Warbler’s Wisdom is a weekly column by Jocelyn Hartley, our Creation and Justice Fellow from Disciples Home Mission and Green Chalice.

On June 27, 2023, three days after my brother’s wedding, my family had the unexpected pleasure of welcoming three more members to our number. But unlike my very human sister-in-law, these new members were Sonoran Desert tortoises. 

We named our adult tortoise, Willow, after her favorite snack–the flower of a Desert Willow tree. The two juvenile tortoises we called Della and Cruz, after Cincinnati Reds’ baseball player Elly de la Cruz (de la Cruz is astonishingly fast, and we were surprised by how fast the little tortoises could get around when there was shade to be found). 

Over the past two years, we’ve enjoyed watching the little ones’ personalities develop.

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