If there is one thing the Bayou has it is plenty of mud. Not "pretty" mudpuddle mud but stinky, slippery, staining, mucky mud. People often ask me if I ever swim in the waters here and that is met with a huge "No!" but that is not just because of the mud. It is what hides in that mud and murky waters. Aside from the alligators and cottonmouths, there are the snapping turtles. Usually, gators and snakes are relatively easy to see but those turtles blend so remarkably well with the mud that it would only take one misstep before you would receive a nasty bite.
Yesterday, I was on the pier and noticed what seemed to be just another mound of mud in the shallows. Sometimes, the otters slide around enough that mud will mound up in piles. Seeing the mound, I had an inkling that this was not mud but a turtle and, sure enough, when I got closer, I could see the outline of its head beneath the water. Yep, there was that old snapping turtle stalking bull minnows.
I sat on the pier a short distance from the turtle and watched. After a bit, the turtle started moving around. Its head came out of the water and I was able to photograph our grouchy critter. Snapping turtles are known to not be the friendliest of critters so I kept my distance. The turtle soon moved on through the marsh in search of more breakfast. The "mud mound" was gone!
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