Gastropods

When I went for a hike at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary last weekend I was hoping to spot deer, snakes, or some other animal along those lines. I ended up seeing nothing larger than a blue jay. However, I did come across many, many snails. I have always enjoyed seeing and photographing snails. I have always seen them as very curious, although I have no idea whether or not this is true.

I was amazed at the beauty of the shell that this snail had. It may not have been colorful but the detail was amazing, as you can see in the next picture

The pictures above are from the first snail that I came across, I had no idea that I would see fifty to one hundred more on a rock wall covered with moss.

I spent about fifteen minutes photographing the snails on the moss. All the snails that I had noticed seemed to be the same type, but just as I was leaving I noticed about ten snails on the side of a tree next to the rocks. they looked like a different type of snail.

after this point on the trail I didn't notice any other snails. However, two years ago I took a picture of a snail that was on the same trail. I know nothing about identifying snails, but from the shell I think it is different from the two types I saw last weekend.

Because this post has been all about snails, I thought I would include one last picture. This is a snail that I found last summer in Yangshuo, China half way up a karst peak. Despite the snails drab shell it remains one of the most beautiful that I have seen.