A Turtle Encounter on World Turtle Day

Well, whadda ya know? Guess what I found on World Turtle Day (May 23)? A nice big Snapping Turtle right in the middle of a parking lot at Moreau Lake State Park. I assume it was a mama turtle returning from laying her eggs somewhere and now waddling back to the lake. She was heading in that direction,anyway. But school buses were driving through the parking lots and a playground full of small children lay between her and the lake. It seemed a bit perilous for both her and the children, so I found someone with a bucket we could push her into and carry her right to the shore. She took off in a hurry once she hit the water!