COLD DARK ROOM

[CarolM]

At first I was disappointed as I liked having four girls. I used to walk into the tort room every morning and say “morning ladies”. Can’t do that anymore

Sure, but now you can say - Good Morning Ladies and Gents! And you can possibly breed, if that is what you want to do.

 

[Maro2Bear]

They’re not locusts either. They’re their own thing. Locusts are more closely related to grasshoppers. Cicadas are technically more closely related to crickets.

According to Google, cicadas have mistakenly been called locusts in the USA for centuries (probably due to the periodical swarms)
https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/when-is-a-locust-not-a-locust/

The variety of cicada in Europe isn’t periodical like the one Mark mentioned.

Every Summer we get 100s of cicadas doing their thing, BUT, every big 17 year cycle (2020] there will be millions and millions of deafening cicadas active. I think the normal ones are just off cycle. They all look the same, sound the same, taste te same, etc.

 

[Maro2Bear]

The substrate in her cave is coco coir, really deep coco coir at that. Before she goes to bed I spray the coir so it’s nice and humid. Poop easily gets lost in coco coir I find and you can imagine all the bacteria. She clearly has shown she wants to poop in there though.

Thats what tortoises do. I wouldnt block it off though. Maybe rethink access to your cave so you can easily clean and replace. At least it’s all in one place.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Good mornooning all.

Yesterday we went birdwatching in the Camargue ... a huge are of coastal salt marshes which is also a nature reserve and wetland of international importance designated by Ramsar (part of UNESCO)

It’s famous for its white horses (and black bulls - forgot to photograph those)
View attachment 278467

And Greater Flamingoes (we saw thousands but my phone photos of the big flocks didn’t come out)
View attachment 278470

Coypu, locally known as Ragondin, are not native but are all over the place. This one is quite small.
View attachment 278471

And for lunch we had cuttlefish with razor clams... it looks like some magnified microbe [emoji23] It was served with rice... lots is grown in the area and it’s famous for the red grained variety. Also to accompany it another local dish - ratatouille: stewed tomato, courgette (aka zucchini), aubergine (aka eggplant), bell pepper and garlic with mixed herbs.
View attachment 278472

Very cool pix, Coypu, kind of looks like a mix between our beavers & muskrats & nutria. Wonderful lunch!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hi All,
Sorry I have been AWOL lately. Work has been super busy and what with me going to gym in the evenings after work, and Jarrod's sports schedule over the weekends I have been too tired to come on. I am not going to read all the posts that I have missed, as there are way too many. My torts are all doing fine - just waiting for spring and summer to come, so that the little ones can spend more time outdoors.
Heather I did see that you got the results from your MRI and I am so sorry to read about the bulging disc. I really hope that the Doctors can help you, and welcome to the "Body wear and tear - Where can I get a new body"Club!

Good to hear that all is busy & well.

 

[Maro2Bear]

I get my GCSE results back next Thursday..... not looking forward to it. I did the best as I could so I guess we will see what happens.

Fingers crossed!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Went out on our back deck and noticed this interesting bird active. Possibly a Baltimore Oriole or American Redstart

 

[Lyn W]

Good mornooning all.

Yesterday we went birdwatching in the Camargue ... a huge are of coastal salt marshes which is also a nature reserve and wetland of international importance designated by Ramsar (part of UNESCO)

It’s famous for its white horses (and black bulls - forgot to photograph those)
View attachment 278467

And Greater Flamingoes (we saw thousands but my phone photos of the big flocks didn’t come out)
View attachment 278470

Coypu, locally known as Ragondin, are not native but are all over the place. This one is quite small.
View attachment 278471

And for lunch we had cuttlefish with razor clams... it looks like some magnified microbe [emoji23] It was served with rice... lots is grown in the area and it’s famous for the red grained variety. Also to accompany it another local dish - ratatouille: stewed tomato, courgette (aka zucchini), aubergine (aka eggplant), bell pepper and garlic with mixed herbs.
View attachment 278472

The Camargue is lovely area - I went there many years ago.
That cuttlefish looks like giant dust mites!!

 

[Lyn W]

I get my GCSE results back next Thursday..... not looking forward to it. I did the best as I could so I guess we will see what happens.

