Another member of the PetBunny list made this evocative post today and sent along the accompanying photo. I asked her permission to share both here and she obliged. She described this pic of a snapping turtle as a sherman tank in a negligee of cherry blossoms. It made my day!

Here’s Sharon’s post to PB:

“Folks who enjoy life by a pond or creek might also want to keep in mind just how many toes a cute big ole snapper can call a bite sized lunch 😉 You can pretty much walk without fear in their water, even stepping against them without ruffling their temper, but on land the behemoths are awkward and scared and will chomp defensively, so be cautious in early spring when the males roam their territory for a pre-nuptial review. Old Joe lumbers up from our cold water fishery creek early April, follows a route established for at least 9 years, climbs an incredibly steep and rocky outcrop where he encounters a country road between the wood edge and his mating pond. I have met him there so many times with a 30 gallon galvanized can. Using the lid I maneuver him into the can for easy safe transport across the road. Never seem to catch him on the return trip, but in just a few more weeks we will see if, once again, he has made it. His carapace is getting smoothed down now, years of wear.”

Thank you Sharon for allowing me to share your words and great pic here on my blog.