The turtle season in New England is too short on a good year Females struggle to emerge from winter brumation (reptilian hibernation) as temperatures slowly rise in late spring Once the alarm clock rings  they hurry through wake-up  bask a bit to restore internal temperature  forage for calories to recover from more than six months of forced dieting  swing into a round or two of turtle speed dating  pad lots more calories to develop a clutch of eggs  crawl through predator infested paths to reach their nesting site  excavate and then conceal a subterranean egg chamber for their precious eggs  for many species try to squeeze in a second nest  bulk up on food to replace as much as 20% of their body mass donated to their offspring  and finally collapse into six months of welcomed rest as temperatures plunge in early fall