“A land turtle crawled turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass, not really walking, but boosting and dragging his shell along.”
— John Steinbeck, “Grapes of Wrath”
There in the woods, eyes were shining back at me from the light of the flashlight when I was looking for Harry and Wilhelmina, the cats. The eyes were the height of a man and spooky. Many nights there are eyes in the dark. Usually they are low to the ground — those of a deer bedded down or a raccoon or possum, perhaps a feral cat. That night they disappeared until one flashed again about 3 feet to the right. Ah, lightning bugs. As I continued to patrol, I saw more. Whether or not the rains brought more lightning bugs I don’t know, but there seemed to be an increase. It brought back childhood memories of catching lightning bugs when they were abundant and putting them in a mason jar with holes poked in the top. The next morning, I awoke and all the lightning bugs were on the ceiling. I lay there watching the bugs and wondering if I was going to be in trouble. I was entranced by them. Lightning bugs were about the most wonderful thing I could think of. My thoughts that night were not so different. Harry and Wilhelmina were found and bedded for the night.
The next morning both cats were fixed on something. Following their stares, I saw in the grass, quite camouflaged, a loggerhead snapping turtle. Loggerheads are prehistoric looking and menacing; they can get up to 100 pounds. Their heads do not entirely retract back into their shell, nor do their tails and legs. Sam says they have no need to retract — nothing bothers them. The turtle was making her way from the small pond to the lake, perhaps to lay her 50 leathery eggs on the way. Sam removed her, as she can be a danger. Loggerheads will attack the ducks’ feet and leave them lame, and then the ducks themselves.
Interestingly, loggerheads capture fish by wiggling a pink appendage on their tongue that fish assume is a worm, then snap. A few years back Sam captured two large loggerheads in the big lake and took them to neighbor Ed Phillips. Ed was known to cook just about anything. Ed cooked them up in a turtle soup and feasted with his buddies. I doubt if there was anything wild Ed hadn’t cooked.
Believe it or not, there is a turtle farm in Strafford, Missouri, where you can buy loggerhead turtles for the love of turtles. Owner John Richards describes himself as a turtle/reptile enthusiast with a lifelong dream to own a turtle farm.
The critter fun did not end there. While raking leaves behind the boat shed, Sam found three large holes dug under the foundation. Armadillos were suspected, so he set up traps. Armadillos are not easy to catch as there really isn’t a bait to attract them. The first morning we found the trap hurled away about 3 or 4 feet. After the trap was secured, the armadillo was caught on the second morning. He was a big one.
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