Such a Gorgeous Day!

These two characters are my Russian Torts. I kind of "rescued" them from a daughter of a friend. They live in a childs wading pool in my living room next to the wood stove...they did live in a ten gallon tank but that seemed way too confined in my opinion.

It's an odd sight when you walk into someone's living room and there's a pool next to the wood stove...a pool with these little guys in it. They have a hot rock to keep them warm at night. That's what they're on in the picture. They eat dark greens. They love dandelion greens...we have plenty of those in our yard! They are pretty basic creatures!

I call them Frick and Frack. My youngest daughter calls them Sigfreid and Roy. My middle granddaughter calls them Tater and Tot. It doesn't seem to confuse them at all. As I said, they are pretty basic creatures. Perfect for us "empty nesters".


They don't need a drink but once a month or so. They do eat on a fairly regular basis, but can survive without fresh food for a few days. I only clean the poop out every week or so. I scoop it out with an old slotted spoon. Compared to cleaning out a barn on a daily basis this is a piece of cake!

Today is an absolutely drop dead gorgeous day here in Oregon (it was 65.3 when I checked last)...it's the first day this year I was able to open the door and let the fresh air in and the stale out. I must remember to mark the calendar!

I no sooner opened the door than the torts started stirring. The fresh air woke them up. They are busy now trying to find a way out of the pool. It's truly amazing that they react in this manner! If I were to take them out of the pool, they would scurry (yes, they do scurry!) towards the open door and outside.

Every August we have a huge party to celebrate life and friendship. They escaped two years ago and nearly got crushed by a very large friend on the front porch (they had a smaller container prior to the pool-one of those under the bed Rubbermaid things). They can push my screen or open. I've actually watched them do this over and over again. If I let them wander I always lock the screen door if it's nice outside.

Sometimes I take them out for a walk. They are like children then...they both run in opposite directions! Frick almost always heads towards the greenhouse and the wood shed and Frack goes over and burrows in the lawn clippings that we mulch the Deodora with, or for the front flower bed.

So far they haven't managed to escape from the wading pool. I think it's because the sides kind of slope. Also because they haven't grown enough to get over the sides.

I hear them scrapping the sides of the pool with their talons...I should go out and see if the ground is dry enough for them to be outside. The test is to go barefoot and not get damp. If their shells get wet they can rot.

Bet you didn't think you were going to learn about torts today, did you?!