Last weekend, Anita and I watched as one of our indoor cats, Jake, was glued to the glass door as a common box turtle sauntered, seemingly purposely down our 50′ long sidewalk and toward the door. It (he?/she?) finally stopped just a few feet short of the door, where it just sat and stared, with a piercing, bloodshot-looking stare. It looked rather unhappy, as though its nap was perhaps interrupted by the recent downpour of rain, which often sends turtles looking for a warm, dry location. I only wish I was more fluent in Terrapene, as I would have loved to know more about its journey, which seemed more than a daily constitutional.
Jake and the Box
box turtle, cats, juniper level botanic garden, nature, nature is art, nursery cats, Tony Avent, turtle
A+
This fella looks like an Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). They are very garden friendly, eating insects, slugs, berries and dispersing seed, not to mention cute). Podophyllum peltatum in the wild depend on the turtle to spread their seed. Rarely do they roam further than 250 yards from the nest they were hatched in.
Great photos!
Watson our 3 year old schnauzer is obsessed with box turtles. He has a specific scream to let the world know he has found one. If its a wee one it is in for problems. Cannot tell you how many of the critters have been exiled from our back yard …..my husband calls me the patron saint of turtles….