a true critter story ten years ago
I was driving in Acton (Boston west suburb) one winter day back in 1990 or so, came across a backroad where a giant snapping turtle was sauntering across the road
this turtle was huge, maybe 18 inches in diameter, could have weighed 25 lbs... well I stopped just the observe the damned monster... I knew he had to be a snapper... the road was adjacent to a small pond where I heard for years of snappers residing
I pulled over and watched the big boy for what seemed like 15 minutes, as he managed only minimal progress across the road, fully indifferent to the flow of traffic... another woman stopped also to observe... after a while, the house owner right there walked over with a shovel... it was a well worn woman well past the wide-eyed days of wondrous youth... she was a New Englander, true blue... she cursed the turtle, said he was a menace... she offered a stick up to his nose and the turtle snapped it and let go... then she took the shovel, scooped him up, walked over to the frozen pond's edge, and tossed him unceremoniously into the brush... she walked back to her house, looked over her shoulder, and said "I ought to cook him up for soup"
oh well, back to my bagel
/ Jim |
