Darwin the AMAZING tortoise, at it again!

I think our tortoise is ready for the circus.

Doesn’t look too suspicious, does he!

But before I tell you just what Darwin was up to this time, I will deliver another brief public service announcement. Did you know that you can’t take thousands and thousands of photos over the five years since your first grandchild was born and never move them off your hard drive? You did? Oh, so it was just me! Apparently Darwin IS quicker about learning some things than I am!

Riding the rails? A tortoise?

My computer has been very wonky lately. I knew I was courting disaster, but I tucked that solemn recognition somewhere in the back of my mind like I do the warning that tells me I’d be smart to assemble tax records throughout the year and not wait until mid-March. I’ll get to it–when I have to!

Monday afternoon we brought Sophia and Karina back to our house for the night and the following day, rather than follow my usual schedule of being with them a full day at their home. They enjoy being at our house and having access to the animals and Papa…not  in that order, of course, but our home is a little vacation place for them. And now that they’re a little older I have the opportunity  to fit in a few chores that are hard to fit into my otherwise very choppy schedule. I started with good intentions!

I desperately needed time to work on my computer.  My day of reckoning slammed up and hit me full in the face while trying to upload weekend photos.  By now you may have guessed–I couldn’t import them! My computer vociferously announced “Stop FORCE feeding me!” I have had to stop everything and work on my computer before I doom it to an untimely demise! I am smart enough to recognize my own procrastination so I do subscribe to off-site backups, but I’m a ridiculous computer file pack rat. This has been quite the cleaning out process, made all that much more exciting by the fact that I only understand about half of what I’m actually doing. The end result will probably be another surprise!

So how did he get up there? Just look at that elevation!

But nothing matches the surprise of looking out my kitchen window yesterday and seeing Darwin in a part of the yard he has never previously navigated. Does he do this every day when I’m at work?

Oh great! There he goes again…eating the succulent ground cover!

What a clever fellow! We watched in wonder as he made his way all around the perimeter of our garden railroad. Of course, mixed with wonder was concern! There are water features connected to this space. Can he swim, too? And what if this is the equivalent of a small child managing to squeeze their head between two rails…and then–oops! Call the fire department!

Can he do it?

Very bold move when you have stubby little legs and don’t want to land upside down!

Terra Firma!

What a clever fellow! And is there any wonder that with this much entertainment offered in my own backyard I can’t manage cleaning computer files? I think my excuses are firmly intact! Unfortunately for me avoiding my duties and obligations only delays the problems…you pay NOW or you pay Later…my “later” has arrived!

So back to work. I just had to stop and share my backyard aerialist with you first! Hope you feel encouraged to tackle your mid-week duties, too. Think of Darwin’s momentum and achievement. I didn’t anticipate taking a life lesson from a Sulcata Tortoise. There’s something new every day, isn’t there?

I’ll exhale and breathe a lot lighter when my computer is working better…but I can still be amused! Debra