Summertime, and the living is easy

Despite the scorching heat, and being left under the watchful eyes of my favorite sitters, I managed to gain 20 grams while my tortoise mom and dad went on vacation. They were careful to soak and weigh me, and even hand fed me the morning they left just to make sure I had a good start to the week. Then last night when they came home, they got me out of my favorite burrow (the old one, of course) to check on me. My tortoise mom had been a tad worried so she got me squared away while the car was still being unloaded. Anyway, it was all good news: I get Gold Stars for gaining a little weight while they were gone, and for chowing down like I was at an all-you-can-eat buffet last night, even though it was past my bedtime and still 106 degrees outside. I ate until it was pitch dark, then headed back to the burrow for some sweet dreams. Life is good!

Thanks to the best tortoise sitters in the world for making sure there was a steady supply of high protein treats left in the grass and under the littleleaf cordia every day. Of course, Tortellini greatly enjoyed this too and was waiting at the patio door for someone to deliver the goods at 7:30 last night. That Tortellini makes sure things happen! She even stands on her front tippy toes to INSIST that the treats keep coming. Last night she got the few desert willow and hibiscus flowers that weren't already fried by the heat. That's fine with me. I'm still on my low-carb, high protein diet to rebuild muscle. I've got a long ways to go to rebuild my hind legs and jaw muscles. But it's summer, and that's the best time for me to recover well enough so I can hibernate this winter. Can you see how well my neck has healed from the feeding tube? No turtlenecks or plastic surgery for me. I'm a good healer!

My tortoise mom tells me there's a really special tortoise in Santa Barbara who never hibernates. He sleeps on a heating pad in winter and eats Trader Joe's salad every day. Oh, and he weighs SIXTEEN pounds. Whoa, that's almost twice my size!!! Here's the really cool thing about Harry: he's been passed down through family and friends for nearly 100 years!!

Maybe I'll dream about Harry in Santa Barbara. He's a super survivor too.