A short while ago we were enjoying exceptionally warm and dry weather for the time of year. Henry, our tortoise, seems to have anticipated this and remained awake and active longer than in recent years. For a few days now the weather has been showery, unsettled and much cooler.
On Saturday Henry was out on our back lawn and remained out, rather than under his favourite bush, much later than usual. The sun was no longer on the lawn and it was becoming cooler. Normally, in these circumstances, Henry would be out of sight but there he was, with his back to his normal overnight hiding place and actually walking towards me. I had been watching him for several minutes and it was clear that he had no intention of heading back to his usual overnight resting place. So, when he was almost at my feet I picked him up and took him to his winter quarters indoors, fully expecting to put him outside again for a few hours each day until the weather became much colder.
Henry was ahead of me. Within minutes he had buried himself in the soft hay that filled half of his “house” (a modified rabbit hutch) and he has not been seen since.
The next day the TV forecast told us that in 3-4 days time the weather was expected to turn much colder and to be frosty. Seems to me that the Met Office would do well to recruit a tortoise!
Good ol’ Henry
Looks like you brought him in just in time.