Return of an old friend

 

I was headed down the driveway today on my way to the first day of G-20 coverage at Phipps and right in the middle was my old friend Shelly. He's a box turtle that I've been seeing just about every year that I've lived in my place, 11 years.

How do I know it's the same box turtle? There's a certain chip in his shell that gives it away. Since we've had a great handyman working on the house, I wanted to make sure he was off the drive.

The cool thing about these turtles is that they have a range of only about 750 yards square that they live most of their life in. They can live to 100 years old and I love it when I see him. Some seasons we don't cross paths. Once I sat for an hour in the woods to see how long it took for him to open his shell after being frightned. Twenty minutes later he slowly opened his shell, then a few minutes later he was gone.

How do I know Shelly is a he? Those red eyes are the giveaway.