|The South Marysburgh Mirror bel | ANNUAL TURTLE TREATISE This year, in June, the snapping turtles were nesting on our road in large numbers. They have finished now, but I got a call to tell me they are still nesting on Lake-of- the-Mountain road as of July 9". One nested there, next to a house, and kept a steady stare on the mistress of the house, silently beseeching her to protect the nest when she returned to the water. Last year, for some reason, there were few on our road, and it was worrisome. I know many people feel as I do about the turtles that make their clumsy way across our fields and roads to find a spot to lay their eggs. They are a visual reminder of the near and the distant past. The earliest turtle fossils are 200 million years old, pre-dating our most popular dinosaurs, like the stegosaurus and tyrannosaurus rex. Turtles somehow escaped the bottleneck of extinction that saw the end of dinosaurs and 60 percent of the species on earth. We would not want to be the civilization that puts an end to the turtle, though we may well be. But I relate to the snapper on a more personal level because we have so many characteristics in common. Here’s why: 1) I feel, as new customs and technology slip into our culture, that I am unable to adapt. The turtle has problems adapting, too, speeding cars squishing them randomly. A painted turtle that crosses Morrison’s Point Road every year by Margaret Kerr’s, and one that nests in front of my house every year, were flattened by cars. ) A snapping turtle becomes very testy when leaving her watery home environment for the fields and roads. So do I. I think I’m a reasonable person at home, but when I leave it for meetings, shopping, or other events Ican become quite irascible. 3) A snapping turtle does not fit into its shell like other turtles. It’s lower shell is a thong compared to that of a box turtle, and a bikini compared to our painted turtles. Great masses of flabby flesh hang out from the shell. If I were to wear a T-shirt, tucked in, with hip huggers, I would resemble a snapping turtle with coils of flesh protruding in strange ways. So, ona personal level, I have compassion for turtles, especially for snappers. re we dramatically diverge from turtles is in aging. A Dr. James Spotila of Drexel University postulates that turtles don’t senesce and die like we do. There isn’t any discernable aging process, and they live until struck down by a predator, a car, or disease. There is no menopause. They can reproduce as long as they are alive. I’m not sure I envy them that, because I certainly wouldn‘t want a herd of ankle biting rug rats pestering me at my age. However, it would be nice to grow old without the physical torments of aging, then drop dead. The world record snapper, captured in Massachusetts, weighed in at 76.5 pounds. I don’t know how old it was but it probably died because it got tired of living. Turtles sometimes wander a surprising distance from the water to lay their eggs. Some herpetologists theorize that wandering far afield removes scent which makes it more difficult for predators to find their eggs. Raccoons, skunks, and foxes all relish the discovery of twenty or so snapping turtle eggs. Like a lakeboat that seems to crawl slowly across the horizon but soon disappears, snappers traverse great distances in surprisingly little time. Once they lift up on those fatty legs, and get their shells off the ground, these babies can move. Not like a cheetah, I admit, but there is the legend of the turtle and the hare you know. In the old days, in New England, families often kept a snapper in the hog swill barrel until it was ready for the soup pot. Snappers are obviously not fussy about what ey eat, and apparently neither are human beings. ¢ pioneers did not reverence turtles like Native Canadians. The Mohawks noted that all turtles have thirteen scales on their backs, and each scale represented one of the moons we see throughout the year. It was a good observation, for scientists have discovered all turtles, from the monster sea leatherbacks to our painted turtles, indeed, have thirteen scales. Native people also believed Continued on page 6 Tree Trimming & Removal Brush chipping Lot clearing Firewood, Hardwood & Softwood lumber Black River Tree Service Glenn Guernsey -