Turtles Crossing!

Here in Delaware the beach roads are getting busy as tourists pour into Southern Delaware for their summer vacations. This is not great timing for our local diamondback terrapins who need to cross the roads. Motorists are being urged to watch for these endangered animals, who at this time of the year try to move from an inland bay across busy US Route 1 to lay their eggs in the soft sand of the ocean dunes of Delaware Seashore State Park, one of the state's prime nesting areas for this species.
Maybe Delaware should erect a giant turtle statue as a warning to motorists. One like that in the accompanying photo might be just what we need! This is probably the world's largest tortoise statue--and is called "Myrtle the Turtle". It is located beside a highway in Joshua Tree California. Originally designed as a float in 1957 and made of wood and wire framework, it was given to the local Chamber of Commerce and later turned into a sculpture by Howard Pierce in 1998.

By the way, do you know the difference between "turtle", "terrapin" and "tortoise"? Be sure to stop by the LadyBug Shop & Turtle Treasures in historic Downtown Milford, on your way to the beach.

Olive Ridley Turtles & Their Arribadas

One endangered species of sea turtles is the Olive Ridley Turtle. They live primarily in the tropical regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but are also sometimes found in tropical coastal areas of the Atlantic. They are relatively small by sea turtle standards, with adults weighing about 100 pounds. In the past they were one of the most abundant of sea turtles. But commercial fishing and pollution has decimated their population. Another major challenge to the Olive Ridleys is the shrinking number of beaches suitable for their nesting. A distinguishing feature of these turtles is their practice of mass nesting, when many hundreds of female turtles emerge from the water at one time and lay their eggs in sand nests, an event called the "arribadas". One of the few remaining sites where the Olive Ridleys nest is on the beaches of Orissa, found in the Indian Ocean along the Bay of Bengal. This video shows what occurs during one of these events. Watch it here

Visit Turtle Treasures Gifts to find the perfect sea turtle gift for your favorite turtle lover!

Sea Turtle is Special Guest at Valentine's Day Wedding

This is such a great story and video that I wanted to pass it along. During a Valentine's Day ceremony which was held underwater at the London Aquarium a large sea turtle turned up as the surprise guest. The turtle didn't seem interested in kissing the bride, but have certainly found her wedding dress attractive! Check out the video on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raglJPh2D-U


This Franz porcelain teapot with a mother and baby sea turtle would make a great wedding gift.

A Ten- Ton Turtle Made from Rice

A ten-ton rice turtle would be quite a gift! But that is what is being prepared now for a traditional “turtle gifting” cultural event that will be celebrated by the two Chinese cities of Quanzhou (which in on the China mainland) and Penghu (which in on the island of Taiwan). The turtle is 7 meters long and 5 meters wide and is being made out of sacks of rice. Visitors to the turtle often touch its head to receive blessings of happiness and safety for the New Year. This year the Chinese New Year starts on February 3. It will usher in the year of the Rabbit, one of the twelve zodiac characters that are used to designate each year.

Visit Turtle Treasures for unique turtle gifts. We don't have a ten ton turtle but we do have several new cute turtle items for everyone on your gift list.

Turtle: The Incredible Journey

Last year I read about the release of a quasi-documentary film titled Turtle - The Incredible Journey. It won a number of prizes, including one from the Toronto International Film Festival. I found on-line previews for the movie and was eager to see it. But it never came to any local theaters and is still not available from film sites such as NetFlix.com. However, I just found the entire movie is now available in HD on YouTube! It appears to be an Austrian release of the film with the title Tortuga. But don't worry, the the narration is still in English.

The movie recreates the 25 year epic journey of a Loggerhead Turtle from birth on a beach in Florida, up along the Gulf Stream into the North Atlantic, across to the coast of Africa and then back to the beach were it was born. It is the real life version of the animated film "Finding Nemo". The film is narrated by British actress Miranda Richardson. The movie on YouTube is shown in sequential sections and has a total length of around 80 minutes. Click next to seamlessly view the next section of the movie. It is an incredibly beautiful film.

Happy Holidays from Turtle Treasures!

Happy Holidays from Turtle Treasures!
Wishing you every happiness this Holiday Season and prosperity in the New Year. Thank you for being our wonderful customer. We look forward to continuing our relationship in the coming year. In the new year look forward to new and exciting ladybug and turtle items, in store events and much more!

- Dan & Rhonda Bond and Zoe Stewart

Delaware Today honors downtown Milford Business Women

We are delighted that Delaware's leading magazine, Delaware Today recognized the efforts of a group of women in Milford whose businesses have helped restore the vitality and charm of downtown Milford. These five women, including Rhonda Bond, co-owner of the LadyBug Shop and Turtle Treasures, were selected as honorees in the magazine's annual Women in Business feature. In addition to Rhonda (first on the left in the accompanaying photo) were Teri Carter of EcoChic Boutique, Michiko Seto of Blooming Boutique, Leigh Minor Nagy of Minorbird and Gail Angelucci of Angelucci Fine Woodworking & Stained Glass Studios. The magazine also recognized these and other leading Delaware business women with a wonderful luncheon in Wilmington last Thursday.