The tortoise and the hare-like grandma
Gah! With all the busy-ness of the past week or two, I completely forgot to get a gift in the mail to Bubby! How could I do that, especially for such an important event?
What? Huh?
No, I didn't miss Bubby's second birthday. We'll head to the desert to celebrate that in a few weeks. What I forgot to mark in a timely fashion is World Turtle Day!
World Turtle Day, sponsored by American Tortoise Rescue, was started to increase respect and knowledge for the world's oldest creatures. According to ATR, the critters been around for about 200 million years, yet they are rapidly disappearing as a result of the exotic food industry, habitat destruction and the cruel pet trade. The ATR website has some pretty dern informative turtle tidbits, such as, "If a tortoise is crossing a busy street, pick it up and send it in the same direction it was going. If you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again."
This year the 10th World Turtle Day was celebrated on Sunday ... May 23 ... while I was in South Dakota ... where the buffalo roam and where I saw lots of deer and antelope playing but nary a turtle that I had to help make its way across a busy street.
When I realized my blunder of forgetting to mark the day for Bubby -- it fits perfectly with my mission to regularly celebrate wacky nationally recognized dates with my grandson -- I hopped online in hare-like fashion and ordered the most awesome tortoise to be delivered to him lickity split. That's it in the picture above. Yeah, it'll arrive a few days late -- not so hare-like at all, I guess -- but I'm pretty sure Bubby will enjoy it just the same.
And because it's made of plastic, Bubby won't have to worry at all that his turtle toy will attempt any daredevil street-crossings! Frankly, he'll likely need to worry more about forgetting the little guy out in the hot desert sun where it'll melt into a puddle of ticky-tacky tortoise goo, which would be so not in line with the ATR's mission "to save turtles and tortoises for the next generation."
Happy belated World Turtle Day to one and all!
Today's question:
Did you or anyone you know have a turtle when you were a kid?
My answer: I didn't, but my cousins did -- and it was less than four-inches long, which, according to the ATR website, is a seriously illegal critter to have in one's possession. Tsk, tsk on Aunt Ruby for allowing such things! But then again, that was about 40 years ago and maybe turtle possession is one of those things that once skirted regulation ... kind of like hitchiking and entering stores without shirts or shoes.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Reader Comments (10)
I am still in shock over the exotic food thing...really?
Next time I see a turtle crossing the road, I will follow your advice (I would have turned him around for sure before (-:).
No tortoise is gonna get caught on a try in my neck of the woods!
Ha! I learned about the turtles crossing the road from an assessment story. "Don't take a turtle by the hand or it might bite..." heh
I vaguely remember snapping turtles at the house. While we didn't actually even live on a farm or in the woods, with three boys in the house, we often had some strange critters living or at least visiting there. I think little boys may actually be made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.
MBA: Yeah, I could not even imagine eating turtle. Although, does turtle soup really contain turtles? Or is it kind of like Rocky Mountain Oysters and not really what it's named?
Pam: I learned that from the Peak Reader, too. :o) It's good to know the ATR and CLC info jibe!
I just love the idea of celebrating wacky holidays. I'm going to start this with Shylee!!
I remember my son finding a turtle in the yard and making a home for it. He read up on turtles and used his allowance to buy everything needed to take care of it. The turtle died after a few weeks and my son was sad but not devastated. He learned it's better to let 'wild' things stay wild and I learned my son had a nurturing, caring side!
Never had experience with turtles until my daughter was in preschool and we took care of Pokey over the summer. He got lost for a few days, but we eventually found him safe and sound hiding by the furnace of all places.
I never owned a turtle. In Hawaii the green turtle or Honu, is respected and loved. If you see one on the beach you don't mess with it. Last time I was in Hawaii, I was snorkeling and a green turtle swam right in front of me...scared the crap out of me! They are big turtles.
We are sort of catch-and-release pet owners when it comes to wild things. I recall having a turtle that we kept in a cardboard box for a day or two. We raised some baby birds that had fallen out of their nest and had been abandoned by the mother. My grandson loves to catch lizards and frogs, but he's ready to turn them loose within an hour or so. Yesterday he filled a container up with snails but turned them loose when he discovered that yes, snails pee and poo like any other animal!
I don't remember any turtles but YOU had a frog in your bedroom that Becky insisted get out of the house because "...those stupid things pee on you and make warts!"
Oh my gosh...the turtle is my son's favorite animal. How did I not know this? I never had a turtle for more than a day. My parents would always make me let it go :0(
Happy world Turtle Day to you, too! Very interesting facts you've supplied us with here. I had no idea that you should keep them going in the same direction. Wouldn't want to inadvertently get one of them run over!
Didn't know anyone who had turtles when I was a kid but my brother-in-law had one named Big Mama for years. Unfortunately, when the ice storm hit a couple of years ago, they lost their electricity for over a week and she froze to death. RIP, Big Mama.