Today was cleaning day. Brian took on the task of thoroughly cleaning the kitchen floor area and sanitizing all that was turtle related. In the meantime, Nemo kept scurrying to find a new place to hide as, one by one, his hiding places were removed. He retreated to a spot where his shell touched a door stop, a secure place for some odd reason, while the floor was washed. Brian set up his summer home on a clean blankie so he had at least one place he knew while the rest of the kitchen was worked on.
I retreated to the sofa in the living room feeling guilty I could not help out more. Am still in recovery and can't lift and it's difficult for me to bend. I settled into doing email and playing games on my laptop when it seemed that a shadow passed my eye. I shrugged it off initially, but then it happened again. I looked down to see Nemo strolling by the sofa. Guess he decided to do a few laps while the rest of his world was in disarray.
Later, when I hobbled into the kitchen, I realized Nemo was MIA. He was not in the usual places and his hiding places in the kitchen were very limited. I did notice that my stuffed animal potbellied pig was moved a few inches from blocking the area behind loveseat. A gate is hidden behind the loveseat so Nemo couldn't have gotten back there. I picked up the potbellied pig to move him back into place only to find an annoyed Nemo beneath. How he managed to crawl under the piggy without knocking it over, I'll never know. After exposing his hiding place, he decided to hightail it back to his summer home, turning the kitchen into an obstacle course.
Brian and I watched as he climbed through the wine rack, a "short cut" (?) through his bathing dish (a quick plop in with a bit of a struggle getting his hind legs completely out on his departure), back to his large garage (large half of a "wood" hut). Brian didn't place it exactly so Nemo could walk behind it and Nemo was too impatient for us to move it so he climbed on top. Only one way down. He adeptly landed without hitting his nose. From there he had clear and safe passage into his summer home. Brian and I simultaneously said aloud, "Home at last."
I'm guessing he will like it better with all of his igloos and blankies and tubbie clean and fresh, just as us humans appreciate such cleanliness.
The photo with this post was taken several days ago. Nemo was sleeping outside his igloo all curled up around his shell. Kinda comfy looking, huh?
