Just Visited the lily pond of death

Earlier this year, we had an electric fence knocked down by a falling tree, which let the cows go trash the lily pond. I decided to take a quick run out to the back 40 to see how it is recovering. I took a camera along because I get some decent photos there most years. On the way there, I stopped to open one of those tubular steel gates. This particular gate was starting to rust through in spots. It turns out that a 16 foot long steel tube makes a wonderful place for wasps to live. Said wasps, pissed off by me rattling the chains as I unlocked the gate, came boiling out and stung me on both hands. I’m not allergic, so I’m not swelling up like a prom date who lied about being on the pill, but the venom from these particular wasps is fantastically painful for a few hours. When I finally got to the pond, my hands weren’t hurting quite as viciously, so I got out my camera. Parts of the lilies are coming back, but at least 2/3 of the pond is still bare. I got some pics of the plants, some frogs, lots of dragon flies. There are usually dozens of turtles, but they can be skittish and I was only seeing a head pop up here and there. Then I saw a turtle’s back break the surface. It was about 1.5 feet long. It looked like a snapping turtle. I watched it for quite a while and it seemed be behaving oddly – like it was poisoned or snake bit. After about 10 minutes I discovered the cause of its strange behavior. I had been unknowingly watching two turtles make little turtles. It is more violent than I would have expected, but then again, they are alligator snapping turtles. I took a few more pics while circling the other side of the pond and then turned to head back to the ATV. I was paying more attention to the stuff in the distance instead of what was right in front of me – which is why I came within inches of planting my foot right in the middle of a 7 foot snake. I think it’s a Northern Water snake, so non-venomous, but they are known for biting savagely. I stepped back to a respectful distance and snapped a few shots of it. So much for my peaceful excursion to the lily pond.