I put one hand on the log, and crawled down to the lake. I got wet, swam a bit, then chucked some big rocks further up the bank. Then I noticed him, legs straddling that downed cedar, shell big around as a manhole cover soaking in the afternoon sun. Did he crawl out while I was making all that noise with the rocks? Chelydra serpentina, a Common Snapping Turtle, though this size is not common. I now know why the mergansers have been so skittish all summer. I edged closer, but then, nimble as a dancer he spun around and leapt off the log onto the rocks with an enormous thud, and was into the water before I could blink.
