A Sunday afternoon drive in the country, down gravel roads, seems to always bring adventures aplenty. And, that's what Brinna and I discovered last Sunday on a remote country lane. Right smack dab in the middle of the road was a lumbering, armored plated pre-historic snapping turtle - his spiky tail dragging the ground behind him. As we approached in the noisy diesel truck, he stopped his progress.
My natural curiosity got the best of me, and while I'd seen one of these beasties before, Brinna had not had the privilege of witnessing these interesting creatures, so I insisted she get out for a look-see. Fortunately, I had my little camera with me so I could capture our adventure for posterity.
Our little friend was a common snapping turtle, not his larger, rarer cousin--the alligator snapping turtle that I had seen before in Missouri. However, that didn't make him any less formidable. As we approached him, he curled his tail around and pulled back in to that armor-plated shell.
Strangely, though, as I struggled to get closer for a better photo, he kept his head ever facing me, pivoting around to follow my every movement. If you know anything about snapping turtles, that mouth is one area that is best to avoid - they are not named "snapping" turtles without good reason. Their powerful jaws can cause serious damage.
As I watched his defensive behavior, it brought to mind how many times our human nature mimics the snapping turtle. Many times when we're having a difficult time or we get hurt or are afraid, our first instinct is to retreat into ourselves. We curl up in a little ball, put on our defensive face, and move through life with a host of defensive mechanisms - anger, silence, manipulation, etc. Anything to deal with the situation--we bare our teeth at our opponents and engage in a face-off.
So, Mr. Snapping Turtle - my lesson for the day was to get back in the truck and give you a wide berth around the road. I'm sure he was relieved that I moved on down the trail. Brinna and I had an adventure and in the process we learned some more valuable lessons.
Take it easy, Mr. Snapping Turtle - maybe we'll meet up again some day.
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