Nature Done Wright

   After I posted an item about an Eastern box turtle laying eggs near my backyard, several people e-mailed me and asked whether steps should be taken to protect the eggs from predators.

    Although one environmental center manager said the best thing to do was let nature take its course, the general consensus was that the Eastern box turtle may not be a threatened or endangered species, but nobody sees them anymore and they should be protected where possible.

    So, to keep raccoons and other predators from digging up the eggs, I built a small cage around the egg site, secured it with metal stakes and placed a heavy rock atop it.

   It takes three months for the eggs to hatch.

   We’ll see what happens.