Monday, August 28, 2006
Snails
Our garden attracts tons of snails. It’s like some kind of exotic getaway for them. “C’mon guys, let’s go to Club Snail!” Come to think of it, how long must it take for a snail to travel from one yard to another? Or from one plant to the next for that matter? “I’m taking out the garbage honey, be back in an hour!” How much must it suck to be slower than a bad dialup connection?
Slow as these things are, it amazes me how prolific these things are. Once a week my sweety goes in and pulls out 10 or more, but they never disappear. More always take their place. Are they just amazing at reproducing or is snail word-of-mouth bringing in new inhabitants from all around? I can imagine the snail grapevine better than snail sex. One snail tells another, “You have to come to this awesome garden, it’s always moist and there are luscious yummy plants everywhere!” And when that snail never comes back, the others figure he decided to stay in paradise. So then they come over to see what it’s all about. It’s an endless supply of snails.
It’s pretty gross when I’m taking out the garbage and I have to step around 10 smushed slimy snail carcasses. But I’ve found that they serve a pretty good purpose. The ants have a feast. Disgusting thought, I know, but I’d rather they feast on dead snails than go swarming our house for food. I’m really thankful not to have an ant problem, because they are tough to get rid of. And the great thing is, after about a week, between the ants and the sun baking them, they soon become empty, dry piles of shell remnants. A song just popped into my head, “Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind...” Well, all they are anyway. I don’t plan on turning into dust for at least another 100 years.
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Categories: • Thinking aloud