold-blooded, so it can't be too hot and it can't be too cold to get the eggs done just right.
Our expectant mother climbed up the bank, dug a hole just so in the clay and birthed her young-uns. It took hours to get the job done, we tired of watching from a respectful distance. There was a lot of digging and layering and mushing around, which was remarkable considering that she couldn't see a thing that was going on.
The eggs will hatch in August or September. . . if they aren't found and eaten by some predator. We'll have to mark the spot, because she laid them right in the middle of the path ringing the pond.