Snapping Turtles and Japanese Maple eco-dyeing

Yep, that is a snapping turtle and she is laying her eggs.  I pass close to a lake on my way to work and in June, this is a common scene along that stretch of road.

And now on to surface design.  I was inspired by some of the eco-prints I showed you last week so I wanted to try some of my local flora.  I thought I would try some leaves from the Japanese maple tree. When I went out to collect them I found the tree loaded with red airplane seeds.  So I got some of them too.  Here are my results.  Isn't it great to get two colors from the same dye bath?