Snail

My dad and I spent 20 minutes watching a "pack" of good-sized snails. (Can you say..."Get a life?) We had many questions, and not many amswers. Wiki-pedia didn't help much.

Do they use their opening as a suction cup? A gentle nudge with a stick solved that one. The little mollusk trickled dowm 6-8 inches.

Are these the type you can eat? My dad fished one out...took out his swiss army knife...got to the meat of the matter...and plopped it in his mouth like a raw oyster. He sounded like Popeyes friend Wimpy when he said.."I think I'll have another."

One more I wonder. One day this spring there was a 4 foot puddle filled with snails. I counted them. 65. I took a couple of pictures, but didn't blip them...thinking they would be there the next day. Wrong! The puddle was dried up, and the snails were gone. Did the snail leader announce "C'mon kids...back to the water?" I would have liked to watch that sloooooow procession.

Coming from years of working at the post office...I never wanted to hear the words "snail mail." It made me want to "go postal" on them. Maybe kick their dog, or "accidently" rip one of their letters.

The part about my dad eating the snail was totally fabricated. He doesn't carry a pocket knife, and he's watching his weight...so he didn't know how many calories were in 1 snail. Ha.