Itsy-Bitsy Snail

  Discus Rotundatus is a large name given to a tiny critter.  More commonly known as Rotund Disc...which stands to reason when looking at the longer phrase.  Then again, most commonly called the Little Round Snail.  I am much more at ease with that last name since the shape of the snail is just that...round....and it is little...and it is a snail.  There you have it!  The best name for this critter is the Little Round Snail!

  After the torrential rains of last night, I headed out before dawn to check the garden.  The rain gauge showed that nigh on four inches had fallen during the overnight hours with more threatening.  The garden was soggy to say the least.  Well, it would not do a whole lot of good for me to start straightening things so I decided that a bit of exploring was more in order.  I wanted to explore the tiny world that most folks never see...that tiny world beneath our very feet.  In all that soggy mess of a garden there were hundreds of tiny snails.  Most were the Discus Rotundatus, of course, since they seem to be the most abundant (and overlooked) critters around plants.  These little guys seemed to love munching the lower cabbage leaves.  The fact that they nibbled now and again did not bother me in the least.  They mainly stayed on the lower most leaves that were already beyond any use to me. This morning, however, I found more of the little snails on a humongous new growth of mushrooms that the wet weather has coaxed out of the ground.  (Mushrooms are everywhere!)

  One tiny snail was, by far, more interesting than the rest.  This midget critter was not daunted by my presence and did not slink back into his (her?) shell.  (The shell was only about one fourth inch in diameter.) No matter how much I poked around with the camera, the snail just kept on doing fun, snaily things. It climbed around on a bright orange mushroom nibbling pieces here and there.  The whole scenario reminded me of something from the book "Alice in Wonderland" but, when you think about it, we do indeed live in a wonderland.  Maybe not as far-fetched as Lewis Carroll's novel but as exciting a the imagination will allow.  Even though it is almost always overlooked by most folks, the Little Round Snail is quite interesting, as is all of the other fantastic things in nature!  Folks, get down on those knees and investigate the tiny world beneath your feet!  It is amazing!