Oh Good Grief, This Blog Is So Neglected!

I feel terrible!  This poor blog has been sitting here patiently waiting for some attention.

In my busy schedule this year, I haven't been blogging all that much.  Which is a depressing admission in and of itself.  I've got a bunch of drafts of really fun post ideas, and no time to actually write them.

See, hubster and I are currently building a few (yes, few, as in, more than one) home businesses.  Not to mention the fact I've been spending just about every spare moment writing a book, and dealing with some medical issues that are stubbornly determined to overstay their welcome.  Our time seems stretched even thinner than normal, and fun blogs have been suffering because of it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not making excuses.  Just explaining what's up, so you all (and this poor, lonely blog) know that I'm not done with my blogging fun.  No way!  We have so much to do, and, obviously, so little time to do it all.  I doubt the load will diminish much, we just have to get better at juggling...

I do plan to get back to my fun blogging as soon as I can.  This Winter should, fingers crossed, free up some of our time.  I hope.  I pray.

Thanks to everyone still holding a flickering ember of interest, and I promise, it won't be for naught.  I'll be back with awesome posts, as soon as I possibly can.  Big plans ahead guys and dolls, and I can't wait!!

Thank you for your continued support - you guys rock! =D

Ciao for now,

~Rose
@Desert Rose & Fluttering Rose Petals.

Sexing Your Box Turtle

Hiya, hope you're all doing well.

A couple of weeks ago, we got a nice little surprise.  While watching reptile videos, we came across one talking about turtles.  Inspired to do some research on them again, we came across the sexting materials we looked at a couple years ago, when we first got Fred.

Guess what!  Fred is a girl!  O.O

Yep, that's right.  Our young ornate box turtle, is actually a girl.  We thought she was a he, giving 'him' the name Fred and all.

Weeeeell, no.  We were wrong.  Now that our little goofball is a little older, we can better tell what the *ahem* parts are, and correctly tell the gender.

With turtles (box turtles, anyway) there are several easy ways to tell:

1.  The eyes.  Females have brown eyes, males have red eyes.  It's a noticeable difference, too.  Like, chocolate brown vs. tomato red.

2. The bottom of the shells: females have flat shell bottoms, while males have a noticeable concave shape (scooped inward a bit) which helps with mating, apparently.
*Ornates are harder to tell, because the males have nearly flat shells on the bottom, so don't use this as a determining factor, if you have an ornate box turtle.  That was the mistake we made, haha.

3. The feet are quite different.  The length of the claws, and shape of the feet.  The back toe on the males are thicker and curved, almost like small talons. The female back toes are thinner and straighter.

4.  The tales.  Females have their "hole" further inward, almost inside the shell, while the male holes are further outward.  Males also have longer tales, while females have shorter, almost stubby tales.

*Helpful hint: you can age a turtle by counting the ridges on their shells.  If you look closely, you can see ridges, and they look somewhat like a tree.  Each ridge is about a year, so 15 ridges would mean the turtle is around 15 years old or so.

So, yeah.  We have re-named our little box turtle girl.  We chose, Betty! :D

Fred Betty is quite happy, and is growing slowly =)

So, Ken found a scorpion...

He found the little guy chilling at work, near the tools.  This particular one happens to be one of the very poisonous ones - not fun if you get stung!  Apparently, it's venom is potent enough to kill kids, the elderly, and the ill.

So what do we do? 

We decide to keep it.

And name it.  We named him Sarumon - original, hu?  ;)  

Now we're attached.  He's creepy...and cool...but mostly creepy.

I wonder what our guests will think of our house now...

Do you have a scorpion?  Have you ever kept one as a pet?  Would you?  Let us know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

*Quiz* Which Puppy Matches You Best?

I got:

Shih-Tzu Puppy

A sweet little Shih-Tzu!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
You match with this cute puppy, that loves its owner more than anything! ♥
You love to hang out with your friends and have fun, like skating in the ice with your BFF! You're so innocent and lovely, that melts everyone's heart!

What did you get?

*Quiz* Which Dog Breed Are You?

I got:

Maltese

You are a dedicated companion who loves your friends and family above all else.

Of course, you have a playful energetic side, but you know how to temper it to keep the peace with your loved ones.

You're mild-mannered and sweet, but nothing riles you up more than feeling lonely or abandoned.

Well, what did you get?

*Quiz* What Rank in a Wolf Pack Would You Be?

I got: You are the Alpha!

You are the leader of the pack! You are very protective of your family and home, and will aggressively go after something you want. Your confidence in a fight in unmatched, and the same goes for the love that you have for your pack.

What did you get?

*Quiz* What Animal Are You Like When You're Angry?

I got:

75% Lion, 25% Mouse

When you feel upset or angry, it is important for you to stand your ground and be heard, just like a mighty lion. However, there are certain situations in which you’d rather handle things quickly and quietly, like a mouse. This illustrates that you know how to choose your battles appropriately and deal with confrontation and anger in a healthy manner. 

What did you get?