R. K. Cook's video: How To Catch A River Cooter Turtle In 4 Easy Steps

HANK WILDING'S JOURNAL: Ubiquitous in Georgia streams, the Eastern River Cooter is notoriously shy, tumbling off logs and rocks at the faintest crack of a twig. This female, however, was far easier to catch than I ever would have dreamed possible. Maybe I was so lucky because I was wearing my threadbare Mayberry Sheriff's Department T-shirt. Barney Fife has no fear. One recent September morn, I spied this big mama sunning on a rock in the shallows of Little Cotton Indian Creek in what-passes-these-days-for-rural Henry County, Georgia. Luckily I had my trusty camera in tow and decided to see what I couldn't catch her, as my Daddy used to say. Well, I just plumb did, and she submitted to a few closeups with nary a protest — that's quite a change from the other cooters I've caught, always on dry land, that tried to tear me to pieces with their incredibly strong claws. Of course, the humane and the ONLY thing to do was to let Mama Cooter go after subjecting her to this indignity. She eventually slid back into the creek, none the worse for wear, with quite a tale to tell to her turtle brethren. What's that you say, Ahnuvia, about my socks? No, I'm not making a funky fashion statement. Ole Hank keeps his pant legs tucked into his socks in the summertime because my supple skin is apparently irresistible to chiggers — red bugs, that is, if you're a true Southerner — and ticks. I wish I could say it works all the time, but even a few hefty blasts of OFF! aren't enough to ward off those relentless varmints. (Yeah, yeah, smart aleck, I know there ain't any red bugs or ticks in the crick!) Well, that's the story from Katydid Acres. Now get your nose out of that dadburn smartphone and explore your neck of the woods!