He's back
This creature's been lurking around our yard for several years, now. Fortunately this time when he decided to show himself, I had a camera. Today he looked like he's been sleeping in a mud puddle. When we came across him last summer he was a sleek and shiny black. Usually we're tipped off to his presence by the birds screaming at him, but he was all alone in the sun this afternoon.
Ever since we lived near the deep woods in Laytonsville, I've had a habit of walking around the yard prior to mowing to make sure there are no creatures in harm's way. We had big box turtles there, and they had a hard time outrunning riding lawn mowers, so I always walked around to remove them from danger's path. We've not come across any turtles here, but occasionally we see this beastie.
Click on this picture for an expanded view, which will give you an idea how big he is.