Thursday, June 20, 2013

Wildlife in the garden # 2


These don't move quite so fast as either Cyril or the rabbit; my kind of wildlife photography really.

One might say, a gastropod Brief Encounter;




two banded snails emerge,


approach one another in a roundabout way,




their eyes meet.  Almost literally.



They part, and go their separate ways.


It seems the yellow, rose and brown ones are, as I often wondered, the same species, along with a number of other more stripy variations also available.  They're hedging their bets in the camouflage stakes, which is perhaps why they like to hang out in these vari-coloured grass-like plants which offer different background options.  

It's very easy for me to find displacement activities when I'm supposed to be weeding.  



15 comments:

The Crow said...

"It's very easy for me to find displacement activities when I'm supposed to be weeding."

To your readers' great delight and benefit!

Zhoen said...

Funny, as much as I hated weeding as a kid ( I liked dandelions!) I actually enjoy it now. At least wearing gloves - only so I don't have to scrub my nails so hard for work the next day.

Catalyst said...

I love escargot but to date have avoided making it from scratch . . . or, more properly in this case, from life!

Francesca said...

These photos are beautiful. I wonder what snails actually see?

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Spectacular photos, Lucy. I've never seen these striped multi-coloured grasses, let alone the striped snails. They'd be great inspiration for textile designers - I mean your photos.

Jean said...

Such beautiful, weird and satisfying images. Quite as worthwhile as weeding - and more susceptible to sharing.

zephyr said...

Beautiful!
i think the plant is a phormium...which i wish i could grow here!

Lise said...

Coucou
Quelles jolies couleurs , les photos très nettes. Bravo!
Quand tu en aura trouvé 2 douzaines ou plus, tu me les envoies, j'en ferai une very good entrée avec de l'ail et du persil. Nous n'en mangeons qu'à Noel parce que c'est un met de choix.
Bon Week End Bises

Unknown said...

'"If compression is the first grace of style',
you have it. Contractility is a virtue
as modesty is a virtue.
It is not the acqisition of any one thing
that is able to adorn,
or the incidental quality that occurs
as a concomitant of something well said,
that we value in style,
but the principle that is hid:
in the absence of feet, "a method of conclusions";
"a knowldege of principles",
in the curious phenomenon of your occipital horn.'
Marianne Moore

You have illustrated beautifully one of my favourite poems.

Pam said...

I do not care for snails. But pictures of snails are fine, especially if they're French snails that are unlikely to ooze their way up to Edinburgh and eat my garden.

Similarly bunnies, though I am more warmly inclined to bunnies because they're furry.

Ellena said...

I will have to erase these beautiful pictures from my mind if I want to continue enjoying snails on my plate.

Lucy said...

Thanks all, sorry to be so tardy replying, I doubt anyone will come back now but anyway!

I've no aversion to eating snails, though really only chopped up with garlic and parsley in little vol-au-vents. Our former neighbour once collected a bucketful but of the big Roman ones, not these little ones, and was feeding them on greens then bran for eating. I didn't get the impression his wife was too impressed with the procedure, probably the kind of thing it's better to have someone else do for you. Funny really that sea molluscs are so much more acceptable than land ones, but they just seem cleaner somehow. Anyway, the thrushes love these snails, and we have had abundance of those, and their wonderful song, this year.

Zephyr - no, not phormium, we had one of those once but Tom decided it was too big or something and it went. These are a smaller thing which has odd little delicate white four-petalled white flowers on it, looks like a grass but isn't.

Lise - meme les petits commes ça? Je disais, mon voisin a ramassé une fois an grand seau plein des gros escargots marrons-gris, ceux qu'on appelle en anglais les Romans, et il les nourrissait aux feuilles et au son afin de les manger, mais j'avais l'impression que sa femme était moins que ravie de ce travail! Je peux les manger, mais mieux hachés à l'ail et au persil dans un petit vol-au-vent ou bouchée de la reine, en fait je préfere des fruits de mer!

Lise said...

C'est beaucoup de préparation pas toujours appétissant. Il faut les faire dégorger dans du gros sel, et là beurk! ça bave de partout.
Je ne les remettais jamais dans les coquilles trop long, mais dans une coquille St Jacques avec de l'ail et persil, C'est très bon. ça ressemble un peu à certains fruits de mer, les bulots par exemple, avec un goût différent. Dans une bouchée à la reine, j'y ai jamais pensé, ça ne peut être QUE BON!
Bisous et bon Dimanche

Rouchswalwe said...

Ah, in the world of snails the sun shines and there is only need for hurry if a thrush is hungry.

marly said...

Excellent. More weeding distractions.