Missouri's state reptile

You are looking at the beautiful three-toed box turtle. This one is a young male about 14 years old. It was a little baby in 2007 when the Missouri State Legislator designated the three-toed box turtle as the state reptile.

I took this photo in late August while brush hogging an old field. I saw him, stopped the tractor, and carried him to the edge of the field. I put him under the yellow flowers of a native plant called partridge pea, waited a few minutes for him to come out of his shell and took his picture.

An image of the three-toed box turtle, along with 17 other state symbols, will grace a large, 12-foot-by-30-foot mural being painted by thousands of people in honor of the 200th anniversary of founding of the state of Missouri. I invite each of my readers to drop by Painted Wren Art Gallery, 620 Whitelaw Ave. in Cape Girardeau, to participate in painting a part of this historic mural. Check out the Facebook page -- Missouri Bicentennial Paint For a Cause -- for more information.