First, a jewelweed bloom because I love them and when I was little, I used to imagine that fairies came and had parties, and used these as drinking goblets.

This morning, I happened to notice a box turtle over by the pond. Not an Eastern; an Ornate. I went over for a closer look, and thought it looked an awful lot like Boxy Roxy from last year. Also, she was remarkably calm in my presence, which also made me think it might be Roxy. I found a photo from last year, and compared this shot to it. All of the markings matched up, and since boxies are territorial, and don’t like to move around much, I do believe it is her. She has some damage to the front of her carapace, but she’s still as chill as ever.

I normally don’t pick up turtles because they don’t like it, but she was at the edge of the pond on a rock, straining her neck to reach water, so I felt badly and picked her up; moving her to a safe spot by the bird pool where she could get a drink. Unlike most box turtles, when picked up, Roxy doesn’t close up; she extends her head and legs as if to say, “Wheeeee!” I shot a little video of her this morning, too.

I went out at lunch today, and I got an $8 infants’ wading pool. Maybe 3′ across and about 8″ deep. I’m not yet exactly sure how this is going to end up as a turtle pool, but after watching poor Roxy try to get a drink and be unable to reach, I have to make her something!

In other non-turtle-y news, C and The O gave me some ghost peppers because the goddamned trash pandas won’t stop digging up my Christmas fern (and destroyed two of my baby tomentosa pipevine before they’d been in the ground for 24h!!!). I made them (C and The O, not the trash pandas) this: