Tortoise Moon Miniature
©2007-2023 Susan Thiele
Location: California, Mojave Desert Image size: 4” x 4”
Hiking cross-country in Joshua Tree N.P., I heard a scraping sound. It seemed out-of-place, so I stopped and looked around. If the tortoise had not been moving, I might have confused it with a rock. I watched as it moved surprisingly quickly over to a patch of yellow desert dandelions and munched them with gusto, green chlorophyll from stems & leaves staining its mouth.