Sunday morning nature study

  Ruthie woke us up this morning with incessant barking. Maria investigated and found Ruthie yammering at a three-toed box turtle (terrapene carolina triunguis) on the patio.

It was buttoned up tight in the face of her verbal assault.

We moved it to near the fire pit woodpile where Austin and I photographed it until it crawled off and pretended we couldn't see it in the dry leaves at the bottom of the woodpile.