Gopher Tortoise Sells House in Florida

Okay, it hasn’t happened yet, but it might.

Mr. Pop and I lived in another house for several years. When we moved there, there was only one other house on the street and it was way down at the corner. The neighborhood was filled with trees, palmettos and there was still a lot of wonderful wildlife. We saw foxes, opossums, raccoons and all kinds of snakes. I have tons of stories about the wildlife, but this one is about a gopher tortoise. I named her Hanna.

Hanna got that name because she loved to eat bananas. I used to go out and call to her, “Hanna, do you want a banana?” When she saw me, she would come right up to me and wait for me to place a peeled banana in front of her hungry mouth. Hanna liked to eat other things too. She showed a fondness for the dusty miller plants in our garden. She ate them all up. She went gaga over caladiums and ate them right down to where they emerged from the earth. If I failed to give Hanna her daily banana and there were no chosen plants to consume, she would come up to our patio door and push her head against the door, almost like knocking. Yep, she was hard headed Hanna.

About five years ago, we were presented with an opportunity to buy the house we’re living in now and it was too good to pass up. We decided to buy this house and rent out the other house. I had to leave Hanna behind.

When the first renters moved in I told them about Hanna coming to the door so they wouldn’t think they were being attacked by a big terrorist tortoise. I also told them she liked bananas.

Those people lived there for one year and then another family moved in. I clued them in on Hanna too. These people loved animals, so Hanna got back on the fast track with her bananas. When these people moved out this past December we decided we had had enough fun as landlords and opted to sell that house. Yes indeed, I believe the day we made that decision the housing bubble was a burst heard around the world. So our little house, after being in the hands of an idiot real estate agent for the first six months of it’s “For Sale” life, is now in the hands of a lady who seems to actually be working for us.

New real estate lady called last Sunday and told us a couple has seen the house twice. She said, “That’s a pretty sharp trick putting a big gopher tortoise in the front yard.” She said the prospective buyers were all excited about and interested in the tortoise, as it munched away on the grass in the front yard. They are nature lovers. I told new real estate lady the story of Hanna and explained that she lived there too.

That couple has narrowed their choices down to three houses and ours is one of them. If they choose ours, full credit will go to Hanna, the gopher tortoise who sold a house in Florida.
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Have a wonderful weekend. See you back here on Monday.