Lakes+Fiction

 **There once was a box turtle named Tim. He was on a journey across the lake to see what he could learn about how the creatures in the lake interact. He packed his bag and swam away. ** In the first hour of traveling he noticed a scavenger beetle rush by, only to be followed swiftly by a Spotted Goby. Tim, looking for a little excitement, chased after them. The chase didn’t last long, for the Goby gobbled up the poor scavenger beetle. ** ** After the tragedy, Tim traveled on. He dove under the water, and saw a Lake Sturgeon. When the Sturgeon turned around, Tim noticed that there was a Silver Lamprey  clinging to him. Tim was confused by this and decided to talk to the Sturgeon. In pain, the Sturgeon answered saying, “This Lamprey lives to harm other fish. It's not really fair, but it's the way he survives”. Tim, needing to catch a breath of air, headed to the surface. ** **Next he noticed a large fish called a Bowfin guarding some eggs. As he looked closer he saw a smaller fish, a Golden Shiner, swimming across the eggs. A beaver paddled by and noticed Tim watching the fish. The beaver explained that the golden shiners lay their eggs in with the bowfin's eggs. The bowfin guards the eggs, and the Golden Shiners keep the eggs free of bacteria and oxygenated.**
 * [[image:lake_box_turtle.jpg caption="this is tim getting ready to start his journey"]] Tim’s Journey **
 * [[image:http://bugguide.net/images/cache/PLZZULHZBL7RLHKRYZKR3ZMRFZQRLHQRFZHZFZQR3ZQRFZLZOZ5RALIZ1L5RRHERSH4RZHSZOLMZOLMZZH2R3ZMRJZ.jpg width="83" height="125" align="left" link="http://bugguide.net/node/view/236448/bgimage"]]
 * Tim amazed at the way the Shiners and Bowfins help each other, continued on his journey. As he swam along, he saw a bass in some Hydrilla who was hiding from the snake farther along. The bass was well camouflaged in the Hydrilla, without the Hydrilla being affected at all. **
 *  As Tim returned home, he was amazed at all the things he had seen in his journey across the lake. Tim laid down on a bed of moss, reflecting on all of the activity happening in his lake. He had learned much, and his journey was a great success. He then slowly drifted into a deep, restful sleep with a big turtle smile on his face. **

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