Tortoises

Our three tortoises have woken up after their Winter sleep.  Still sleepy but a lot more active!

In size order!

Baby tortoises

Remember, I recently knitted Noah a tortoise.  Well, that tortoise now has friends - both knitted friends and real tortoise friends!

A lovely person gave three baby leopard tortoises to us!  She had found them in her garden.  Unfortunately, a few others had been attacked by birds and she wanted these little ones to be cared for in a safe place.  We are taking very good care of them and have made a secure, cosy home for them.  I can't tell you how beautiful these little ones are!  They fit into the palm of my hand and are about six months old.  My boys are ecstatic!  Their shells are so beautiful and their little faces look so wise, even at such a young age.

And here are the new knitted tortoises.  Can you tell I am enjoying knitting tortoises at the moment.

Mushroom walk, giraffes and other animals and armies!

We went on a mushroom walk led by a very informed mushroom expert at a local nature reserve.  Incredible what a wide variety of mushrooms can be found in the damp season if you really stop and look.  Some of the types found are traditionally edible although the mushroom expert advised not taking any chances as it is so easy to misidentify which could lead to something fatal.

We saw some beautiful tortoises there - leopard tortoises and Bell's hinged tortoises.  How my boys, especially Noah, really really would love a tortoise as a pet.

I knitted him one up soon after.  My handspun wool.  He is called Kamba (Shona for tortoise).

We also saw giraffe.  What creature is more beautiful and majestic?  They are incredible.  Always my favourite.

And a wasp nest.  Isn't this a magnificent, beautifully designed nest.

Love this type of day!

The boys also spent almost an entire day just before this day creating impressive armies.  Each boy designed his soldiers with weapons and fierce faces!  And played battle games for hours.  I love it when an idea absorbs them so and creativity takes off to the heights!

The old tortoise

We visited a wildlife park just outside Harare.  When I was a child there was a special Galapagos tortoise that lived there that us children all loved dearly and rushed to visit.  Would you believe that dear childhood friend is still there.  Approximately 200 years old...and bound to be there for sometime longer.  Here is Noah with that special childhood friend of many children and grown-up children through the years...