Snapping Turtles Sunbathing
by Norma Brandsberg
Title
Snapping Turtles Sunbathing
Artist
Norma Brandsberg
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
In the dappled sunlight filtering through the reeds of a barrier island North Carolina marsh near Nag's Head, two prehistoric-looking giants bask in the mud. These are no ordinary reptiles, but snapping turtles, ancient critters of the freshwater realm. Their shells, burnished with grooves testament to countless battles and sun filled summers.
One, a hulking behemoth with a head like a gnarled tree stump, sprawls with reptilian abandon, legs splayed and neck outstretched. Its wrinkled eyelids are partially closed, casting its fierce yellow eyes into half-shadow.
Beside it, a smaller snapping turtle, perhaps its offspring, practices the sunbathing art. Its shell, a lighter shade of blue gleams in the light of the sun. It balances precariously on the edge of the mud bank, head tilted skyward, its stubby tail swishing like a metronome keeping time with the rustling reeds. Every few moments, it dips a clawed toe into the cool water below.
The marsh symphony plays around them. But the snapping turtles, masters of patience, pay them no mind. They are creatures of stillness, waiting, watching, their primeval minds turned inward, lost in the timeless cycle of sun and marsh.
#turtles #marsh #lowcountry #critters #snappingturtles #wetlands #marshanimals #northcarolina #reptiles #ElegantFinePhotography
Uploaded
January 5th, 2024
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