Not long after moving into the house, we were surprised to see large Snapping Turtles walking down the driveway and circling the yard, even inspecting the flowerbed by the deck! It was early May, and I was relieved the dogs knew to keep a safe distance - also relieved these stalwart “mamma” turtles didn’t stick around long after laying their eggs. Returning to the nearby brook, they move faster than you might expect. The incubation of the eggs, however, is surprisingly drawn out. We had forgotten about them.
Almost four months later, I was going out to water the garden, and happened to look down to find these little ones stirring in the grass! No bigger than quarters or half dollars, a second chapter had finally begun for 10-20 turtle hatchlings in the yard. I spent the next few days keeping watch on this tiny ‘armored division’ as each baby turtle instinctively converged on the brook. We had to assist a few stragglers, yes it was a group effort including HVAC service guys and our UPS delivery man, I think it’s just been too hot, but the turtles soon disappeared into the shaded brush leading down to the water. Apparently this magical process and journey has been playing out for almost 100 million years. It was our first experience - looking forward to many more. Nature is amazing.💚
I also wanted to share a great article on Snapping Turtles by Ted Levin for Audubon Magazine:
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/march-april-2012/the-staying-power-snapping-turtles