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I was walking my pups this morning, along the railroad tracks that cut
through the middle of my village, when I noticed something slightly
unusual out of the corner of my eye. a huge old lady turtle laying
her eggs halfway between the feedmill & the lumberyard.
I distracted my boys (they never even saw her) and hurried them
home so I could come back with my camera without 100 lbs of puppy
on my arm. I walked around her carefully, taking pictures. unfortunately,
I didn't have my tripod, but all most of these pictures were taken very close in.
I think I'll call this one 'an ode to commerce'. living in a tiny village in the middle
of the wilderness, I'm constantly amazed at how our animals adopt. with a whole
river to choose from, why on earth is this old lady laying her eggs right in
the middle of town??? she's obviously been around, given her size (about 18") and
the wear on her shell. she's come a house, a road & 2 big hills from the river in order to lay
her eggs in the sun by the railroad tracks, in full view of the lumberyard's parking lot.
I loved taking a peek at those eggs. . .the contrast of the weathered old turtle, the rich, dark soil and those fresh, pristine white eggs laying there untouched was so beautiful
DENBY BEARS:clap: Fabulous pictures, you only come across this once in a lifetime. That ole girl must have either been there before or thought it was a safe spot. You were lucky to be able to capture this great moment in her life. Keep checking for when they are born. that would be great to see also.
Thanx for thse great pics!
PS I love your bears!
Past Time Bears:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: Thanks much for sharing such a neat ritual!
Wow, that is amazing. I have never seen a wild turtle. I have 3 as pets and they live a very long time. I've had my 2 older ones for about 20 years and they were not babies when I got them!
It is amazing to see one on it's own in the wild... She is so rough looking the poor gal.
The babies are sooo fragile when they hatchn, I am amazed any of them make it into adults.
She is a beautiful gal! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hugs!
Melanie
I am so envious of you having witnessed this wonderful event. Thanks so much for posting the pictures. Fabulous stuff. 
Regards
Lisa
she really was cool. I'm waiting for the UPS truck to show up, so I can head back and see if she's still there.
I can't belive these photos were taken on a cloudy,overcast day. sheeesh.
shoot. .
she was gone, but she covered up nicely. I can't believe she manage to dig through
those heavy rocks along the tracks. boy, birthing them babies is some work. . .
this, by the way, is the view in the other direction. you can see now why
I was so surprised by her choice of nest location.
Dolls N DreamsWonderful pictures, I love turtles! Thanks for posting 
Waggle BearsBeautiful pictures. I'm amazed you were so close. The pictures are so clear it makes you feel like you're right there with her.
I got quite close without using a zoom. she had really beautiful eyes,
not at all reptilian, but very wise and sad. they had a lot of sparkle, too,
like those pretty glass eyes some of you have been making
we walked past the nest tonight again, and I made tepee to protect it out
some heavy metal rr plates that were lying around. she's not a very smart
old lady. the lumberyard & feedmill cats have already taken care of the killdeer
nest that was on the same spot earlier this spring. I don't think these eggs have
much of a chance w/out some help and I'd sure like to photograph a hatching nest.
look at those cracks in her shell, I wonder how old she is?
Apple Dumpling DesignsThese picture are just glorious. Such a wonderful bit of ol' Momma Nature to experience. Have you considered contacting your local wildife society or whomever to see if they are interested in gathering the eggs or watching for the wee ones to hatch. Just a thought so they can get a little boost in life. Do you happen to know what kind of turtle she is...she does look old and wise, doesn't she. I wonder how old she is.
And speaking from a mother's perspective, maybe she decided it was TIME...that was why she chose that spot. When those babies decided to come they just come. Now I've never delivered eggs but I have wondered from time to time if one or more of my children haven't been swapped with pod-children. :crackup:
Newcastle, OntarioKelly,
What a glorious set of pictures! Lucky you!!! Do you know how long it takes turtle eggs to hatch?
When we lived in our last subdivision near Ottawa, it was built on the river. Our back yards were 250 ft deep back to the water. There were tons of snapping turtles in the area and I guess, our houses were built on the areas they has used to lay eggs. For the first 3 or 4 years, they still came up near the houses to lay them. You would look out and find a snapper the size of a basketball in the yard.
One year we ordered topsoil for our yard, only to look out one morning to find a snapper laying eggs in the soil! We left the portion of the soil with the eggs, but I can't remember how long it took for the babies to hatch. We did find a few of the babies in the grass and took them back to the water - there were soooooo tiny and cute.
