The Neighbours

Ancient Turtle, Tylee Marsh

Ancient Sentinel

Each spring, as the ice surrenders to the sun and the marsh breathes again, the logs begin to fill with young turtles soaking up the warmth. But once in a rare while, the quiet stillness reveals a different presence — older, heavier, a relic of another time.

This venerable snapping turtle, with limbs as thick as a human arm and a gaze full of memory, emerges like a guardian of the wetland. Its weathered shell and textured skin tell of decades spent moving with the rhythms of this place.

There’s something humbling about its slow, deliberate motion — a living fossil that reminds us how ancient and alive these waters truly are.