I’ve always encouraged Child Harbat to pick up bugs and be not be squeamish or cruel about the smaller creatures of the world. So I’m pleased that she not only likes to pick up snails but wants them to crawl around on her hand and will want to set them up on a race down her arm. Then she wanted to have one snail ride on the other’s back while relocating them from the wet lush groundcover to a wasteland of gravel and dust. Well, I convinced her to find a more suitable habitat, noting that the snails’ feet looked like a crumb-dusted donut. We also found a snail that had been stepped on (poor thing!) and another pair that were stuck together by what looked like a short strand of dried mucous. When I explained they were probably mating that just raised more questions than answers because, honestly, do YOU know how snails mate? So we left those two in what was either coital bliss or a sparring death grapple. Or maybe both. Nothing is too slimey!
Writer, architect, father, husband.