Sunday Visitor

It's hot here, but there is a pleasant breeze, so after church the Kid and I were sitting in the back yard with the dogs we're taking care of for a couple of weeks. The dogs love to chase the squirrels and rabbits and chipmunks, but the critters aren't around too much in mid-day, and the dogs were laying in the grass, quite relaxed. Suddenly, though, they took off towards the driveway, clearly having detected something that I had missed. Here is what had caught there attention:



The biggest snapping turtle I've ever seen was sitting in the middle of the driveway. The dogs tried to get close, but the turtle snapped at them. Not wanting them to get bit, I hurried them in the house and grabbed by camera.

After taking a few pictures I had to go inside to get fresh batteries for the camera. While I was inside the Kid watched the turtle amble across the driveway towards the house. I went out a the back door and snuck around to see the turtle climbing the step to the side door. Finding his/her way blocked, s/he ambled down into the flower bed.












Making its way through the flowerbed, the turtle headed for the woods in front of the house and under the cedar bushes. To give you an idea of the size of the turtle, here it is next to the sprinker.





And as it passed my car