Today Julian and I had a nice time watching Munch eat her(?) dinner on the patio. Munch, a desert tortoise, has been living in our yard for a couple of years now (two winters have come and gone so quickly it took me a while to actually believe it was possible!). She has been pretty active lately and we see her most mornings and late afternoons as she wanders around and nibbles the weeds and the various plants that she likes. I feed her whenever I see her. I have a jar of grassland tortoise pellets that she seems to enjoy as long as I soak them in water. In the video you will see some strawberries, but she didn't eat them. I often offer her all sorts of goodies from the kitchen but she invariably turns her nose up at just about anything I give her other than the wet food pellets. She has a particular palate and I have yet been able to crack the code.
Julian and Layla like to watch her crawl around. Julian also likes to squat down and look into her little house and try to call her out. Of course, she doesn't listen to him. Layla is sometimes afraid of her, even while being fascinated by her. She likes best to view Munch from the comfort of her grandpa's lap where she can point and say "Tortoise" over and over. Today's video was shot while Layla was still napping. She woke up soon after and joined us on the porch to watch Munch finish her lunch. Sitting on my lap, of course.
I think it's neat to know that barring unforeseen circumstances Julian and Layla will be able to watch Munch grow over the years just as we will watch Julian and Layla grow.
