Hidden in Plain Sight

Eastern Box Turtle

I was in the yard the other evening, hitting golf balls into the net with my 3 wood, when I missed the net and I went into the wooded area near my house to retrieve the ball.

I was a bit startled when I went to pick-up the ball and I noticed something that I was not expecting. There among the leaves and the gathering autumn was a turtle. I believe that it is an Eastern Box turtle. 

I don't see many turtles wandering through our yard. I see frogs and toads, occasionally snakes and worms; but this is the first turtle.

When I was younger, I would have picked the turtle up and carried him to the house to chow off to Chris, but now, with the salmonella scare and trying to be respectful of other creatures, I called Chris down to see the turtle as it was trying to blend into the background.

It just pays to keep my eyes open and notice the wildlife lurking about because somethines, they are hidden in plain sight.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD