While I don’t think our American Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) were out earlier in the spring than usual, they do seem to have started calling earlier than usual. I usually peg them for midsummer rather than midspring.


Yesterday, on my walk, I came across this female eastern box turtle (Terrapens carolina) on her own walk across the Kat Sematary.


It’s always something of an event to encounter one (and even more of an event to encounter a pair, scampering after each other). We seem to have a low density population, and I might run across two or three every year.

I’ve been photographing the ones I do run across for tracking purposes (much better than carving my initials into their shells - isn’t digital photography wonderful?). This female, judging by the lack of a concavity in the plastron, makes the sixth on the roster that I compiled last October:


Her carapace is slightly similar to one I found last fall, but not similar enough - there are definite differences. I should note that I *have* found one again, Sylvia.

A few thumbnails, mostly for my own documentation.