@wakeupkitty 3 May 2022 more from that month

Tortoise's hidden side *"Come outside and have a look at what I found!*" I call at my child, *"it's a turtle or?".* A tiny dark shield is what I believe I'm looking at. Indeed in front of my feet is a small tortoise. My child is enthusiastic and so am I. I never saw one outside in my garden. We lift the tiny thing to study it. Where did it hide, come from? I grab a box and shovel some soil and a piece with grass in it. Quickly my new pet digs itself into it. I can hardly recognize it. *What kind is it?* My child goes for the phone so I can take some photos and we'll search the internet for more information about the tiny animal I discovered. *"It has nails,"* my child says, *"it's stuck to the earth."* And therefore a bit hard to lift. Does this tortoise need water, I wonder. A bit later my child tries if it wants to sit in a homemade pool for baby tortoises. It doesn't seem to like it. *"I think it wants to sleep. I put it back in the box so you won't drive over it if we leave."* A few minutes later we leave and I quickly check on my new pet. It's gone. That little one is fast we search but cannot find it. I really hope I won't step on it. My child said, "I didn't tell you this morning I didn't feel too well but thanks to the turtle I feel way better now."

*An unexpected pet for a few minutes (a European pond tortoise) for only a few minutes brightens up the day. An adult can be 38 centimetres never seen such a big one walk through my garden. What a pity. I prefer them above all those insects, stable flies, mosquitoes, ants, thicks...*

*and the hidden side. Right out of the mud but still clean.* *May 2, 2022* This is a freewrite about today and I used a prompt which isn't tortoise or turtle but 'hidden side'. A prompt can make it easier to have a topic to write about or you simply fit the prompt to the text you already had in mind. A part of the day I spent chatting with my best friend about turtles. She once asked for one for her birthday as a child (had one) and received it. If you can keep it outside it's an easy pet. I had two too. They were given away to a schoolmate. They grew huge and could be a bit grumpy, attacked and we're smelly in the bedroom. By the way: these animals have parasites too.

#kittywu #animal #pet #life #parenting #photography