Who Said Dinosaurs Were Extinct?

June seems to be turtle egg laying month at Marsh Miller Lake, and Brutus has had more than a little fun watching the "Paints" go walking by. If he all of a sudden starts barking out front, the one thing he can be trying to tell me other than the fact that there is yet another chipmunk out there, is that another turtle is in the drive way. Usually when I get to the door, he is standing there looking at the poor thing, and barking, and it is all tucked away in it's shell. The paint turtles that come up from the lake to lay their eggs are about 6-8 inches across, and fairly harmless, although Ashley could tell you a great story about having one grab onto her finger. It eventually turned into a frisbee and went flying into the lake, along with a few cuss words!

This morning I looked out the back window toward the lake, and at first I thought maybe that darn duck from yesterday was feeding in the yard. Then I got looking a little closer, and realized it wasn't moving like a duck. I grabbed my binoculars and saw that it was a snapping turtle, and not just "A" snapping turtle, but a monster. This guy looked like he had been around the block a couple hundred years. The great part?? He's heading up the yard to lay some eggs, and say "hey" to Brutus. Exit, stage left. Brutus will be in the house during this event.  As you can see, bringing Brutus in the house was a good idea, since the turtle is holding onto Brutus's outdoor leash in the photo below. That could have been really really bad.

To all my dear friends that have been here to spend time with us and know how much I have wanted to see one of these monsters, you got me. The closest I have come to "seeing" one was with my nephew Cody last summer, and it was more of a head bob than the whole shebang. We had seen the head, and then it went under. About ten minutes later Cody asked his wonderful Aunt Sheri if she would go swimming with him. How do you tell your nephew "no", so in we went. His mom Lori came in too, and we were hanging out on those noodle things. Every time our legs would accidentally touch each other, we made sure to ask if it was "us", or if the turtles had come after us. After seeing this big girl in my yard, I might have to actually think twice about being the fun Auntie. Holy Turtle Shell!!! Those cement squares are eighteen inches across. She is huge.