An Unexpected Planting Being Made in our Vegetable Garden

As Greg got ready to clear out another section of the vegetable garden perimeter this morning, he had some questions about how I wanted certain areas handled.  (I tend to save certain native plants that crop up, with the idea of transplanting them into flower beds...or sometimes just letting them be.)  We were discussing the possibilities when he pointed to something about 10 feet away....

It was a female box turtle with her hind end in a shallow depression - had she laid eggs?  was she going to lay eggs?  I snapped a couple photos, then we retreated.

A bit later we came back to see if she was done.  Her spot was empty.  She was nowhere to be seen.  I told Greg to go ahead with the clearing, but he was more cautious than me and poked about in the weeds.

See anything in this photo?  Look closely.

Thank goodness Greg looked carefully.  Mama had moved a short distance away and dug herself in a bit again.  It is rather amazing how effective a box turtle's camouflage patterns are!

When, an hour later, Greg found either the same turtle or another one in a different area of the garden, we decided that the turtle(s) had possession of the vegetable garden today.  We had other tasks we could tackle, but obviously this mama had only one thing on her mind! Wouldn't it be great if, later this summer, we get to see baby turtles shortly after hatching?