The Tortoise and the Kittens

We have been having so much fun watching the kittens! All 6 of them very faithfully show up for breakfast every day now, and afterwards they often romp around the yard playing and just generally exploring everything. Most of them are still afraid of me if I try to pet them, even when they're eating, but at least they don't run away when they see me.

This morning, I was watching, and I noticed that Peachy seemed to be stalking something. I looked in the direction of her gaze, and I saw a small tortoise moving slowly along the base of the far wall. So I went out and picked it up and brought it inside. While David held it, I went upstairs and got my camera.

It might be the same tortoise that Beatrix (the mother cat) brought to us last year. It's a little bigger, and it seems more colorful than the last year's tortoise. Still, who knows? It's only about 2 or 3 inches long. Here's the best pictures I got of it before putting it out in the middle of one of our geranium plants:

While I was out with my camera, I couldn't resist snapping some shots of the cats. Here's a nice portrait of the kitten we call "Mr Gray":

One of the kittens, Pascal, has become almost completely unafraid of me. He likes for me to pet him and even pick him up. He also likes to play with my hand and generally keeps his claws in, something really amazing for a kitten. Here's a picture I got of him:

Here's a nice picture of Tz'hovi, who is almost certainly the father of all the kittens:

Beatrix, the mother, of course has a LOT more work to do than anyone else. No wonder she's sacked out on top of the table!

Here are 2 more of the kittens, lying on the wall under one of the bushes in our yard. The one in the foreground is Goldie, identified by that orange-gold spot above her nose. I'm not sure which one the other one is. I think it's either Priscilla or Mr Gray.