OUR NEW STORE MASCOT

Here is our new MASCOT! I decided we needed a new mascot, over and above the goldfish that the firemen saved the night of the fire.

Here she/he/it is! We have NO idea the creature's sex, as we need to wait until she/he/it is 5 inches long, but she/he/it is only 4 inces!

Chuck and I have had turtles: box and water. We have a Chinese Three-Striped Box Turtle who is 24 years old! But we've NEVER owned a tortoise.

The tortoise is a Russian Tortoise, Testudo horsefieldii, and we don't know "it's" gender yet. Therefore, we need a "non-gender-specific" name. We have a "ballot box" set up at the store and a pile of "ballot Sheets" to write down an appropriate name for our new mascot! Nancy expressed doubts about a tortoise as our mascot because of the implications. Tortoises are "slow." But, to US, They "get the job done!" As in the Aesop's Fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. The Hare is fast, but fails!

He/she/it is a PIG as far as eating is concerned. The tortoise is about 4 inches long, but is expected to reach upwards of 8 to 10 inches in length. Russian Tortoises' diet is VERY specific--NO fruits! And NO PROTEIN! They thrive on common yard WEEDS! Dandilion, plantain, crabgrass. They're better than GOATS to clear the yard! Except they're very small...so it'll take them all summer to NOM, NOM, NOM through all the garden weeds. This one especially likes our garden squash blossoms. "It" eats them first and quickly!

Help us name our mascot! Non-gender-specific, of course! These torts live for about 75 years and this one is prolly 2-5 years old, so be GENTLE! We'll find out "eventually" if "it" is a male or female!

Wendy

The Art Corner

231 Washington Syreet

Salem, MA 01970

978-74-9524