Feeling a Bit Sluggish
The rainy season is here, and with all the extra moisture slugs are once again making their way slowly across the valley. Normally, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to these slimy little critters but around here they are anything but little! I know that some people at home have scoffed when I’ve mentioned their proportions so below is a prime specimen! It makes me think back to an evening on the Appalachian Trail spent atop a mist covered mountain in Maine. I awoke in the morning not only soaked from being emerged in the passing clouds, but also with my sleeping bag covered in no fewer than a dozen tiny slugs. Their slime trails were everywhere – they even made bold journeys across my toxic red socks hanging on a nearby shrub! Needless to say it was somewhat of a “gross” moment. What makes me really squirm though, is imagining those 1/2 inch Maine slugs being replaced with jumbo Oregon 8 inchers. Oh silly slugs, you do have a certain charm but please keep it to yourself! I promise to watch where my footsteps fall.
Created
Lady Claudia says:
Added on November 2nd, 2004 at 6:49 amI was always considered a bit of an odd child. Fascinated by slimy creatures, cold and small, I spent countless hours scouring the ponds, swamps, and lakes of our township in search of them. Armed with empty butter tubs and tall rubber riding boots, I collected salamanders and slugs, the bigger the better. They were lovingly housed in moss-laden vivariums where I watched them lay eggs and hatch, devour lettuces and each other. I would fantasize about finding such prize-proportioned slugs and snails as were found on the west coast. Indiana doesn’t offer such fauna, so I thought…until I came to the land of Fort Fun,USA! When I first saw these six-inch monsters, I thought it was some strange fluke, an unusual season for the Hoosier mega-slug. Now that I am a Fort Wayne land owner, I know that they are a regular reality. Now that I am older, I am not so fond of sharing my lovingly planted flora with them. One rainy night, insomnia encouraged me to seek employment to pass the time. I decided to go on a slug roundup. This time armed with a quart jar half-filled with water, I easily filled it in an hour, frequently swirling the jar to inhibit escape. What a lovely surprise to greet my husband at his post-2nd shift arrival: not a jar of fresh-baked cookies on the counter, but a jar of fresh-picked slugs…*FLUSH*! Never a dull moment at our house.