Playing Musical Burrows

I'm playing a game with my tortoise mom and dad. When they see me heading for the old burrow after eating, they put me in the new burrow. I humor them by staying in there a while, sometimes overnight, but then I skip out and go back to the old burrow. Once I'm in the old burrow, good luck on getting me out. Meanwhile, I've turned the tables and I'm giving my tortoise parents lots of exercise. Oh this just delights me!



But in the middle of this elaborate musical burrows game, I'm eating. Since Friday I've gained 87 grams! So I'm up to 3456 grams as of this morning. And I was very cooperative about soaking in my little blue pan too. I did my 30 minutes with no complaints, and then I ate some new globemallow leaves on my way back to the old burrow. But my tortoise mom snatched me from the entrance and put me in the new burrow in hopes that I'd come back out to eat this evening. Which I did. But, like I said, I went back to the old burrow. Then tortoise dad mowed the lawn and then put me back in the new burrow, which is where I am right now. Oh the madcap life I lead!

I'm feeling better all the time. Grass tastes good and so does the globemallow. I haven't been well enough to eat these things since long before the surgery for my bladder stone (September 2009). The weather is heating up and that revs up my metabolism too. I am getting better and better! I sure hope Dr. Johnson thinks so too. I have to see him for a check-up this Saturday. You know what that means: Road Trip! I like my travel box and I don't mind riding in the car one bit. I wonder... if they put it in the new burrow, would I work so hard to go back to the old burrow? I don't know. My tortoise GPS says the old burrow is home. And you know what they say about that: There's just no place like it.

Flower Power

Since today was cooler, Tortellini and I lined up at the entrance of the burrow, blinking our eyes in the bright morning light before we came out for breakfast. It's the first time in a few days because it's just been too hot to venture out!

We are delighted with the new burrow now that it's all finished. It stays a steady at 84-88 degrees inside whether it's 70 degrees overnight or 107 during the day. Tortoise Dad added a lot more dirt (nature's insulation), plus a little shrub by the entrance to boost humidity. Before he did that, when the weather heated up to 110, we were trying to dig under the globemallow and Mexican evening primrose to cool down a bit. But it wasn't enough and we were pretty miserable. So we really appreciate our new, cool digs. The new burrow even has a screen for extra shade and privacy. Thanks, Tortoise Dad!!



The other day I put my face right in the drip sprayer in the new desert willow tree just to see what it was like. But today I got down to business and actually drank the water. I've been soaking in my little blue pan every week, but I sure won't drink from it, so it's strictly a "cloaka intake" thing. But I do like the fresh water spraying in the tree well. Plus it turns on like magic every morning!



After my drink, I sat under the Littleleaf Cordia where the ground is always covered in a flurry of small, white flowers. Mmmm, they are my favorites! That's what I ate before my surgery last September because I wasn't well enough to bite off anything else like grass, leaves, hibiscus. Now I'm rediscovering how delicious those little white flowers are. Since the weather started cooling yesterday, and the wind is blowing, fresh white flowers made a thick carpet under the cordia. I spent more than 2 hours "vacuuming" them up. Meanwhile Tortellini showed up just long enough to eat my romaine in record time and then scooted back in the burrow. She's not a gourmand like me.



There's more good news: even before I ate and drank this morning, I still weighed in at 3190 grams so I'm at least holding steady. With a few more grazing sessions like today, I'll start feeling like my old self BBS (Before Bladder Stone)!