Turtle Tales Guest Post Designer Pam King

     Well let me be the first to join your blog. I have 8 baby yellow belly slider turtles. A few months ago my husband and I saw a large female turtle laying her eggs in our yard. Since we have often seen broken turtle eggs we know that the raccoons love to eat them. We covered the area with a large piece of plywood to keep them safe.    

     About 3 months later I decided to check on the nest. I very carefully dug into the dirt and there was a little face looking up at me, still in his egg! We put him in a small container with water and out he came with yolk sack still   attached. I didn't know if he would live, but in seconds another one came out. 

     I started digging again and found whole eggs. Some were shriveled up, some felt empty, but by the time I finished I had found 6 more viable eggs. To better keep an eye on them I put them in a bucket with enough dirt to keep them covered and moved them to our screened in porch. 

     For the next week, every morning I was greeted with another little turtle sitting on top of the dirt. It was great fun to wake up and wonder if another little turtle had joined the world! They all made it and I am a proud mother of eight ravenous baby turtles. 

     Another three months have passed and I can’t believe how they have grown. Feeding time is the proverbial frenzy. They have learned to come to one end of the thirty gallon tank when I approach at our regular feeding time. They climb all over each other and have a contest to see who can eat the most and the fastest. In the beginning I had to place them in shallow water and put the food right in front of them to get them to eat. Now they can swim all over the tank to catch floating tidbits that swirl in the current created by the filter. Their menu consists of shrimp, mealy worms and kale. 

     I don’t know how long I will be able to keep them. I will have to release them back to nature because they will grow to large to keep. But for now, they are great fun to watch

 

                                                              Pam King

                                             www.pdkingdesign.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pearl's New Home

     When this house was built back in the twenties, it had open porches surrounding the entire front, including the upstairs. Over the years, one owner must have decided to close them in, which made the perfect setting for my plans as my hobbies changed.

      What is now Pearl’s room was once my artistic rubber stamp room. For years, stamping was my passion and I owned a shop in the historic area of St. Augustine, called Stamp Augustine. As time changed, I decided to write romantic fiction novellas, which are available on Amazon and Kindle. This was my writing area.

     Now the room houses around three thousand boxed stamps and Pearl. My writing takes place now in a different upstairs.

     What you see through the open window to my bedroom is a white cage to house Pearl. Next to it, although not so visible, is a red play gym with a second swing, a ladder to climb, and several small play toys.

     For the first week, this satisfied Pearl and she would sit on the ladder and chirp at me. I would sit on the edge of the bed and talk to her, hoping she might learn a word or two. She has learned the "Up" command when I hold my finger against her chest. She has become quite good at doing that and seems to like it even more than just chirping at me.

     One evening there was a television movie I wanted to watch, so I left Pearl

on her swing and moved to the sitting area off my bedroom. All of a sudden I was aware of wings slightly flapping. There was Pearl, walking across the bedroom floor headed in my direction. I put her on my shoulder and "movie" night has become one of Pearl's favorite activities. As long as she can sit on my shoulder and nibble gently at my ear she's content.

     As I write this column, it has dawned on me that not everyone is as passionate about birds as I am. The last thing I want my blog to do is bore you. With that in mind, I have decided to make this blog into one where everyone can share his/her stories about their favorite pet.  Along with cats and dogs, do any of you have some type of pet that could be classified as

"weird"? An iguana for example? That would be fun for anyone to read.

     In fact, I once owned a twelve-inch iguana that eventually grew to ten or more feet. I had built a large cage on my balcony, but it was starting to outgrow that.  I managed to sell him to a man for three hundred dollars. I know I lost money because that iguana had eaten through tons of fresh vegetables and so many heads of cabbage I lost count.

      Then there was the time I purchased an untrained monkey who almost wrecked - ah, but that is another story.

     Are you seeing the real reason for opening up this column to new ideas? Because people need people in their lives. Too much texting is going on. Real honest communication has almost been obliterated from conversation. Even e-mail, as easy as it is to send, doesn't promise too much enlightenment. My own children send me a quickie - Hi, Mom, Love you! - then zip-zap they're gone.

     To me, a column that takes the time to write about your interests, would at least keep a conversation going. How about your friends? Invite them to join us. We are becoming a world unto ourselves. With all the hate and horror in the world today, wouldn't it be nice to hear happy thoughts about a special pet or activity?

      Let me know what you think.  You can send an e-mail or send a story and your pet's photo. See the tab at the top of this blog header for contact info.

 

                                                                Audrey

 

And may God still be there, holding our magnificent country in the palm of His hands.