The A level results are out tomorrow I think.
There will be a lot of nervous A and GCSE students around at the moment.
We'll all keep our fingers crossed for you!!

 

[Lyn W]

Hi All,
Sorry I have been AWOL lately. Work has been super busy and what with me going to gym in the evenings after work, and Jarrod's sports schedule over the weekends I have been too tired to come on. I am not going to read all the posts that I have missed, as there are way too many. My torts are all doing fine - just waiting for spring and summer to come, so that the little ones can spend more time outdoors.
Heather I did see that you got the results from your MRI and I am so sorry to read about the bulging disc. I really hope that the Doctors can help you, and welcome to the "Body wear and tear - Where can I get a new body"Club!

Hey Carol welcome back - we've missed you!
Glad to hear all is well with you and the 2 and 4 legged family

 

[EllieMay]

LOL, I thought I saw two pairs of eyes checking me out this morning!! Was it your two who were responsible. As soon as they saw me looking at them they disappeared.

Well of course! I was so pleased to get the report that all was well in South Africa... it is a busy time of year for working moms with kids in school... today was Jayden’s first day of Kindergarten.. He was so brave and I tried to hurry away before he saw the tears in my eyes.. My last baby growing up...
But you have been missed and I am so glad it was only because of life in general... enjoy your evening and I’ll look forward to reading more from you now

And my medical issues have went a long way to remedying themselves.. several small issues and one pinched nerve that anti inflammatories have took some pressure off of & im almost back in form.. with age, these things are to be expected... ughh
But, I can delay any surgeries for a bit yet [emoji12]

 

[EllieMay]

Went out on our back deck and noticed this interesting bird active. Possibly a Baltimore Oriole or American Redstart

Your too far away!!!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Your too far away!!!

No, the bird was too far away. I can see enough to ID

 

[Maro2Bear]

No, the bird was too far away. I can see enough to ID

Get out your readers!

 

[JoesMum]

Hi All,
Sorry I have been AWOL lately. Work has been super busy and what with me going to gym in the evenings after work, and Jarrod's sports schedule over the weekends I have been too tired to come on. I am not going to read all the posts that I have missed, as there are way too many. My torts are all doing fine - just waiting for spring and summer to come, so that the little ones can spend more time outdoors.
Heather I did see that you got the results from your MRI and I am so sorry to read about the bulging disc. I really hope that the Doctors can help you, and welcome to the "Body wear and tear - Where can I get a new body"Club!

Carol! Delighted to not see you back in the CDR. We have missed you

 

[JoesMum]

MMMMM. That really looks yummy, although the razor clams look like weird spiders. Love the pictures of the birds.

Other way round. The weird spiders are the cuttlefish. Yup, that’s where the cuttlefish bones come from that we tortoise owners feed for calcium.

The razor clams have shells in the shape of old fashioned cut throat razors.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I had another interlude with a wasp. I took a handful of garden implements and leaned them up against the wall of the shed.



A wasp got me on the cheek. I think I felt three or four stings before I was able to shoo him away.







The sensation wasn't bad at all. I think this species of wasp is losing it's stinging power. It was slightly burning for about 5 minutes, and now I feel nothing. It's a bit red and looks like it might swell eventually, and I KNOW it will be itchy tomorrow. Darned wasps anyway!

 

[JoesMum]

Well, I had another interlude with a wasp. I took a handful of garden implements and leaned them up against the wall of the shed.

View attachment 278500

A wasp got me on the cheek. I think I felt three or four stings before I was able to shoo him away.

View attachment 278501

View attachment 278499



The sensation wasn't bad at all. I think this species of wasp is losing it's stinging power. It was slightly burning for about 5 minutes, and now I feel nothing. It's a bit red and looks like it might swell eventually, and I KNOW it will be itchy tomorrow. Darned wasps anyway!

Ow! I have never encountered a wasp that has done anything but make me swell a lot. You are very lucky

 

[Maro2Bear]

We bought some fresh Blue Crabs today for crab cakes later for dinner. The store provides brown paper bags to hold the crabs during check out.

I took the bag, shredded and then shredded insmall pieces prior to composting in our worrm nin.

 

[EllieMay]

Get out your readers!

Lol!!! I’m blind as a bat so I have lenses on all the time... maybe I’m just not as good at ID’ing as I should be [emoji12]