I’ve had my three red-eared sliders for 20 years. And for 20 years, they had no names. It wasn’t intentional, it just never happened. They were always just “The Turtles.”

Well, that changed yesterday, when I decided to finally name them.

T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye basking together

Meet T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye.

I’ve been a TLC fan since I was young. First concert I ever went to. I memorized every song. At some point I even photoshopped my face onto the CrazySexyCool album cover and made it CrazySexyCoolRaych, which tells you everything you need to know. TLC has been part of my life longer than these turtles have.

T-Boz is the biggest turtle in the cove. Beautiful light shell pattern, frequent egg layer, never misses a meal. Super cool.

Left Eye is medium sized with maximum energy. Feisty, scrappy, and brings the chaos — she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chilli is the smallest of the three and she’s ok with that. She shares her own 75 gallon tank with a community of guppy friends she has absolutely zero interest in eating. Her terracotta pot is her happy place — she sleeps in it most nights and hangs out in it. She is unbothered, sweet, and thriving.

I decided to start a blog about the turtles, my fish, and every so often my pups. Why a blog? I’ve had various personal blogs over the years — nostalgia for that probably played a role here. And people clearly like turtles. I fiddle with websites. Seemed like a natural fit.

Stay tuned. Don’t go chasing waterfalls.