Tortoise hatching

A friend showed me her newly hatching tortoises. They are only the size a 10p piece. Last years are now about ten cms long. Baby tortoises, when in the egg, are literally folded in half and are virtually round in appearance. When they have absorbed most, or all, of their life-supporting yolk-sack they start to straighten out. At this stage their tiny carapaces are pressed right up to the egg shell, which leaves an imprintment of the egg-shell texture on their carapaces. ( This can be seen clearly while they are hatchlings, until it eventually grows out.) Eventually they straighten out to such a degree that they puncture a small hole in the egg-shells with a bony protrusion which has developed on the end of their snouts, called an egg-tooth. The holes that the egg-tooth create help to weaken and dry out the shells allowing them to break open as the tiny tortoises emerge. The egg- tooth is only present for this job and will be worn away as the hatchlings grow.

In other news, I missed today's walk and spent the morning removing panelling in the utility, scraping out muddy drainage channels and clearing a pipe to a soak away pit. That should stop the utility room flooding again but it does not explain why there is a steady tickle coming out of the wall. I have telephoned SAUR, the water board, who are bringing testing equipment to see if there is a leak in the street. I suspect the water is coming from the arrosage channel in the street used for garden irrigation in the village. I am still waiting for the man from the Mairie to turn up...