Thanks so much for the pictures - they really are magnificent creatures.
hugs,
Brenda
MerBear OriginalsWe have a lot of snapping turtles in our area as well and occasionally we find really big ones in the flower beds. We live on a farm so there is lots of place for them still.
Last Saturday we had a family party and some of the kids went down by the creek to explore. They came back with several turtle eggs - they wanted to take them home to hatch!
Marion
I've seen a lot of snappers this large but I've never seen a 'regular' wild turtle get so huge. (I captured a giant snapper when I was a kid and put it in our swimming pool, because I wanted to keep it as a pet - boy, did I catch hell)
I'm really curious about the deep crack in her shell & 2 holes flanking it. doesn't it look like maybe somebody trid to repair her long ago with a big staple or something? they aren't bullet holes, couldn't be car damage. . .
there is a National Parks Service office directly across the street from my shop and I'm going go ask them all the pertinent questions about what kind of turtle it is and how long they take to hatch. in the meantime, I'm glad I covered the nest. there were dig marks all around the perimiter, but they didn't get to the eggs!
DoodlebearsKelly in your first post you said just how far that beautiful old lady had travelled to lay her eggs....won't it be almost impossible for her babies to reach water after all you said:
she's come a house, a road & 2 big hills from the river in order to lay her eggs in the sun by the railroad tracks,
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience with us, I have never seen this kind of thing in the wild as we don't have these beautiful creatures here in the UK.
Hugs, Jane.
Newcastle, OntarioKelly,
No wonder you got in trouble for putting a giant snapper in the swimming pool :crackup: :crackup: We got very adept at picking them up with big snow shovels and carrying them back to the water. They actually hiss, you know!
It does look like someone tried to mend her shell, doesnt it. It's nice to think that people can still be kind to beautiful creatures like this.
If you've been back to check already, I guess you've been put on guard duty for these precious eggs, whether you like it or not :crackup: :crackup: I would love it if you could get some pics when the babies start to emerge. There you go, I've just given you something to do that will occupy your whole summer. How portable are your bear supplies? I can see it now - you are sitting in a portable garden chair with a table AND bear supplies in tow, (and don't forget a tall, cool beverage) guarding the eggs all summer long
hugs,
Brenda
Oh, I'm glad to hear you covered the eggs. I think it can take 3 months or more for turtle eggs to hatch... you might want to see if you can cover the area with some chicken wire with something to keep it from getting ripped off. I looked up this place.... http://nyturtlecenter.org/ I'm sure they can give you more information if the parks service isn't any help. If nothing else I'm sure they can tell you what kind of Turtle she is! it does look as though someone had her shell wired or stapled. Poor girl.. I think would be a tough life outside as a turtle!
Hugs!
Melanie
Posts: 1,836Wow, great photos! I'm hoping they stay safe and maybe the wildlife office has some ideas to keep them that way. They're so tiny when they hatch...I've found several sea turtles on the beaches over the years...just too cute.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I can see it now - you are sitting in a portable garden chair with a table AND bear supplies in tow, (and don't forget a tall, cool beverage) guarding the eggs all summer long
AND an Umbrella/sunshade.
The lumbering freight trains can loll them to sleep...
Now don't you feel just like a proper Auntie/Uncle!!??
Lv your new pix w/pups!
MerBear OriginalsReally must be turtle season all over. On the way to work this morning I saw two turtles laying eggs on the side of the road - not 6" from the pavement. Those eggs are certainly doomed and unfortunately the turtles quite often don't make it back to safety 
LuxembearsGreat pictures Kelly. I love turtles and this one is a beauty. I hope her eggs will not be discovered by a fox or other critter.
I used to keep turtles as pets while other girls played with dolls. I had snapping turtles, red eared sliders, and a box turtle who had run of my room, named Oliver.
I found the snapping turtle on a bike path at the same time as my dog and my dog injured it. I nursed it to health and released it back into the wild.
Great pics.
how exciting!.....I want some turtles to watch too! ...we don't have anything as interesting in Gloucestershire....I live on the river so only ratty and mole for company!
thanks for the fab pics Kelly....how long before the eggs hatch? 
Lynne
Posts: 185These pics are wonderful. Snapping turtles are so interesting. We once saw one trying to climb our chain link fence to get into our back yard...of course, it didn't get very far. Turtles aren't exactly built for climbing. 
I'm glad there are people out there who appreciate them; some people don't. Thanks for sharing your experience Kelly, and good luck with the nest!
-Lynnette
