Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pre-Historic Reptile Invaders





Hoo Hum... Yawn. I am getting kinda bored watching my slave underling pull weeds and take that wheel barrow back and forth to the barn all day.




Hey. What the Hell is that ugly looking gnarly thing? Yo slave come and slay this beast for me.




OMG Kill it. Kill It Now!!!! Shit. Watch out that thing actually jumps and makes noise when it snaps it's jaws shut. I am going back inside until you deal with it.




It wasn't some huge monster but it is about the largest snapper I seen migrating in a while. Usually only the smaller ones travel around this time of year. You can see this isn't some little one as it is as long as the end of that square bale it is nestled up into. What are typical square bales about 24 inches wide? Something like that I think so this isn't a baby although not full grown by any stretch yet. More than likely a teenager I would say.

He was large enough that I couldn't find a stick thick enough to support his weight to drag him after he bit down on it and also I couldn't lift him with a shovel unless I put my hand entirely much closer to the business end than I felt comfortable with. He took a couple of lunges at me that while not what I would call close were not exactly full strength either. More a "get the hell away you hairless ape" kinda thing.

The wife was screaming we had to move. LOL. Finally I just went inside and took a nap and when I came out later he had continued on his merry way. My guess is he was just taking a short nap when he was discovered. We will prolly see more of his kind, although most will be less than half his size, before June is over. The smaller males are being driven out of the ponds and creeks by the large dominant males right now so they basically become nomads for a few weeks this time of year. They will take up residence in small ponds and mud puddles for a while until it is safe to go back into the larger bodies of water. You will also see many of them crushed along the road right now too. I had a smaller one last year living in a tractor tire rut next to my alfalfa field until about mid July. I have even had them crawl right up to me in the garden or walk right through the barn some years.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow I am going to start mowing so I hope he is well out of the way by then.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!


11 comments:

  1. When I see those turtles they are digging holes in my garden to lay eggs. They travel up the creeks and then the little stream and to my garden through the palletsade. They will dig in like armor in the desert, I have a neat photo of one.

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    1. Sf - That's interesting. I sometimes see turtle nests down by the little farm pond we have but I assume up where my garden and the house/buildings are is too far away from standing water to attract them other than this time of year.

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  2. Snappers! Good eating! Not endangered, just a bit dangerous as pets.

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    1. MV - Can't say I ever ate one. Had some old guys when I was a kid try and get me to try it once but I declined. I knew a guy who did have one in a tank in his house for years. It was kinda cool to watch it eat gold fish.

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  3. PP,

    We have a bunch in various sizes cutting through here. The other day when going into town, I jumped out of the truck and moved one. He was a small one a little bigger than both of my hands together.

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    1. Sandy - Ya they are all over about this time of year. Poor ungainly things out of the water ain't they?

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  4. I must still be off my game, I can't even think of a smart ass answer. LOL Have a good week.

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  5. There's a giant one of those who lives in the lake where I swim in the summer. I don't go out where the water is darker. Only swim where I could see him coming.

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    1. Harry - I was fishing a local lake once and was watching my lure come in and the water color kept changing. I was watching it go from a greenish brown to a deep dark brown before I realized it was a huge snapper. When he saw me he backed away but it was large enough to scare the beep outta me. I never went back to that little lake.

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