They were here long before — these frightful beasts — and I trust they remain long after I’m gone.

I am a curious person and don’t hesitate to approach closely — while using common sense — for I know from experience how rapidly one can attack. Those attacks draw blood.

No. If you think I’m describing a snake — any size, any kind — you’d be wrong. They are not only fearsome but I’m pretty generally afraid of them. Maybe it’s just a “girly” thing though, God knows, I’ve tried. My subject isn’t that threatening if only because it plods slowly along. (Or so I’ve been reassured.)

The monster on my property? Why, it’s the snapping turtle.

My eyes are continually searching water, sky and ground, quickly alert to any change or movement not there the moment before. What could it be? With camera and binoculars, it’s likely I’m off to investigate.

Harley, my once-upon-a-time retriever, shared my curiosity if not my caution. A true golden, he only wanted to extend a friendly greeting. Turtle apparently wasn’t into friendship. The bite left Harley with a bloodied nose . . . and a lesson well-learned.

To any who may not have a resident snapper or two, this reptile is a cinch to recognize because, unlike any other turtle in the world who are pleasantly unassuming creatures (with only the exception of the Alligator Snapping Turtle in parts of the South), this critter looks as mean as it tends to be. It has a long tail while other turtles seem content to keep theirs in — or close to ‚ the shell. And that tail is long and saw-toothed. I always think of a dinosaur.

(Having written that, I do have a lovely picture where “Myrtle” sure looks to be smiling.)

The Peterson Guide pulls no punches describing these as “large freshwater turtles with short tempers and long tails,” adding it does have “economic value.” The book continues “ugly both in appearance and disposition.” One wonders if any other living creature is so notoriously mean. Don’t they even like each other? I guess though, turtles being turtles, that isn’t necessarily a requirement either. And I’m reminded as I reread that I’d been told ages ago that they’re all right in the water. It is true. They’re usually “inoffensive” and, if stepped on, will simply pull its head in and let you tread on peacefully

Slow, they are capable of great lunges and lightning fast attacks. Peterson describes as a favorite maneuver, standing “with hind quarters elevated and jaws agape” before lunging forward with a long neck capable of stretching further than an unwary animal expects. Guess I should be a more wary animal as well.

The average adult weighs 10 – 35 pounds but can grow up to 75 with “fattened captive ones” reaching 86 pounds. With a good diet they can live up to 50 years. They’ll eat just about anything: “small aquatic invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, carrion and a surprisingly large amount of vegetation.”

Small and medium-sized snappers may be carried by their tails — plastron (ventral which seems to mean abdominal) side nearest your leg. Why would you? you might ask. Because they make a delicious soup or stew.

I didn’t expect to find “turtle” in the indexes of any of my cookbooks. “Cook, My Darling Daughter” has Turtle Broth with Avocado,” an intriguing combination. Only she starts with 1 quart clear turtle soup and isn’t that cheating? All that’s added is sherry, the avocados and a couple slices of lemon. The old “Joy of Cooking” has “Mock Turtle Soup Sauce” which requires a can of condensed M. T. soup and, I guess to make it a sauce, simply adds less water than directed. The index offers “canned green turtle soup” with “this is usually ready to serve.” Sticking with that green turtle (1 pound please) they do offer a recipe but, by the time the ingredients’ list approaches twenty items, I’ve been turned off. There is also a “simpler” Terrapin Stew (under Fish) — just creamed sherry or Madeira added to 2 cups terrapin meat and a cup of terrapin stock. I’ll stop at the sherry or Madeira, thank you very much.

I was surprised to find it not listed in my treasured books of yore, “yore” being a century or so ago. Neither Fredonia nor Warren mention turtles.

The internet — naturally — is full of suggestions and recipes. Most of those for turtle soup call for green turtles, which are really huge and caught commercially. There is a site for “How to Catch, Clean and Cook a Snapping Turtle.” My sound isn’t working and I turned it off when the young moderator held up a quite deceased sparrow and then a large nasty looking hook.

I did learn that a “large snapping turtle is said to contain seven distinct types of meat, each reminiscent of pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, veal, fish or goat. (Those less enamored of the protein might describe its flavor as muddy, dirty, mushy and chewy, however.)”

I wasn’t hungry anyway.

Susan Crossett has lived outside Cassadaga for more than 20 years. A lifetime of writing led to these columns as well as two novels. “Her Reason for Being” was published in 2008 with “Love in Three Acts” following in 2014. Information on all the Musings, her books and the author may be found at Susancrossett.com.