Lately it's been 110 degrees during the day, with the sun going down when it's still really hot. So to compensate, I've been coming out of the burrow when the sun is completely down and then eating after dark. It's not exactly "by the light of the silvery moon", but pretty close. I have to do this because I'm still a slow eater due to my weak biting muscles. The top of my head is looking better but I still don't have well developed jaw muscles like I used to, so I can't dive out of the burrow for a quick bite and then dive back in again like Tortellini does. I think she might have invented the concept of fast food. She definitely thinks the patio door is a drive-up window.
So my strategy is to head straight for the little leaf cordia to eat all the tasty white flowers that have dropped during the day. I like them when they're fresh and I also like them when they've dried up a bit. So I eat as many as I can, moving along like a four-legged vacuum cleaner. When I look up, I usually have white petals stuck on my face, but hey, there are no napkins out here!
Then my tortoise mom shuttles salad out to me for the main course. The cordia and desert willow have grown so much lately that she has to squeeze in between them, and usually ends up with crawly little bugs on her, but they don't bite. The ants on the ground do though, but I'm very well protected with my scales.
I've been extra busy eating this week, coming out every evening just before dark. My body knows it's September, time to really store up calories for the winter. Also I'm getting my pre-hibernation check-up with Dr. Johnson in just one more week. I need to "top off the tank" so I can really impress him with how much I've improved this summer. So I'm working overtime on my pre-hibernation tortoise business. When I get weighed and soaked this weekend, we'll see if I've earned my time and a half.
