Almost at once I saw Alfie staring intently at something through the back gate -- a little turtle! The first thing I always do is mark them with a spot of water based paint to make them more visible when Bob is mowing. I noticed right away this one wasn't as shy as most and did not withdraw into his shell ...

He even took a bite of dog food while I was holding him ...

But it wasn't much to his liking. He looked at me as if to say, "Don't you have something better?"

So with him in one hand and a shovel in the other I dug up an earthworm ...

Oh boy -- he really went for that! Down the hatch it went in no time at all ...

I'm always happy to bring baby turtles back into the yard so they can easily find food and water. Some learn fast and come to the 'feeding station' regularly. Some I never see again. Others are found by people who know I keep turtles and bring them to me.

One that I named 'Dent Back' got out and was gone for two years. A neighbor found her walking down the street a couple of blocks over and brought her back. She had apparently been someone's pet in the time she was gone as she would only eat out of my hand and and would nip me on the toe if food wasn't offered by hand immediately ... lol. If I knew who had had her I would have offered her back as apparently she was well loved.

Believe it or not these Ornate box turtles all seem to have their own little quirks of personality. From the internet:

"Ornate box turtles are very active, alert, and full of personality that
other turtle species can sometimes lack. If set down on the ground,
ornate box turtles will almost immediately explore their surroundings
with a speed and boldness that captures the hearts of their keepers.
This is not your “sit-and-watch-the-world-go-by” turtle."

I hope you enjoyed this little turtle saga.