Recently, when we were up in Wisconsin, I had the opportunity to share a story with my son. If you saw my post about quality time with my son, you already know that we got to spend some excellent time together. On our way to check out some other things together, I passed by a spot where a memorable event happened in my life, so I thought that I would take the time to share it with him, and you.

I remember my father telling me stories when I was a child from back when he was younger, and many of those stories are still with me to this day. He can now share them directly with my children, his grandchildren, but even after he is gone, I will be able to retell those stories to my children, and maybe even one day to my grandchildren.

Life can be full of many incredible experiences, but without sharing them with others, those memories will eventually fade away and be lost. This is one story that I have told many times before, but telling it to my son, in the spot where it actually happened, was a very special treat.

You can either watch the video, read the text, or do both. Just be mindful that the text and the video do not use the same words, so it may be hard to listen and follow along. Also, I have added in a few GIFs to liven up the text a little. @verbal-d was the inspiration for that, as his poetry and his original story both include some great GIFs that complement the text very nicely and make reading his work more of an experience that it would be without them.

Enjoy!

THE VIDEO - A TALE OF TWO TURTLES

THE TEXT - A TALE OF TWO TURTLES

I had just gotten off of work at the warehouse that I worked at and it was probably around 2:30 pm. I decided to drive over a local reservoir.

One original saying that has proven itself true repeatedly in my life is that:

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO FIND, BUT YOU FIND MORE WHEN YOU LOOK.

This day was no different.

As I drove over the bridge that spanned the reservoir, I noticed a snapping turtle head sticking out of the water in the distance off to my right. Yes, as I was driving 35 MPH over a bridge I was still able to look out my passenger window and accurately identify a snapping turtle several hundred feet away just by seeing his head breaking the surface. My options were limited, and I gave in to the desire to pull over after the bridge and attempt to capture the beast.

Once I ran back down the bridge to the place that I had seen the turtle head, I noticed that it was still there. I quickly took off my socks and shoes and slid into the weedy waters. I realize that this situation may sound a little strange to you so far, so allow me to give you a little history about the life and times of @papa-pepper.

I’ve always been fascinated by all of the incredible creatures out there in the world. Often, this fascination leads to some hands on interaction. Turtles have always been one of my favorite creatures, and I have caught a lot of them in my time. A lot. When I wasn’t in school, I was often in the woods or the swamps, running around and checking things out. For a great recent video demonstrating my fascination with Snapping Turtles, check out this one where I show you how to grab a Snapping Turtle by the throat, or follow this LINK to my how-to post for even more great information.

HOW TO GRAB A SNAPPING TURTLE BY THE THROAT

So, there I was, barefoot, clothed, and with a backwards baseball cap on, sliding out into the reservoir. When I approach turtles in the water, I’ll stoop down so that only the top of my head sticks out, from my nose and above. This allows to still breathe and see, but makes me a lot less intimidating to the animals than if I was standing up in the water. Sometimes, I’ll even lay down on shore and slide into the water like an otter or alligator.

So there I was, down low in the water, which was just over waist-deep, but with only the top of my head my sticking out. I crept slow and steady, not wanting to startle my prey. It was easily sixty to seventy feet away from shore.

Amazingly, I was able to come within arm’s reach without startling the Snapper, so I grabbed it from underneath and lifted it out of the water.

Success!

Many people will grab large Snapping Turtles by their tails, but the weight of the turtle can put a great deal of stress on the area of the turtle that the tail connects to, which can accidentally even sterilize a turtle, completely taking it out of the breeding pool of the species. This is why I will grab them from underneath or from the back of shell near the hind legs. Sometimes they will slice open my knuckles with their sharp claws, but I heal and they can still reproduce, so I don’t mind. It’s a small price to pay for me to have my fun.

I was able to make it that close to the turtle because it was blind in that eye. I’m not sure exactly what had happened, or if some cruel humans had done it in the past, but it’s lack of vision, combined with my stealth, allowed me to be successful that day.

