No Garden of Eden …more like Jurassic Park!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Well, yesterday I laughed at Laurie's blog about snakes and missionaries.  But truth be told, I'm much less serene about my place which I've long called "The Wild Habitat" since Finn's encounter with a groundhog last summer which almost gave me a heart attack.  I'm happy to report that groundhogs must talk to each other because not one has come within 250 feet of the house this year.  But yesterday evening, I was taking a basket of flowers down my front walk to hang when I noticed what I thought was a big rock by the day lilies where no rock had ever been (to the left of the basket hook).

Lucky, Finn was in the house. Lucky, lucky, lucky!!! Because I crept around and came face to face with this ...

A good foot across and about 17" long.  I thought OMD somebody's tortoise has escaped.  Is there a tortoise rescue?  It wanted to be friends.  Not me, girlfriend!

 Lucky I've got google, and with one eye on the dinosaur and iPhone in hand, I discovered my mistake.  This was a common snapping turtle and she had selected my bed of lilies as a nursery.  Lucky she was tired from laying all those eggs but I felt no motherly sympathy.  Please leave and take those eggs with you!!

I hid in the house, and went back a little while later and she was gone.  Only to discover this morning that she only got about 50 feet and must have spent the night in the Rock Garden Hotel.  But she was slowly making her way back to the creek and Finn was on the leash not even noticing the moving rock.

OMD these things date back to the dinosaurs…and so so ugly.  So my question is this…what do I do about the eggs?  Do I dig them up and throw them away? (I know I sound like a terrible person).  Do I let them hatch and make their way to the sea? Did I mention I'm not fond of reptiles (well,except for little blue frogs that I saw in St. Louis Botanical Gardens) and the box turtle, Chrissy, that Ryan had as a kid.  Poor Chrissy met a bad end.  I'm SO ready for a condo! 

[F, Calla & Luca]

OMD. I first thought it was a hedgehog peeping out of a log and then my brain reassembled it into a snapping turtle. I am so glad the animal invader stories are coming from elsewhere lately. but things like this can give one a fright for sure. I would leave the eggs alone for now and see what happens.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I like the hedgehog, F --reminds me of a children's book. This thing not so much.  This is just bad a**ss ugly. So why did I take pictures? I thought it couldn't be as frightful as I thought.  But it's worse. It looks like Beetlejuice :(

[F, Calla & Luca]

Might I suggest a glass of wine? At a meeting the other night a woman who lives next to a pond was talking about how the snapping turtles kill the baby swans : (

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

OMD....I thought it was a gremlin at first :) I think I would leave the eggs alone, too. The good news is I think you can outrun this turtle! Good luck! John just saw a box turtle up at our park.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

LOL --yes, even I could outrun it.  65 feet in a day.  But why do you and F think I should keep the eggs? Do I need a nursery of snapping young'uns? I like box turtles.  On a sunny log.  In the distance. :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Well maybe they will hatch and find the water. I try not to kill things unless I have to. But yesterday after the lunatic drivers in NY, coming home to rabbits running across the road and a deer in my front yard, I stomped on a cricket in front of Calla's crate as I walked in. I just couldn't take any more.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

LOL

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

LOL...Yes, we have a cat now roaming our neighborhood and seems to keep late hours. Our dogs are beside themselves staring out the window. About twice last night and twice this morning all hell broke loose. We may move to a condo :)

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Oh Laurie, let's both get condos in the same place!  What fun we would have LOL

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Thanks for the smile:)  I'm picturing you doing "the stomp" on a cricket.  That's the way to tell them "I"m mad as heck and I'm not going to take it anymore" :)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I just think it would be fun to have you posting pictures of little baby turtles :) Do you live near a state park or someplace where you could talk to the Park Ranger about what to do?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I must be blind, because I don't see any eggs, and I think the turtle is kind of cute; her face reminds me of a panda. 

I'd leave the eggs alone, too. Don't these things eat bugs? That's a big plus in my book, lol.