The Garden Uninhabited by Nemo

This is part of the "zen garden" I created for Nemo prior to his arrival. You can barely see the overturned large terra cotta bowl in the back left corner shaded by the lovely wisteria. The shallow aqua bowl was to be his drinking dish and wading pool. The little pond is cute. The flowers around the pond now nearly make the pond invisible, covering it with bright pink blooms. Alas, Nemo hates it. Initially we thought perhaps he didn't like the cocoa mulch which is likely popular because I live near Hershey, PA. Brian and I changed over to large bark nuggets which looks lovely and provides for better footing.

It didn't matter, Nemo can't run fast enough to get out. A fence has been put around the area to the left of the steps to turtle proof. He tries to climb the fence. I still try to take him out a few times a week for "jogging up the hill" because he does need fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. I was hoping he'd at least like to linger for a bit. Maybe it's the therapist in me, but I wonder what scary thing happened in a garden in his past.

I still love the garden. Each time I look at it, I can feel an "ahhhhhh" thing happening. Several birds like to bathe in the "wading dish". I'm hoping to find a fat toad to live in the garden. It has to be fat so it can't escape through small openings in the fence. Maybe it will befriend Nemo during the panicked visits. lol.

In the meantime, I'm worried about Nemo. Because he's such an unturtle, he doesn't eat right. We meet his new vet tomorrow. I saw the picture in the box turtle manual of how to force feed a turtle. omg. I sure hope that doesn't have to happen. He will hate me for sure. Just want him to be healthy. He certainly seems happy.