Snails

The spiral in a snail's shell is the same mathematically as the spiral 
in the Milky Way galaxy, 

and it's also the same mathematically as the spirals in our DNA. 

It's the same ration that you'll find in every basic music 

that transcends cultures all over the world. 

~Joseph Gorden-Levitt*

Warning, there will be some yucky stuff in photos and print.

The spiral (especially the triple spiral) figures widely in Celtic Ireland. It can be found carved in ancient stones, church ruins, illuminated manuscripts, on artifacts and jewelry. Some sources say the spiral is a symbol of the sun. Others say it represents the journey of life.

I wonder if the first carver of a spiral wasn't looking at a snail...wasn't fascinated by the curving lines marking the shell.

Carving from the Church of Ireland churchyard, Clonmel, County Tipperary.

I found myself drawn to snails on our many hikes. They were omnipresent and beautiful.

I took photos and recorded my observations almost religiously in iNaturalist.** Then I hit a snag. Some snails found near Kilmacduagh could only be precisely identified if I had a photograph of the lip of the shell. [Hey, I didn't care what the lip looked like. It was pouring down rain. I had saved one snail from drowning and was trying to save my cold drenched self. I didn't want to kiss the snail, just note its existence.]

It took two trips to locate similar snails along that stretch of rustic road (apparently the snails like it moist, but shun rain. Now they tell me.). They had white lips.

Meanwhile I had gathered some empty shells and put them in my pocket thinking they could be cleaned thoroughly and used for classes with youngsters. I tried that old whistle technique we used as children where you place the empty shell between your fingers just so and blow.***

Leaving the shells on the edge of the sink in our room, we carried on with the day.

That evening I checked in with iNaturalist and my communication with one expert and probably snail curator. She reminded me to wash my hands after touching snails. Okay. I gotta stop right here. NORMALLY I don't touch things. I try to take all the photos needed without bothering the wildlife. But SHE sent me back to touch the snails...and the suggestions for photographing individuals almost REQUIRES you pick them up.

So I thought about it and remembered that snails can carry some nasty things we don't want to catch. I washed my hands. I started washing the "empty" shells. Let's just say one shell wasn't empty. I spent the next hour sanitizing everything (after throwing the shells away.). I showered and washed the pants I was wearing (pocket had empty shells, remember?).

 Unable to sleep, I worried into the night. Remember, I had also blown into one of those shells potentially spreading gross snail whatever all over me and/or breathing it in. The next day I had another message from the snail expert. She's been all about snails for years and has never worried more than giving her hands a thorough washing...and she's never gotten sick.

Whatever. Those were my last snail observations for the trip.

See. You cannot see the lip of the shell. This could be a

This is a juvenile of the type above - but is it a White-Lipped Snail or some other Cepae?

Garden snail. This is the guy we saved from drowning in a puddle.

Garden Snail.

Garden Snail.

Isn't this guy gorgeous?

Strawberry Snail (don't know why and I do as I'm told).

Amber Snail

White-Lipped Snail.

Garden Snail

There appears to be a bed of White-Lipped Snails at Kilmacduagh. They are beautiful.

See? It has a light colored shell lip.

Strawberry Snail. Here you see the pink tone.

Okay, now GO WASH YOUR HANDS!

Post Script - On my first walk with Zelda I found this vine. It was lovely and so I snapped a shot of it. The name? Carolina Snailseed.




NOTES:

* I don't know if Joseph Gorden-Levitt really said this, or if the statement is true, but it seemed a good way to start this post about snails. Oh, and here is a cool link to information of Sacred Geometry, if you are interested. http://www.crystalinks.com/sg.html

**FYI iNaturalist link - https://www.inaturalist.org/
Link to Susan Hewitt's (aka snail lady) guide - https://www.inaturalist.org/people/susanhewitt

*** How to whistle with a small snail shell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhYrnBHsGW4