Lemons and Tortoises
I was all set to do a final post about last weekend’s trip to to DC when the news of events at the Marathon started trickling in. I just felt so bad for most of the week that anything I could say here seemed trivial. Last night I flew out to Southern California to meet up with Cris who has been staying with her sister in Orange County. Since things in Boston appear to be mostly resolved, and it is so nice to be here with family, my mood has lightened considerably. And who wouldn’t be cheered by the sight of these lemons growing in Lynne and John’s front garden. I will never cease to be amazed by this tree.
And Lynne’s desert tortoises have recently come out of hibernation. She suggested I grab a hibiscus flower and as I walked toward George here, he came to me and got right to it.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
Careful! When I lived in California, it was illegal to keep a tortoise… Perhaps that has changed?
It’s funny you post this picture. My grandparents lived in Laguna Beach and their neighbor had a desert tortoise named Cedrock. (@leamuse, they are illegal to own unless they were acquired before the law changed). My cousin and I used to go grab some of the semi-wilty hibiscus flowers off my grandmother’s large plant that grew on a trellis on the front patio and give them to him. He’d happily chomp on those any time we came over. I sometimes wonder what happened to him…