The tortoise is gone...

That's right. We are now a tortoise-less family. One might question our attachment to the turtle, after all, we didn't really have a name for him. However, I feel he was an important part of the team. And, technically, he did have a name. Micah gave him some random, Spanish-sounding, name, that he couldn't really remember, so it kind of kept on changing.

But he was our turtle, after all. I'm going to miss the little fella. I'm going to miss going in to check on him only to find him on top of his log. (I never did figure out how he got up there.) I'm going to miss watching him eat his salad of mixed greens.

Okay, not really. I won't miss him. I'm rather glad he's gone, to be honest. You see, he was Micah's turtle but I did all the caring for him. Micah would feed him, if prompted. To be honest, I think it was probably my desire for the kids to take more responsibility for the turtle that led to his disappearance.

The kids were playing in the back yard on a beautiful, sunny day, so I suggested they take the turtle outside for a little fresh air and a chance to nibble on some grass. I was outside with them when the turtle came out, but had to go inside to do something. My last words to the children were very specific, "If you guys are going to keep the turtle out here, you have to keep a close eye on him or you will lose him."

Approximately five minutes later I heard a loud dialogue between the two, "You were supposed to be watching him!" "No, you said you were watching him." "Well START LOOKING!"

I went outside to find the kids shuffling around the yard looking down at the grass.

"You guys lost the turtle, didn't you?"

"Zoey lost it!"

"No, Micah, you said you were watching it!"

So that was the end of the turtle. We walked around our yard, our neighbor's yards, even down the alley a bit. He was gone. Just like that. He got one taste of the great outdoors and decided he would just take off on his own.

I'm not worried about his survival. He's pretty hearty. He comes from Kazakhstan. He also eats greens and has the ability to burrow down into the ground when he gets too cold. So I think he could probably live for years in the Ohio climate. He's probably been plotting his escape ever since we got him.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that turtles can move surprisingly fast. And they seem to be fairly determined when they have a goal.

And now I don't have to worry about scooping turtle turd out of the habitat.