My Encounter with a Snapping Turtle

While packing for my mom’s cottage I was drawn to wear my turtle necklace for the trip. Who knew it was a sign of what was to come?

Thursday, July 7th I jumped in the lake with my two girls and my friends kids. When my girlfriend Patty got down to the lake she took over watching the kids and I went for a swim on my own.

I have a cottage ritual to swim to the point and into the Bay. Lately I’ve had some fear of running into a snapping turtle. Last summer there was a sighting near our dock. During this swim I felt my fear grow at the thought of swimming with a turtle. I said to myself a few times “He wants nothing to do with you, he wants nothing to do with you, he wants nothing to do with you”.

Well, I think I could have manifested what happened next.

When I arrived back to the dock, Patty and my eldest girl were swimming. Suddenly, Patty had a look of urgency and she mouthed the words “We have to get out!”

I tried to sound calm and urged my daughter out of the lake with the fear of a turtle encounter rising. I was the last to climb the ladder and not even three feet away from me was my fear that came to reality… a snapping turtle that was about three and a half feet in length from head to the tip of the tail.

When I saw the turtle from the safety of the dock he actually looked friendly and quite curious. He swam around the dock, poking his head out of the water to look at us, swimming under and around the boat, quite playfully. He hung out with us for about an hour. We named him George… because of his curiosity of course.

I felt so lucky to have had such an encounter with an amazing creature. I did, however, have a fear of swimming in the lake now. After googling snapping turtles, we discovered that in the water, they are quite docile. It’s on land you need to keep your distance.

The next day, before leaving the cottage, I dared to go swimming again, for two reasons: One to show my kids the lake was safe to swim in and Second, because I simply love that lake so much I couldn’t bare to not experience it one last time before heading home.

This swim…was the fastest ever!! I dove in…swam 25 metres as fast as I could, swam back, dove in again..swam out and back and got the hell out!

I know I need to let go of this fear. I have to let it go to get back to the space of fully enjoying the lake.

If you have any positive snapping turtle experiences please throw them my way. Only the positive ones please!!!