Box Turtle

 
Lee came in and told me he found another box turtle.  While they are not on the Endangered Species list, they are considered threatened.  Turtles, by their very nature, have a hard time getting out of the way of cars.  Heck, deer have a hard time getting out of the way of cars in this part of Virginia.  So I always get a kick seeing them on our farm.  I try to move them to places where I know we don't cut hay or mow and hope they take up residence there.

I even make Lee stop so I can get out and assist turtles crossing back country roads.

 

This morning was foggy and while I drank my coffee and read the paper I could hear turkeys gobbling at each other.  Yesterday morning I heard geese flying overhead.  Outside the window bluebirds are squabbling over who gets which house this year.

 

And this is why I live here.  Yes, even with the hot, humid summer.  This makes it all worth it.

A Wee Baby

I recently wrote about a box turtle that we discovered.   He somehow found his way into our garage. I put him outside where I hoped he would be safe from future mowing.

   

Today while working in the yard Lee saw a baby box turtle.  It was the cutest wee thing.  It was very hard to release THIS little guy into the wild.  He looked too small and vulnerable to survive. 

   

Box turtles lay about 6 eggs each time and I am hoping the siblings went to a safer place than our front lawn.  They are not endangered, but they are considered threatened.  We seem to have a good breeding spot for them, so maybe we should put the word out. No box turtle collecting here.

A Visitor

Lee told me we had a visitor in the garage.  I figured that meant a bird or lizard or some such.

   

It was a little box turtle.  I love them.  They are sweet and cute in a boxy truck-like fashion.  I have no idea how he found his way in the garage.

   

We see them now and then when we work around the property.  My biggest fear is that they will get in the field when the hay is being cut or when we are clearing a new patch of land.  A turtle shell is no match for a bush hog.

   
   
 
So I set him free on the side of our hill that we don't cut.  Run little box turtle....well, saunter little box turtle.  You are free!