Inward Renewal

The seasonal rains bring an influx of snails into our back yard.  Big and small, they move in packs.  They squeegie themselves up and over everything and dependably leave green poop trails wherever they go.  We don’t really like them that much because we like to walk in our back yard barefoot.  Ian and Ireen are out there all the time barefoot.

If we’re not careful, they get crushed easily under our feet.  We’re not sure what they’re made of, because they can cause a tingling sensation if their slime isn’t washed off.  So, I make my rounds to pick them up, chucking them as far as I can out of our yard.  But it’s inevitable that next downpour will bring yet another slug fest.  Our family calls them slugs, but actually they’re mollusks because of the hard shell that protects their body.

We didn’t know very much about these unusual creatures until we tried to find out more info.  What we found was that most people confuse slugs and snails – but that they aren’t in the same category because of their shell.  Andrea and I were washing off the patio after they had come and gone because of the slimy residue they left.  While we’re not amused by their slime-off, it actually serves an important purpose for them.  Slime allows the snail to move across any type of terrain without injuring its body.  They’re very touchy feely creatures too – sliming everything they get close to.  That’s because they aren’t able to see or hear.  They rely on their sense of touch to interact with each other and their sense of smell to find food.

Did you know that they come rank number two, behind insects, in terms of their sheer quantities on earth?  We discovered a little insight as to why they are present in such large quantities.  Get ready cause this is kind of sick and cool at the same time…. they’re hermaphrodites.  This means that they are neither male nor female.  They do mate, but they have the ability to produce both sperm and eggs.  When two snails are mating they will BOTH conceive and lay eggs. No wonder they are numerous!