Snapping turtles and violets

Saturday morning March 29 I went to the Woods to see what changes the spring has brought. Peaceful beautiful morning. All the boxelder are flushing new leaves and there was new green everywhere. I stopped at the East Pond and watched ripples give rise to a nice massive snapping turtle snout. I stood and watched with binoculars as it stared in my direction for 3-4 minutes. I imagined it with vision blurred with dripping water trying to make out if the thing it could see standing along the shore represented a threat. The turtle was foraging underwater along the shallow eastern shore where there are usually dozens of Gambusia. I noticed there were no /few Gambusia and wondered if that was the turtle's lunch.
I walked down towards the beaver dam and stopped at the site where I have been fighting the invasive oriental bittersweet. After a year of visiting destruction on the plant in a 30 m x 30 m area, pulling and cutting and treating every stem and root I could find.. and feeling pretty good about my success; it was disheartening to see more than 50 new sprouts. All were less than knee high but clearly I am going to have to keep after the stuff for another year or two. I need to check on the invasive Amur Honeysuckle stumps and see if they are dead, or resprouting as well. And the one site with exotic English ivy seems well on its way to being controlled.. but I know there are a few remains still there.
Stepping across Island Crossing there were dozens of pretty Viola sororia purple violets..just there.
The trees along the Tree Tutorial Loop are looking good. Always fun to see the new smallest leaves of post oaks and pin oaks and all the trees just beginning to expand.