Empty Nest...

Sometime over the last week at least (sadly, I wasn't around to see it happen), the eggs laid by one of our resident snapping turtles hatched (unless, of course, one of our local raccoons dug out the nest... one of the pitfalls of the 'r' reproductive strategy):

I'm going to have to check out the vicinity of the nest for any hatchlings- they look very cute when they are pocket-sized. I'm slightly bummed that I wasn't able to witness baby turtles burrowing out of their nest, but I can't always be as lucky as I was when I spied the killdeer chicks minutes after hatching.