Snapping Turtle on the Bike Path

Yesterday, the high was in the sixties, when I found this bad boy parked on the edge of the bike path in Forest Park. Its shell was more than a foot in diameter. When I first arrived and then when I had circled around again, a crowd of cyclists, joggers and walkers had gathered and everyone was taking photos. Guilty as charged, your honor. All of this attention from the local aerobically inclined paparazzi had left this turtle rather befuddled. In the interval between my two sightings it had only moved about a foot or two. Also, you can see that the head is pretty much retracted and can I tell you how much I love those little spikes on the chin. The turtle must have eventually gotten to where it was headed, because today it was nowhere to be seen. Also, it was much colder today, so I hope that the destination was in the mud under one of the nearby ponds, because December starts tomorrow and hibernation is what should be happening now. It has been so unseasonably warm this year that I’m afraid that this turtle was left dazed and confused as to what time of year it really was. Call it global warming or call it climate change, but it’s hard to deny the facts, especially when they are in your face, just staring right back at you.