LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Considering that I’m most likely the hardest working blogger in Honey Grove, Pennsylvania (I’m claiming that title until someone challenges me), I thought that I would take the day off, you know, being retired, and it being the Sabbath and all.  But no, friends, it was not to be.  I knew that there would be no rest for the weary; it goes with the territory when you live out here in the wilderness.  But I definitely did not expect to see what I saw today. 

It’s late afternoon now, but let me go back in time to the early morning hours, when the morning light was just beginning to fall upon the pond, known affectionately as the Sea of Cortés.  (The reason the pond is known as the Sea of Cortés will go without further explanation, as long as the required package of unmarked bills continues to arrive regularly on the first of each month.  Are you reading this, Pedro?  Remember, I have photographs.)  Anyway, as the sun worked its way high enough into the sky that it created a reflection on the pond’s usually placid surface, it became clear that there was a good bit of aquatic activity occurring, presumably just below the surface, which was creating a substantial ripple effect.  This in and of itself is not terribly newsworthy, as the pond is ripe with fish, tadpoles, frogs, turtles, and God knows what else.  What was unusual, however, was the violent nature of the turbulence, and the fact that it would stop, the pond would go silent and still for a time, and then it would all stir up anew.  This went on (and off) for the better part of the day until finally, Judy, Koko and I mustered our collective courage, and cautiously worked our way through the meadow and down to the pond.  (There really should be a yellow brick road there.)  What we saw when we arrived was nothing short of amazing – at least we found it so.  When we reached the pond, we discovered not just one, but two, very large snapping turtles, turtles that couldn’t possibly have been more “in love.”  These were not teenage turtles, mind you.  These paramours were full grown and beyond – with circumferences roughly the size of toilet seats, and carrying substantial weight.  And trust me, this was not a first walk on the wild side for either of them.  Suffice it to say, the voyeur in each of us surfaced, so we watched until it began to feel a little awkward, at which point we slowly, quietly, and carefully backed away, leaving them to their much-deserved privacy, thrashing about to their lusty hearts' content.  And without going into any great detail, I know the question that each of you wants to ask, but is too shy, or reserved, to do so.  So I’ll answer it, anyway.  It’s huge.  Huge!  And as far as I could determine, not at all subject to shrinkage. 

And that’s life in the county on a Sunday afternoon in the spring.