Yesterday morning while my daughter was out playing, our yellow lab kept barking and it was becoming increasingly annoying. I went out and asked her to let her out of her kennel to play while she was out there to watch her. She always barks at the kids when they are outside because she just wants to be out playing with them.

     DD8 did what I asked but the barking didn't stop as it usually does. Finally she came inside and said that Lilly, that's our dogs name, was just standing in back of her kennel barking like something was there. I followed her out to see what was going on.

    There in the yard was a huge snapping turtle. It must have crawled up from the little pond next door. My daughter quickly ran in to tell her three brothers about the turtle so that they could come out and see it. DS16 came out with a large metal curtain rod and a one gallon bucket. After watching the turtle for a little while he caught it and put it in the bucket. It was way too big for the bucket. It was about two feet long from the tip of its tail to it's head.

     We decided to put the turtle in the wheelbarrow and call my husband to see what we should do with it. He said to leave it and he would drive it down to the lake when he got home. The kids thougth we should put some water in the wheelbarrow so the turtle wouldn't get too dried out. DS11 went to get  a small bucket of water and DS16 proceeded to pour the water into the wheelbarrow. At one point he decided to pour a little onto the back of the turtle's shell. This didn't go over very well because the turtle very ferociously and at a great rate of speed snapped at him. Scared us all. It was a good lesson to the kids though to stay away from it. None of us realized they could move so fast and that their necks could stretch so far.

     We went back inside and eventually heard Lilly barking again. We went outside only to discover the turtle had climbed out of the wheelbarrow. DS16 was no longer home so it was up to me to catch the turtle and return it to the wheelbarrow. I wasn't looking forward to it because I did not want to make the turtle angry. However, it wasn't too difficult to get him back in the bucket and back into the wheelbarrow. Only a few minutes later, though, he had escaped again.

     This time I decided to put him in the bucket, carry him across the road and point him in the direction of the lake so he could find it himself. I didn't want to take the chance of him crossing the street himself and getting run over.

 Look at the size of those claws!

We just had a big one in our field last week--must be egg laying time or something. They are so interesting to look at. I always think, if evolution were true, why didn't they evolve?? They look like dinosaurs. Glad you didn't get bitten.

}}}SHUDDER{{{{
I remember those things crawling up from our creek where I grew up. My precious Grandpa (ever the man's man) would snatch them up by the tail and hold it waaaaaay out, and march it right back to the creek with it hissing and snapping all the way!!!
Ugh! Hopefully the thing doesn't come back for round 2. We get turtles in our yard, but thankfully, they are harmless.
Gayle :)

Wow, this was some turtle! We had some near our home when we lived on a farm and had a creek near us.

Wow!
I really wish I lived in a more rural area. You really get to see some interesting things. I just love the story of the little boy in your previous entry. It was so funny. I used to teach Kindergarten and there were always kids who wanted to get married. Too funny!
Next time you go yard saling, I would love to come along. You got some really great bargains. I'm trying not to covet.
Blessings,
Ruth

Wow - that's great how you helped him (despite his snapping LOL)...

I didn't know they could be so fast, or would be able to get out of the wheelbarrow. Thanks for sharing! - what an adventure in your backyard. :)

Lindsay

That is one beastly ugly looking animal! I have never seen one so close up before, but it looks much larger than I thought one would be!

I hope you don't mind, but I have a few questions that I am hoping you can answer in a post for me - so I can have a better idea of who you and your family are. Do you or your children have any hobbies? What are your children's favorite characters? What is your favorite Bible verse? Do you have any special indulgences (cookies, chocolate, coffee, books, etc...)? What is your house decor (Main colors in Kitchen and Livingroom)?

If you could write a post for me, that would be GREAT! I am praying for you and your family, and will be checking up on your blog regularly : )

God Bless!!
Your Secret Sister

Hi!
Those are some great pictures of the turtle. We learned at one of our field trips that that turtle can reach all the way to its back end & it can break the bone in you arm with one snap. I did not know this & was remembering how we use to pick them up by their back portion when we were young!
May God bless you & your family!!!
In Him; Elton

Wow, so far we have just had a couple cute painted turtles come up from the river this year. I remember when I was a young girl, the elderly neighbor lady (who looked like a pioneer lady, wore her hair in a bun, and always washed her long hair in rain water outside once a week) told me she had two teenage sons that died when snapping turtle(s) from our lake tiped their boat over and pulled them under so they drown. I never knew whether that was true, so I always was careful not to go near the lake. :) This is the second vicious snapping turtle incident that I've heard recently, maybe it was true.?.

I am amazed that it came so close to you and that you were able to get it back in the right direction. Love your blog template.

BFS,
Alice