Desert Messenger

8 www.DesertMessenger.com March 15, 2017 Quartzsite Art Guild updates Library presentation planned The Quartzsite Library will host the following program on March 23rd, 2017 at 7 PM, refreshments will be furnished by Quartzsite Library Friends. "General George S. Patton Jr. - Dynamic Leadership and Desert Training help to bring Allied victory in WWII." Patton's life led him to a rendezvous with destiny. Bill Heidner, the Museum Curator of the Heritage Center of the US Army Yuma Proving Ground explores the General's life along the way to Allied victory in WWII. This of course included a key stop over in our desert to create the Desert Training Center / California Arizona Maneuver Area (DTC / CAMA). 585 N. Central Quartzsite Open Mon-Fri 8-5 928-927-8787 Johnny DelPino, Owner BEST AUTO RV & TRUCK REPAIR SERVICE YOU CAN DEPEND ON! • Mobile Service • Quick Clean Service • References Available! • UNLIMITED GUARANTEE! • We Fix Pleated Shades So They Won't Break! • Servicing Monocco Coaches Also! • We Use FACTORY CHORDS and Parts • Removal & Install on your site! • Servicing Quartzsite for 8 Years! DAY NIGHT SHADES REPAIRED Local Resident • FREE Estimates Larry - Cell 928-273-3719 LIFETIME GUARANTEED WORK! Factory Parts! Factory Chords! Factory Parts! Quartzsite Art Guild meets each the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, 6:00 p.m. at the Senior Center, located at 40 Moon Moun- tain Rd., Quartzsite. At the last meeting, it was decided to have a guest teacher/demonstration at the third Thursday time slot, start- ing in November 2017. We are in- viting anyone who would like to learn the different aspects of art to attend. It's only $5 to join the Guild and $5 to become a Senior Center member. A schedule will be released to announce upcom- ing topics and dates when available. Look for what you would like to learn and join us. The Art Guild shows their art once a year and the proceeds go to help the Community. Donations will be made to Friends of the Quartzsite Food Bank, Quartzsite Museum, Isaiah 58, and Operation Hero Comfort. We appreciate all the support we have received from the businesses and guests. For more information on the Art Guild call Oney Budge at 208-317-2315. Arizona residents can apply to adopt a desert tortoise under a program ad- ministered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. According to the AZGFD, nearly 100 tortoises soon will be awakening from their winter slumber. The department's adoption program is looking for good adoptive homes. There is no charge to adopt a tortoise. The tortoises up for adoption are in a wide range of ages and sizes. AZGFD is accepting applications for those willing to provide a special home. Adoption application packets and gen- eral information can be found at www. azgfd.gov/tortoise. Adopters need to have a securely en- closed yard or separate enclosure in their yard, free from potential hazards such as a dog, fi re pit or unfenced pool. The enclosed area must include an ap- propriate shelter for the tortoise to es- cape Arizona's extreme summer and winter temperatures. All of the desert tortoises eligible for adoption will be given health checkups before going to their new homes. Tor- toises are available for adoption only to residents living within the species' na- tive range, which includes the Phoenix, Bullhead City, Kingman, Prescott, Lake Havasu, Tucson and Yuma areas. Desert tortoises offer a unique alter- native to more traditional family pets and can teach many of the same life lessons to children, including respon- sibility, compassion and commitment. Contrary to many assumptions, desert tortoises can be interactive and provide companionship without as many de- mands as a cat or dog. According to the AZGFD, the desert tortoise has many remarkable behaviors and traits that make it well-suited for life in the desert. Because the desert tortoise is ectothermic, it controls its body tem- Adopt a Tortoise perature by using a burrow. The burrow shelters the tortoise from the extreme heat or cold of the desert. It provides a constant climate that keeps the tortoise cool when the weather is hot, and shel- ters it from freezing temperatures dur- ing hibernation in the winter. A desert tortoise may spend up to 95 percent of its life in burrows, only emerging to feed, bask, and breed when the weather allows, mostly during the monsoon season. In fact, it will get most of its food for the entire year during this period. It eats the leaves, stems, and fl owers of many species of desert plants. Surprisingly, it is able to digest many species of plants that are indigestible to other animals with help from bacteria that reside in its digestive system. Another adaption that makes the des- ert tortoise suited for desert-life is the ability to acquire almost all of its water from the plants that it eats. Because des- ert tortoise live in an arid climate where most of the rainfall occurs during the monsoons, it is able to store water in its bladder for use during drought. It can go over a year without drinking. One of its defense mechanisms when handled or disturbed is to release the contents of its bladder, which can deplete its wa- ter supply and can cause harm or death during a drought. For this reason, if you fi nd a desert tortoise, do not pick it up. As an adult, it has very few natural pred- ators because of its thick, scaly skin and hard shell. In some areas, mountain lions are the main predators of adult desert tortoises. Worse than predation, however, is the pressure the species is under from development, the construc- tion of roads, and other human activi- ties that degrade its habitat and cause mortality. Per Arizona Game and Fish Commis- sion Order 43, possession limit is one desert tortoise per person per house- hold. For more information visit www. azgfd.gov/tortoise.

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