Go back and read the titles and descriptions and you'll find out. ;) I can't give you the answer because it will give it away for everyone else. That turtle goes all over my place. I find him up in the potager and way up in the statue garden too. He gets around! Here's a picture of another Ornate Box Turtle that frequented my place several years ago: Same species, but with the yellow head instead of black and orange. I think he is very pretty! You can tell this one is a male - he has orange eyes. Females have yellow to brown colored eyes. I took a series of photos of this turtle, too. My big fluffy gray Tabby, "Puddy Tat", was very intrigued by him. as was my dog, Mike. I got quite a number of very cute pictures of them. I can post them if anyone is interested in seeing them. We have another land turtle too. It is called, "Three-toed Turtle", for obvious reasons. Only three toes on each foot. They do not have the pretty colors or patterns on their shells - kind of mulkety-dung-green-brown, like the color of an army helmet. Think of an army helmet with legs, a head and a skinny little short tail, and you pretty much have it! (hehehe) My close-encounters with the wildlife are part of what I enjoy most about working in my gardens. ~Annie

Xtal, I really don't know about that. They are in separate corners of the yard. They are both in full sun so I don't think that the lack of sun would be a factor in one not blooming. The one that does bloom is not consistent each year. Some years it will have lots of blooms and then other times, none at all. It like a lottery for us, lol. We're thrilled when it does bloom. Joey, thanks for the ID. We never knew the name so we're happy about that. Roselee, We do protect the base... somewhat. We have four pecan trees so we have tons of leaves each fall. We pile the leaves high around the root area. On really frigid nights we'll throw old blankets and a layer of plastic around the base. Since it is right next to my Gardenia, it gets covered anyway because I protect that, too. We remove the blankets when the temps rise above freezing. I suspect that some winter, we could lose it entirely. During the Spring, it always a guessing game to see if it comes back. The other tree is right next to our shed so it is somewhat protected but it gets the leaf mulch, too.

Yeah! My favorite post is active again. I am painting the permanent turtle facing west on my sidewalk instead of my driveway because there is a hole there to punch in the necessary stick. Those rose bushes must go. "if there is too much rain participants must dance counterclockwise" For me it is easier to twirl clockwice than counterclockwise (maybe not for lefties)

Your guess seems correct, but I am no expert and it is certainly possible that both have some intergradation in them, making identity even more complex. Perhaps you can use this link to help confirm an ID..... Here is a link that might be useful: Box Turtle subspecies