From what I can see, looks like you got a terrapin, or what we call locally a "box turtle"...I think you may be too far inland to get many true turtles there...I've caught a couple of these guys in my youth, & it's so cool that kiddo got to see a little bit of nature in action...
btw, terrapins have a worse track record of successful street crossing than even 'possums & armadillos

Lil, the pictures are fantastic. Nature is amazing and watching nature is one of the most rewarding things to do in the world, I think. I love it when I go to the park and see deer, raccoons, rabbits or birds in a natural setting. Still remember the time my wife and I saw a doe and her fawn. We stopped maybe 100 ft. from her and just watched. The doe didn't panic and we were able to watch her baby snack on the grass for 10 minutes or so before she ambled off. Fantastic.

Thanks for sharing those pictures! :thumbs:

Too bad all the owls, foxes, turtles, and various wildlife are about to be run off by SUPER damn Walmart.

That's so damn cool Lil. I'm jealous.

awesome experience for your little guy...and you, too, lil....way to grab that teachable moment ;)

the new place we live is a bit out of the way so we get lots of chances to watch wildlife being...uhm...wild. we saved a snapping turtle who must have gotten scooped up in the front-loader when they graded our yard. he ended up on our driveway, totally covered in caked-on mud, and supremely pissed. we watched a box turtle forage for food back by the stream, and we are the proud owners of an entire, intact garter snake skin. and i swear there are bugs out here that exist nowhere else…at least, we’ve never seen ‘em before.:p at about mid-spring, we spent and afternoon watching a couple of chickadees teaching their babies how to fly. one made it to a tree and the other made it to our roof. i felt this totally unearned sense of pride when those little birds finally got up off the ground. there’s more but i’ll quit now i think you all get the point of just how much we love to check out our local wildlife. my daughter has been awed by each one of our nifty experiences and that makes me feel pretty damn proud, too.

cause there were birds and squirrels and stuff at our old place, we didn't even really realize what we were missing living in town. but now we've got some pretty amazing creatures to watch and watch over. we'e loving it.

speaking of no electronics....we were without power for a few days earlier this week and so the kids and i did dishes in the back yard. we lugged up water from the groundwater sump and filled the big cooler, scubbin' and goofin' off. and then we rinsed 'em off with bottled water. my kids had more fun doing that then when we go to the park...and definitely more fun than when they're watchin' tv. my girl asked if we could do the dishes that way all the time. :D

it told her no. :p:D