Friday 19 October 2012

Good Morning all, its OK I am still alive LOL;)

Hi all, sorry if I worried a few of you by not being around, I had some emails from you so I know I have. 
Everything is OK, just a lot going on and not much interesting at the same time LOL. 

 If you remember I had what I thought was a cold a fe weeks ago, well its hung on and keeps coming back so I think its some sort of mild virus, anyway Mom seems to have it as well so we have not been very active the last couple of weeks.


Except for getting the garden ready for winter and this really is the busy time of year in a garden like mine getting all the shrubs cut back and shredding the waste. 


I was joking about the Tortoise he is not much bother just been spoiled by my cousin with hand feeding which I believe he does not want or need! So he is not getting that here and seems to be loving his new freedom. He is living in my conservatory as its already too cold for him outside and he has been very ill in the past and is not heavy enough to hibernate so he is kept active through the winter. 


He is a "Golden" Greek Tortoise - Testudo graeca. They are found in southern Spain, Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, and parts of Asia especially the Middle East. They are found in a variety of environments from seashore dunes to rocky mountain steppes but usually in very hot, dry and arid regions with high summer temperatures. 


They inhabit areas of sparse vegetation where they browse on grass and plant growth. 


This tortoise is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: VU - Vulnerable and is listed on CITES: Appendix II. 


The Greek Tortoise or Spur-Thigh Tortoise is small with most reaching only about 8 inches (20 cm), though there are occasional specimens reaching up to 12 inches (30 cm). Their coloration of the is not overly bright, but it is variable and attractive. A primary characteristic, as indicated by the name, are the 'spurs' found on their thighs; two small tubercles, one to each side of the tail. 


I still have a lot of work to do it the garden and with this bug its slow going. 


Also I guess I have having one of those "My Muse has gone walk about" moments, probably because my camera is broken, my long lens auto focus stopped working after the trip to Monkey World and I am expecting to be told I either need a new lens ( which now cost £500 / $1000) or it will be very expensive to fix, so I am not a happy bunny about that right now. 


To be honest I have not been blogging so much because I realized I was wasting so much time when we were back over on Multiply that I was neglecting things I also enjoyed in the "real world" and before the bug I had got back to a really great level of fitness out on my bike, so I doubt that I will ever be back posting at that level again.


I have some bulb planting to do in the garden today and if the weather holds we may head out to one of the country parks for a few hours and I might take a few shots with my other lenses. 


 Anyways, I hope your all well, have a great weekend, be safe and may your God be with you;)

10 comments:

  1. I've been wondering about your unusual quietness but after reading this blog post I understand well the reason(s). Sorry to read about the broken lens. That's bad, indeed! Hope your Mum and you get rid of that virus, soon.

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  2. I love how that tortoise has a mind of his own :) gm hunni. Hope you feel better xxxx

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    1. Good Morning sweetheart I hope your feeling better now?

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  3. Hi Baz. Sorry to hear you and your mom have both been feeling under the weather. Hope you're both feeling better soon. Damn, it sucks about that lens!!

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  4. Ahh, there you are! I kinda thought you and your mum were not the best, that is why I asked. It is a bummer when you can't get the work outside done when you want too. We have been have freezing gales and not much warmth in our spring so far. Makes me wonder if we are going to get a summer.

    Really a crap thing to happen re your camera/lens. I know that would have upset you for sure. Just as well you have another to play with in the meantime.

    Hope you and your mum are better really soon. You have to beat the winter arriving in that area.

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  5. Sure wish you and mom get better soon ............ hard to shake a virus like that , with your wet weather too.

    Thank you for the info on the tortoise, they are such lovely creatures, this one is small ! Gosh the one big Mama I had must have weighed over 30 kg, I could hardly pick her up , we reckon shw was about 50 years. She laid eggs here twice, we tried to incubate them for her, but it did not work. At the Botanical Garden where we sat her free, there have been reports of small baby tortoise, so maybe she did..............saw her again, when last there.

    I know what you mean about having more time outdoors, I also get a lot more done in the office these days. *smile* Keeping my contact list small and select and only doing PT and I&W if time permits and I have inspiration.

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    1. Good to see you, have a great weekend I hope to be back getting around posts soon;)

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