One of the issues that arises, though, from a natural and almost irrepressible enthusiasm is that I get a lot of new stuff coming into my life. I also see a lot going out. Not many of my passions/obsessions/hobbies make the cut.
My newest hobby is snail keeping. It turns out that snail keeping is a pretty great way for me to chill out.
It started by accident.
I was weeding one day with a friend and my boys were with me. Whenever I'm working in the dirt and come across something living, it is the subject of great excitement and the kids immediately want to make it a pet. Roly polies, worms, and snails all qualify as cute and keepable in their eyes.
When Gabe asked me if he could keep the snails he found, I remembered a little specialized ventilated glass box that I got on clearance from the pet store for Christmas. It was really too small for most animals, so it was being used to hold down a corner of a shelf in a closet. Snails, though... snails could make do in a little glass box with a top screen and a back wall made of painted foam rock.
That first round with snails was short lived. I let the kids take them out and handle them whenever they wanted, and the poor snails got left in the sun without adequate water. I learned a lot, though. I learned a lot more about snails than you probably want to read here.... and I learned how relaxing it is for me to watch them.
If you can get past the ick factor, snails are amazing little animals. When they slide over a pane of glass, you can see the symmetrical ripples of their foot which propel them along. When they eat with their disappearing mouths, you can hear the crunching of your compost scraps. And you can watch that food moving up through their heads into their bodies. The way their feelers and eyes retract and extend is fascinating. Yes, friends: I have found that a snail's pace is ideal for stress relief. They're free, and when we're done with them, we plan to feed them to our neighbors' chickens.
I would post my own picture here today, but I need to clean their cage again. Keeping nine snails in a 10"x10" box does not let the walls stay clear of snail poop and slime for long.
