it strikes me funny: at a snail's pace 1

A world famous event occurs this weekend in Old South London. It's called 'The Gathering on the Green' or just 'The Gathering', and people come from miles around to sample local music, great tasting hot dogs and delicious tea, and view various local vendors' wares, e.g., carvings, art work, jams, jellies, jewelry and - best of all : ) - my brilliant birdhouses. But this post and those to follow (closely related) are not about The Gathering but about something I noticed Tuesday afternoon - a rainy day, indeed - as I entered my backyard shop to work on last minute birdhouse details.

["The Snailman survived a near-miss"]

I noticed I'd almost stepped on a large, colourful snail parked inches from the shop doorway. All clammed up he was, likely because of my plodding about. It stayed that way for several minutes - in a wet patch upon my small work deck - while I painted and assembled this and that a few feet away. I thought, I'll be making a lot of trips indoors. I'll step on him if I'm not careful. Maybe I should toss him into the bushes.

Then I had another thought. I won't throw him away. I'll add a bit of water to last night's beer glass (perched on a shelf; dried residue from Elysian strong ale at the bottom), give him a taste, and see if he'll wake up and get moving on his own.

My idea turned out to be substantially better than 'very good'. It was in fact brilliant.

["This story may take a while"]

Fast enough for you? Stay tuned.

Photos by GH

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