Mabelline and More...

Some folks who got the carving I did of sweet Mabelline as an invoice image (her photo is in the clue) have been asking if I ever had the chance to see her fawns.  The answer is yes, but it's really hard to get a picture of the little rascals, since they don't stop moving -- ever!  I have some amazing blurred images - even one of nursing babies, but they really are blurry.  I did capture one of the babies in pixels, though, and thought I would share so you could see.  I love the mother and child shot -- I took this one standing on a stool and peeking out the window of the Stampeaz packing room.

Here's one that I took from the deck overlooking the back woods, which is why it is looking down on the little cutie.  Mabel always gets nervous when I come out on the deck and try to take pictures.  I wish some manufacturer would make a digital camera that was really silent.  I don't know why they feel like they have to build in all the shutter noise and beeps that always scare the critters - it makes it way too hard to be sneaky with the wildlife!   

 

You can see that Mabelline has passed along some of her eye shadow expertise to her offspring.  Oh, and Mabel loves watermelon rind.  The little ones aren't convinced, but their mom loves to find the leftovers after I pack up my snacks to take to work (and feed the turtle).  These guys make it difficult to want to leave my house to go to the office every morning.  LOL! 

Balancing Act

My little turtle has learned a new trick!  She can balance a tiny watermelon seed on the end of her nose.  I don't know, do you think we are ready to run away and join the circus yet?  

Every morning she comes to see if I have anything wonderful to give her.  I actually think she may be watching my bedroom window to see if I'm awake yet, because she marches right up to the door, once she sees me peer out at the world.  She still loves her watermelon, although she branched out to eat some lettuce and a few blueberries over the last couple days. Watermelon remains her favorite -- by far.   

Many thanks to all who came and joined my birthday party.   I hope you enjoyed the celebration!  Interestingly enough, there was a piece of PZ Kut that sat around unclaimed for three days before someone finally snagged it --  and that was the day *after* I had planned to turn out the lights and sweep up the confetti!  So, I don't know exactly what that means.  It could mean that people are happy with OZ Kut and don't feel the need to scramble for the last few sheets of PZ, it could mean that everybody thought the celebration only went on for three days instead of seven, or it could mean that everyone's tired of my very foolish little games.  (Or maybe people just ate too much cake and fell asleep....)  In any event, it was fun to scramble the present around and have folks find it -- thanks for playing with me and thank you for the kind birthday wishes. 

Speaking of cake, everybody who ordered something last week has been checking under their labels, right?  I hid some cake under there!!  Really!  I did. Quispy cake...   :)

The Thirsty Turtle - Really Thirsty!

I had posted pictures earlier in the summer of the turtles that came in for blackberry treats.  The saga continues.  I have had at least six different turtles, each with distinctive markings on their shells or heads or legs.  There is a sweet little female three-toed box turtle that has become quite a regular.  Until the last few days, she was happy with her blackberries, strawberries and grapes.  But a couple days ago, she became frantic and actually crawled up past my hand and nearly into my lap looking for something else when what I was offering didn't meet her need.  After trying everything I could think of in the refrigerator (grapes, cherries, blueberries, etc.) I discovered a small piece of watermelon I had left from dinner and wondered if it might hit the spot.  

She chomped right into it (you can see the little beak marks in the piece I'm holding in the picture above where she bit it) and ended up eating the whole thing in very short order.  She was absolutely desperate for the fluids, since we haven't really had any measurable rain around here since around the beginning of June.

 

  

Interestingly enough, I have made a little turtle watering dish that's low to the ground so they can reach it, but I guess it wasn't enough - or maybe it was the electrolytes and minerals she needed - who knows?  

I'm just so relieved that I found something that worked for her, since earthworms, slugs, snails and grubs are in extremely short supply this year, right along with water.  I also watered all the leaf piles in the back and front yards so that the turtles could find a cool, moist place to hide during the day (and maybe attract a beetle or two for them to eat). 

In other news, it's my birthday!  Look for a pretty little wrapped present, if you want to join the celebration this week.  You know what's in the package, of course.  :)  I will be putting a few up every day, so if you miss one, try back again later!  It's going to be a little like the Easter Egg Hunt, but with a less frenetic pace, since it will be going on all week.  LOL!