This turtle has been cutting through our yard for 5 years. Every year about the same time he moves up the hill. Last year he lived in our garden. A couple of days ago I was able to catch him heading up the hill and snapped a picture of him before he got into the grass. He was named last year (Hungry Howie) by my kids because he took a bite out of every tomato in his reach. :lol:

Cool! That's a different pet. :D

Hes's great. Matt and I knew we were made for each other when, early on, we were driving and saw a turtle trying to cross a busy highway. He stopped and got the guy across safely, something I do too. Of course, if they are snappers, I let them chomp on a good sized stick, then pick up stick and turtle both.

Moonpi,

My dh and I do the same thing. Poor things are so slow.

Pretty neat to see the him year after year. Turtles are fun - a friend of mine has a pet turtle. I am always amused that he checks us out when we come over. And he really likes his treats - fruit.

Loretta,

What a good question. I know most turtles live a long time, but I didn't have a clue about this turtle. It turns out that this is a Eastern Box Turtle and they can live up to 100 years with the average being 50 to 60 years. I found out some neat stuff about these little creatures. One reason he/she stays in our yard every year is because their home turf is only about 750 feet from where they hibernate though winter. We have a nice wet weather creek that runs through our property so that is where his home is I guess. Hopefully we will be seeing Howie for many more years. :D

I love turtles :thumbup:

He's cute! Thanks for showing us his picture.

When I was a little girl I had a turtle. I "rescued" it from a highway in West Virginia and took him home to Utah. My dad drilled a little hole in the edge of his shell, and we put a thin cord through it. He lived in our garden in the summer and the basement in the winter for years. How cool!

How cute