This snapping turtle was in my back yard yesterday.
Other turtles in other years have tried to lay eggs in my yard, but had been unable to dig more than an inch or two into the solid clay. This lady was perhaps a little smarter. She made four attempts right up next to the foundation. The dirt (I refuse to call it soil) is likely to be a little looser there, having been backfilled and not having been packed by heavy equipment running over it. Still, she dug four holes. She didn't bother to refill the first three shallow holes so I assume there are no eggs there. She did fill the fourth (right next to the air conditioner units), so maybe she got deep enough to actually lay eggs there.
This snapper is pretty small, about the size of a standard dinner plate. Previous visitors have been almost turkey platter sized, and covered with moss. They come up from the little stream/ditch at the end of my yard, that feeds into the lake just down the road.
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