Sluggish

Greetings,

I found this little guy or maybe it's a girl in the fresh ingredients for our garden salad.


Once I found him...I jumped .... and dropped the lettuce leaf sending him flying off his cozy stalk and bouncing off the sink walls. It's just a little snail, but finding him all nestled in the cracks startled me. I quickly recovered, began pealing off more layers before I jumped again.

Another one. Then another one. Little slimy snails everywhere. So I decided we were going to have traditional Cretan salad.... without lettuce.

Once I finished the slicing and dicing of the cucumber and tomato, I went to wash everything off.... and jumped again. This little guy had crept up from the sink inch by slimy inch and started his/her journey to who knows where.

With knife in my right hand and unwashed tomato in the other I just stopped to watch him/her. How do you tell the difference between a male or female snail?

But as I watched this little guy, or what I will from here on out refer to as It (Interesting Thing)... It would wiggle it's antennas, extend them out, wave them around...over to the left, then to the right, retract them, and then begin it's slimy trek across the sinks edge.


I just watched It for a little bit as It antenna ed (I know it's not a word) its way across the metal. At one point It was moving quite rapidly, but still at a snails pace.


I kind-of gave It a little poke (with the butt end of the knife) to see if It would go any faster. Nope, it caused It to retract back into It's shell.


After I scared It... I left It alone for a bit. But kept my eye on It. In a few minutes.... there It was again... extending It's antennas, wiggling them around, left then right. Then It stuck the rest of It's head and neck out.


All clear.



It began it's journey again. Not sure where It was headed, but I intervened and put It in the window sill.

It's still there.

My little It life lesson came at a snails pace. This slimy little bugger is a lot like me.

Unsure. Uncertain. A little nervous at times. Just poking my head out a little to get a feel for the surroundings. Must look left and right. Must put out my feelers to make sure I want to put the rest of me out there.

Then if something I don't know or like gives me a little poke... I retract back into my shell. My protective casing that helps hide my fears and insecurities.

Snails when attacked can contract into their body, making themselves harder and more compact, and thus more difficult for many animals to grasp. The slippery texture of the mucus that coats the snail it makes it even harder to capture the animal. The unpleasant taste of the mucus is also a deterrent.

I hope my snail like days do not produce a bad taste for others.

Blessings to those with a tough tasteless exterior,

Kristie