Kay Arneberg Booth

Eighty Years with Tortoises Kay Arneberg Booth

Will you enjoy this book? Will it help you? Here's hoping that both come true. It would be wonderful if I could know the reactions of the readers-if any. Readers, that is. Once I was asked, "Why do you do all this when it takes so much time and effort? Tortoises can't even wag their tails when you come home or sit on your lap and purr. Sounds rather silly to me." There was no answer. Why do I do it? It is impossible to explain. Those who do such things know why, and those who don't-well, they will just have to keep on wondering why some of us will miss a meal or a party to help a tortoise dig a nest or sit for hours just watching or get up in the middle of the night to coax a baby to eat or to be sure that it is not too warm or too cold. There isn't much more to say. Almost everything I can think of is in the book. Now you know what has been going on around me for eighty plus years. There have been many, many nests dug and lots of babies. Other persons have even been helped to successfully incubate and hatch desert tortoise eggs. So now you see, it seems that I have come full circle. When I was very young, dirt was thrown all over me by a bunch of chickens. Now when I am old (the very was left out on purpose!), there is dirt thrown all over me by tortoises. Some life! It really has been though. Actually I was very content with the other chickens, and now I'm quite happy with the other tortoises. The chickens thought of me as just another chicken, and now it seems that I am just another tortoise. Bye now. "Fantastic! A really needed book. It's about time someone cared" (L. & G. Nowak). "Equate tortoises with chickens?" (M. Stein). "Used to think all tortoises were just the same, but no more" (E. Burnett). "Never thought a tortoise needed care-or water. But I'm learning. Good book. Especially for the beginner" (L. Swiger). "Didn't realize there was so much to know about just an old tortoise" (W. Smith).