May 24, 2026
Nature Done Wright
Incorporating the Celery Farm and Screech Owl Companion blogs
Critters, 34; Snapping Turtle Eggs, ?
The Snapping Turtles have been laying their eggs in our yard for more than a week, and the critters of the night have been busy digging them up.
Last night somebody dug up and ate 34 turtle eggs, and did not care about the mess they made (below).
2 comments
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I feel your pain. I had a large pet turtle once in my classroom that someone gave me. It had been bought in the 1970’s–tiny little one you used to be able to buy and it lived for 20 years…when I got it. The school kids and parents loved him and he was a great teaching tool for speech and language. He was about 32 when he died. I have used many Celery Farm pics of snapping turtles that I have taken to continue to teach speech and language…and I will again this summer in summer school. I use the song….You Can’t Make a Turtle Come Out
words and music by Malvina Reynolds.
You can’t make a turtle come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out,
You can call him or coax him or shake him or shout,
But you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
If he wants to stay in his shell,
If he wants to stay in his shell,
You can knock on the door but you can’t ring the bell,
And you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
Be kind to your four-footed friends,
Be kind to your four-footed friends,
A poke makes a turtle retreat at both ends,
And you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
So you’ll have to patiently wait,
So you’ll have to patiently wait,
And when he gets ready, he’ll open the gate,
But you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
And when you forget that he’s there,
And when you forget that he’s there,
He’ll be walking around with his head in the air,
But you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out. -
We had one dig a couple of holes in our yard last week, not sure if it laid any eggs though. At least the critters have not played foul yet, so there is hope!





2 comments
sally
I feel your pain. I had a large pet turtle once in my classroom that someone gave me. It had been bought in the 1970’s–tiny little one you used to be able to buy and it lived for 20 years…when I got it. The school kids and parents loved him and he was a great teaching tool for speech and language. He was about 32 when he died. I have used many Celery Farm pics of snapping turtles that I have taken to continue to teach speech and language…and I will again this summer in summer school. I use the song….You Can’t Make a Turtle Come Out
words and music by Malvina Reynolds.
You can’t make a turtle come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out,
You can call him or coax him or shake him or shout,
But you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
If he wants to stay in his shell,
If he wants to stay in his shell,
You can knock on the door but you can’t ring the bell,
And you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
Be kind to your four-footed friends,
Be kind to your four-footed friends,
A poke makes a turtle retreat at both ends,
And you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
So you’ll have to patiently wait,
So you’ll have to patiently wait,
And when he gets ready, he’ll open the gate,
But you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
And when you forget that he’s there,
And when you forget that he’s there,
He’ll be walking around with his head in the air,
But you can’t make a turtle come out, come out,
You can’t make a turtle come out.
Ravi Potluri
We had one dig a couple of holes in our yard last week, not sure if it laid any eggs though. At least the critters have not played foul yet, so there is hope!