Turtles ahead!

One of my grandsons, T,  is crazy, CRAZY, for turtles. Tortoises, terrapins, snapping turtles, turtles who live in the lake and the ocean. He wants turtles as pets, toy turtles, and turtle costumes. When I keep them, we have to watch turtle videos on Youtube.

As it happens, I have a friend who is a certified box turtle rehabilitator and I took them to visit her two unreleasable terrapins the other day. T was in heaven. Little brother, not so much. He’s two and was sleepy and a little leery of small animals with mouths that might bite. 

I must say that RK and Cleo were absolutely great with T who held them sideways and upside down at times. When told that they didn’t like being held that way, he was good about bringing them upright again. He inspected every part of them and was gentle and respectful. Not bad for a five-year-old. 

Last Thursday his mom and dad invited me to go with them to the aquarium a couple of hours away in Chattanooga. There were turtles everywhere. All kinds of turtles! I think the boys wore themselves out going from exhibit to exhibit looking at all the different animals! I know I did, but it was wonderful. 

T kept saying, “Dad! Put me in there!” He would have gone swimming with all the turtles if he could have. And he touched a snake–a ball python that an aquarium guide was holding. In some ways, he’s very brave, but in some ways not. 

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If you’re in the area, I recommend the Chattanooga Aquarium. There are two separate buildings housing all kinds of aquatic animals from otters to sharks. Let the little ones bring a swim suit or something to get wet in and they can wade and play in the outdoor “creek” which reminds me of Granny’s “cement pond” on the Beverly Hillbillies, but is only about ankle deep. The boys were dying to get in there, but we didn’t know about the play area and hadn’t prepared. 

Find the frog

Can you find the frog? 

Fun New Hat this Week

Eiko’s linen got into a new project this week. I fashioned a brand new hat, my own pattern, and I think it turned out pretty well. There are a few tweaks I’ll make to the pattern next time. I made a detachable flower pin out of scraps. Isn’t the fringey effect great?  This hat is floppy and casual, but fun. (Please ignore the white bag peeking out from underneath the hat. I had to pad the glass head.)

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Please excuse the underpad on the floor. I have a little old lady dog who leaks when she sits and that’s her favorite place.

 

I’m tempted to keep this one, but it’s going into the Owl Tree shop.  Maybe I’ll keep the next one. Maybe. 

There were some little visitors to my porch the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

A new toad has moved to the neighborhood.
This is a brave moth. He was near not one, but two, orb webs. Aren’t they pretty?

 

New hat and websites

I’ve been working on migrating the AACC website to a new host for a week or more.  I think I have it ready to go, but the files may not show up for 72 hours more or less. I hope, less. In my “uploading/downloading time” while I was stuck idle at the keyboard, I left the laptop and worked on some sewing.

 

I find myself conflicted. I love subtle colors, but I have, in my later years, come to love brights. 

 

 

I put the subtle turquoise on one side…

 

 

 

and bright colors on the other. They are reversible, so you can choose which one you like. 

 

 

I also made some new card cases. I love these little things! I used sew-on snaps on these. I’ve begun to wonder how well the Velcro will hold up to repeated opening and closing, although it is a lot easier to sew on than the snaps.

 

 

 

All lined up. 

 

 

 

The backs. See the little raccoon in the upper left?

 

 

 

Open for business. 

 

 

My best thing, though, is the new hat I made. Eiko wove the fabric in linen and

many coordinating colors. I hated to cut into it, but when I did and stitched it up according to what a lady described at Locally Grown Gallery, it turned out spectacular I think.