Giant killer turtles!

Looks like we're going to have to be a lot more careful in the backyard from now on.  I don't know if you've heard, but there's an invasion of killer turtles coming out of the wetlands.  The dogs and I had a close call with this one just a half hour ago...

Very scary, right? You almost don't even see it lurking there - it would be so easy to walk past it and CHOMP, it's got you in that vice like jaw.  You'd be a goner!

Just to help others know what to watch out for, I put my own life at risk and went all Crocodile Dundee on this  turtle, wrestling it into a better position for a picture to help give some scale...

This is called turtle stinkeye!

RAAAAR!!!  SNAP SNAP!!!

Evil, right?

Please, do not let your pets and children out unchaperoned in your yards while these turtles are running wild.

And we all know that bright, vibrant colors in nature are usually warning signs that you do not want to mess with this critter or plant...  This critter is giving plenty of warning - assuming you manage to flip it over before it eats you alive!

Ok, in all seriousness, we had a lot of rain today, and after the latest round of storms wrapped up, I was trying to get Doogie to man up and be a little more brave, so I took him out to play in the sopping wet yard with Daisy.  We were just coming back in from the very back of the yard (he did NOT want to be out there), and I almost stepped on what I thought was a piece of bark mulch in the middle of the backyard.  Odd, because I don't use bark mulch.

 

Now I've seen at least three turtles out in the pond lately  -never more than three at once, but I suspect there have to be at least a few more.  This sort of confirms it, since I haven't seen any this small, and I'm guessing that where there's one baby, there's more.  Until the big birds or whatever wildlife tries them out as a tasty snack.

Brett kept trying to convince me I could get a little terrarium and name it Shelly.  Um.  No thanks.  Cute at this size, maybe, but it's wild life and needs to stay out there (yes yes, after I manhandled it for all these pics).  We have a spot in the yard where I put in a post and have a faucet line coming up that runs under the backyard.  I left a big hole at the base of the post, and it's full of water after the heavy rainstorms.  That's the water and leaves you see in the first picture.  I didn't know if I should put the turtle back in the pond (looked like it was trying to get away from that direction), but I didn't want to leave it undefended in the middle of a lawn...so I gave it a new starting point and figure it can hang out there as long as it likes until it's time to return to the pond or head to the marsh across the street.

 

 

Farewell little Shelly.  I hope you escape all the predators and cars, and make it to the water source of your choice and grow up to be a nice big, healthy turtle, and then make lots of babies!

Good luck!