One of the things I love about living in Florida, especially Englewood, are the natural surroundings and all the beautiful gifts that nature brings to my sight on a daily basis.
We live just off the intracoastal waterway known as Lemon Bay. So named in "PIONEER DAYS" for the plentiful lemon fruit trees that lined the banks. While living by the bay brings plentiful visions of exotic birds, dolphins, and other creatures, I often find the vistors to my backyard to be just as fun to watch.
Some of those visitors are my Gopher Tortoise Friends. It is a rare event when a day goes by without a sighting of a gopher tortoise.
These sturdy little guys generally navigate their way about during midday. Foraging for clover and other luscious greens. They have definate paths that they follow and are quite clever at playing hide and seek if you approach. We have several that live in neighboring yards who dine in our front and backyard in the afternoon before retiring to their turtle condos.
I have a special love for the tortoises. Maybe because, as a kid, I loved dinosaurs (ok.....still do!) and these hefty guys seem to be modern day, miniature dinosaurs to me. I've named a few that are timely and consistent visitors to our outdoor diner.
There's STOMP, who is very heavy footed as he moves. If he happens to be moving through fallen, dry sea grape leaves, he sounds like an elephant slowly moving through dry thicket.
Then there is SPOT, who was tatooed by some well meaning unknown neighbor. His tatoo is a hot-orange spot of paint on his shell. My guess is that someone sprayed him so he could be easily seen on the road on a sunny day. The tortoises do navigate the roads, often and on a sunny day, you might not see them until you are right on top of them....maybe too late to stop...OH MY! But not SPOT! with his bright tatoo, you can see him trolling the road from a distance. So, I thank the tortoise tatoo artist ...whoever they are.
And last but not least is SANDY, who is always traveling around with a pile of sand on her back. Nothing like taking a piece of "home" with you when you travel. She has certain grazing spots in the front yard...never the backyard. So, the neighbors always get a chuckle when they see me doing the "TURTLE TROT" around the car and down the drive-way before I leave in the afternoon. All for the love of my Gopher Tortoise friends!
This is just one of many natural pleasures you will find when buying real estate and making your home in Florida. The gopher tortoise is a protected species. If you purchase land for development in which a gopher tortoise home is located, there are certain steps and precautions you must take to relocate them. Check with your real estate professional of choice for the most up to date procedures so we can take care of these MODERN DAY DINOSAURS in our backyards!
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