As I lifted it though, a huge head of another Snapper broke the surface nearby. Startled and amazed, I quickly made my move, but I was already too late.

Normally, I would have dove under after the turtle, knowing that it was heading away from me, so the “business end” of the beast was not facing my direction. That’s one thing that I like about these big, savage turtles. If you scare them the other way, they pretty much give you their tail, which is one of the safest places to grab the turtle so that you can get a grip on the shell and lift it.

However, with an angry Snapper already in my hand trying to bite me, trying to dive in after a giant one “who knows where” under the surface would not be a wise situation to get into. It was not an option to me to release the littler guy, so I chose to sit and wait.

And there I sat, for probably about twenty minutes. I crouched low in the water, with only my nose above the surface, and a backwards baseball cap on my head. About two or three feet to my left was the head and shell of the one-eyed Snapper that I had caught, with my hand holding onto it beneath the surface.

Cars and bicyclists passed by on the bridge above, and there I sat in the water about seventy feet out in the reservoir. A lot of people got to pass by and ponder as I waited for the huge turtle to resurface. Time ticked, I sat, and no sign of the beast appeared.

Since I was just taking the “scenic route” home from work, I figured that I had spent enough time out in the swamp, plus, at least I had already been successful and had a turtle to show for my efforts. Reluctantly, back to the shore I went.

Wouldn’t you know it, once I reached the shore, I looked back out in the water, and there it appeared; the massive head of the other Snapper surfaced beyond where I had been. Though the depth of the water did not change with the added distance, this one was farther out than the first.

Again, my options were limited, but the opportunity had presented itself, so right back in I went. Since there were some thick weeds near the shore, I let them cover the Snapper in my hand and myself as we slid through them, and placed the smaller, weed-covered Snapper out ahead of me, hiding behind it as I went. For added stealth, I even kept my nose under the surface in between breaths to keep a lower profile.

I went more quickly this time, and was fast closing the gap. I was basically a one-armed man on a mission, since my left hand was busy holding onto the one-eyed Snapper, keep my dominant hand free to do battle if I got within reach of the massive beast.

When I finally got within ten feet of it, I made my move and it dove under. I stood up, allowing my raised head to get a better visual on the situation and my legs to move me more quickly in its direction from my upright position.

There, under the water in front of me, I could see the large turtle swimming away beneath the surface, with the light-colored “palms” of its hind feet taking turns paddling itself away from me.

Knowing that the tail was somewhere in-between those feet, I lunged forward and reached out. I got a hold of the base of the tail near the shell, and was immediately impressed and surprised by the size of it.

When I grabbed that thick tail, it immediately started to turn on me. I freaked! Now what was I supposed to do?

I had it by the tail, but it was turning its head towards me, and the littler one in my left hand was still trying to bite me. Thinking quickly, I turned towards shore and went quickly. I was hoping that the resistance of the water could overcome its strength and prevent it from getting a hold of me.

Thankfully, it worked. Soon, I was at the shore with two large snapping turtles in my hands. I tossed the smaller one up onto the grass and then grabbed the big one with two hands. This was one heavy beast. I'm guessing that it was about fifty pounds, because I had one smaller than it before that weighed forty-two pounds. I carried the big one up to the sidewalk and then ran back to get the smaller one before it left the shore and swam off to freedom.

Carrying these two large turtles back to the car was a chore. I used my left hand to carry the smaller one from underneath and my right hand to carry the big one, resting my right elbow upon my right hip bone to help carry the weight. Still, twice I needed to stop and rest, so I set them down at my feet and regained my energy. I must have been a sight to see, as sometimes I am.

Having no ruler in the vehicle to make sure that these turtles were both a legal size (yes, there are licenses, open seasons, bag limits, and size limits even on turtles some places) I put them in a large cardboard drum in the back seat and drove back to work.

Showing up a half hour after I left was rare, but bringing two large turtles with me made it all the more bizarre. My co-worker took one look at my guests and asked, "Where did you go?" with complete amazement fueling every word.

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That the the first time that I got to share the story.

This was another time.

I hope that you enjoyed it!

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