Terrance Update

We spotted Terrance this weekend after three weeks and he's put on 15 gm. With his discriminating tastes, of course he turned up in the Hidden Garden, the very moist and lush courtyard garden that Caro has created on the west side of the house. Its shaded by the high fence on the south and a 20-year old stubby spruce. My four old cats, Oreo, Yoda, Tigger, and Paco are buried there. After all, it was there private yard when we first moved into the house.

Terrance immediately scarfed down some strawberries we set out for him and he has spent most of the weekend comfortably nestled in among the cedar bark mulch behind the lupines. This evening as the shadows grew long, he ambled off towards the other side of the yard. Eventually he reached the big Rosemary by the Bodhisattva Fountain and seems to have settled in there.

Schlepp Conquers the Faulty Trail / Terrance is Back

Today Schlepp, Kent, Ric, and Karl went up to Tijeras and followed the Lower Faulty Trail until it met the Upper Faulty Trail and then returned by the South Crest Trail. 4.3 miles and about 1000' of elevation. Kent lent the furry one his camera. Perhaps tomorrow Kent will e-mail the resulting photo this way.

Meanwhile, Terrance has responded to the near-80 degree weather and started rumbling about. He passed on a plate of strawberries and a dish of water, but not to worry -- he weighs 12-½ oz. That turns out to be exactly what he weighed last Oct. 6th when he was last weighed right before he hibernated. After I took him off the scales, he scampered into the Vinca and hung out at the edge of the porch for awhile. But now he's scooted off deeper into the tangle of vegetation and is nowhere to be seen. TTFN, Terrance.

Terrance Spring Update

Its April 19 and Schlepp has been worrying about Terrance. Last year he was up and about by mid-April, but this year he's nowhere to be seen. Well, as bears are wont to do, he rustled around in the leaves under the Vinca where he'd seen Terrance burrowing in last October. Sure enough, just under the surface was Terrance, all squinty-eyed and sleepy but OK. He had turned himself around from last fall when he was about 6" deep and was only under the very loose leaves lying on top of the ground. Suspect he'll be up and around one of these days when he decides its safe and warm enough to come out.

The last two years he dug in within 15' of the swimming pool. Schlepp thinks that when Karl turned on the pool heater in early April those years, it warmed up the ground and got Terrance jump started. For now, he's in a safe place and we're glad to know he made it through the winter.

Terrance, Newport and Schlepp

Terrance was out for a stroll the other morning. I found him behind the rosemary, so I brought him a plate of strawberries (his favorite food). Afterwards he checked out Newport, Schlepp, and Roberta (off camera left--you can just see an ear).

Since then I've only seen Terrance in the vinca, probably because its been too hot in other parts of the yard. As we move into September and things cool off, he'll start using the rosemary bed more often because of its early morning warmth.

The Return of Terrance the Tortoise

Its April 30th and we still hadn't seen Terrance. Last winter he popped up in mid-April. We were beginning to worry. Then this evening after work, we spotted him along the edge of the rosemary. Yup, he's up and at 'em.

True, he's a Western Box Turtle, not a tortoise, and he's slow, but he's busy hunting. Snagged a bug on his way back to his burrow underneath the Euonymus.

Good to have you back, Terrance!

Soon to come, another episode of SchleppCast in which Schlepp rescues a hummingbird who was trapped in the garage.