Thoughts

 Sometimes I think of the craziest thoughts when I wake up at night and have trouble getting back to sleep. Sometimes I can trace these random thoughts to a specific occurrence and sometime I just wonder where did that come from. This thought came from a bible study I read a few days ago. It was about painted turtles surviving the winter so I thought I would research just how they do survive.

Turtles are cold blooded reptiles so their temperature is the same as their environment. We have been in the single digit temperatures for several times this winter and ponds, streams and lakes are frozen over so I was curious how turtles survived. Our waterways will be frozen for several months and where do the turtles and fish go to survive freezing cold.

I discovered that the turtles go to the bottom and bury themselves in the mud and don't eat or breathe through their lungs. Instead they get their oxygen by breaking down a blood sugar (glycogen) that creates a lactic acid which can be deadly except they borrow minerals from their skeleton and shell to neutralize excess build up of lactic acid. The blood vessels around the tail are numerous so that is where they get the blood to maintain them over the winter. Hence they are called butt breathers. An amazing way to survive the winter months. Clearly a good trait to possess here where our winters can go 6-7 months but alas we lack that attribute so we must shovel, deal with frigid temp's to survive.

The fish go into a torpor state where they don't need to eat during in this semi dormant state. Their system slows down but they do need to breathe which they do at a much reduced rate. I like the term torpor as it reminds me of a few people I know. You can be conversing normally and suddenly you realize the lights are on but no one is home. Then they return and all is well.    God's creatures are amazing and so perfectly adapted to their environment when I consider their abilities it is mind boggling. Since we now live remotely and I see nature up close and can study it carefully it is even more amazing.