Snapshot of a Snapping Turtle

A Brief Summary:

I walked beside and inside a marsh today.

I happened upon a female Snapping Turtle.

Ever so slowly she dug into the mud, excavating her deep nest.

Buried and hopefully hidden safely in the soft “digs” could be a clutch of 20-40 eggs.

The turtle plodded back into the murky, aquatic habitat.

Expected to arrive in about 90 days, her hatchlings are left to fend for themselves.

And there are predators like snakes, raccoons, and crows-even this morning I notice curled pieces of delicate turtle egg shell debris.