One of the best things about having a nosey dog is that she makes me wait. While I don't like to let Maggie spend an eternity sniffing the same spot I do feel that since the walk is for her as well as for me she should have some time to explore. She noses around, I look around. A couple of weeks ago we were on the road near the Cottekill and Maggie stopped. I looked up at the tall bushes in front of me on the edge of the creek and saw a small nest. It was abandoned, of course, almost lost in the branches and I would have missed it but for the dog. On the ground were some hydrangeas, dry and papery, a pretty straw color.

Here's the nest, caught in a tangle against a clear blue sky, hydrangeas below.
This is a small painting, 4.5 x 6 inches.
It's available in my shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/269730526/original-watercolor-painting-winter-nest?ref=shop_home_active_1

It was a drizzly August day when I spotted the snapping turtle in the driveway. I watched her on and off for most of the morning and into early afternoon. She was looking for something, circling the lawn and then always coming back to the side of the driveway where I had a couple of bags of mulch sitting. She was beautiful and big and her back was covered with patches of moss. I took a few pictures. I figured she was looking for a place to lay her eggs, having heard the previous summer from my neighbors that that's what happens. Female turtles come up from the marsh behind the house and lay their eggs. That was only part of the story.

I was surprised to see the turtle finally burrow her way under the bags of mulch. I was impressed by her strength but I questioned her judgement. She stayed there for some time and then left, heading back down to the marsh. What had happened? Did she lay her eggs? And if she did, why did she leave? Don't turtles stay sitting on their eggs until they hatch? Sometimes I'm such a city girl.

I went outside once I was sure the turtle had gone and took a look. I didn't move the bags but I could see from the side that she had made a neat mound of dirt underneath and there, in the side of the mound, was a perfect hole. I figured the eggs were in the mound and the hole was for the baby turtles escape when they hatched. I put a fence of plastic mesh around the mulch bags to try to protect the eggs.

I never saw any baby turtles hurrying down to the marsh but I didn't think that meant anything. I wasn't watching the nest 24-7. However, last weekend, when I finally moved the bags of mulch, all I saw was an empty hole. No shells, no sign at all of new turtles.
What happened? I'd love to know.

The top image is my watercolor of a snapping turtle and a button plant. You can find it here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/171512417/art-print-watercolor-button-plant-and?ref=shop_home_active_3

And for you, gentle readers, a code, good for 15% off any purchase in my Etsy shop:
AUTUMN15
Expires 10/20

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieWargin