HAS IT REALLY BEEN THAT LONG?

I was doing some stat research on google involving the band and our websites and I found this picture of my turtle Frag:

This was from a photo of the month contest at Turtle Homes in 2000.I remember getting Frag in 1997.I still have him in fact,and he looks exactly the same,what a beautiful face.
The pens now are in ruins,rotted out from exposure and Frag and his brothers and sisters (I'm down to 9 versus about 100 a few years ago)Have been living in small pens in the green house in spring/summer/fall and in cardboard containers in the house over the winters.
I'm not involved in rescue anymore,because,like so many good ideas,they get politicized and fucked up.Plus,I can't afford it.
The remaining turtles I have,with the exception of one,are from the original group.All of them with me for at least a decade.
That kind of freaked me out.A decade...while that's not a long time in turtle years,it's a long time to have a pet.
I think I found my spring project.
In addition to resurrecting the pens,I have these stock tanks that I used for my aquatic turtles-long since released to the wild.

(not my stock tanks...but similar)

I have 2 4'x2' ovals,a six foot round and a 2'x10' oval sitting idle in the back yard that would look awesome in the front yard re -imagined as planters.Mostly cactus,but some flowers as well.
I'm actually excited about doing this and plan to start this weekend.We've got some awnings that need to go away as well.
Amazing what a picture of a turtle can trigger,eh?