I was a little surprised when an unusually shaped mound of dirt slowly began to move in the shallow waters of a muddy pond at Huntley Meadows Park. When it raised its massive head, I realized it was an Eastern Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) newly arisen from the bottom of the pond.
The extra weight of the mud on its back didn’t seem to affect the turtle’s swimming ability—it must be nice to be so big and strong.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Just another rock in the pond.
Nice! When I see a rock it usually stays a rock.
I never know when I might be seeing things. Recently I have taken a lot of shots of hawks and owls that turned out to be formations of leaves and/or branches.
I went looking for turtles the other day but didn’t see any.
I wouldn’t be wading barefoot where this one lives!
I’m with you on that one, Allen. I like to keep all of the toes that I have.