Wildlife

This is what I found while raking up weeds in the yard this afternoon. I rubbed my eyes a couple of times but it was what I thought it was and it was alive. No more than 3" long with an orange swipe on the side of its head it was looking right at me. I shot into the house to get my camera because I knew no one would believe me, and of course, when I got back he had disappeared. There was a fair amount of scuffling from inside the dell but I didn't want to go poking around in there in case I trod on him and squashed it. I've spent the afternoon looking up turtles on the internet and I think I've identified it as a bog turtle. It's strange because the yard isn't boggy at all, although the dell acts as a flood barrier (see below) and it is well shaded with tons of pachysandra and other low growing plants (and a few weeds). Also according to NYS Department of Conservation they aren't found on Long Island, but then again coyotes aren't usually found in Central Park.