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Friday, March 17, 2017

"Snail"

I enjoyed some spectacular spring-like days in February before getting socked with more snow and cold in March.  I used those unusually lovely days taking out my frustrations on my yard, whacking on a slowly rotting tree.  I stirred up a lot of angry ants and a bunch of mildly inconvenienced armadillos.

"We don't have armadillos in Ohio!" my friend said.  Well, yeah we do.  What would you call them?  Um, maybe potato bugs?  Pill bugs?

I looked up potato bug images and found some ugly, icky things.  Quite unlike the cute little armadillos.  Further research informs me my armadillos are actually woodlice, which doesn't sound cute either.  My friend pointed out what I already knew, if I had armadillos, I had rotting wood.  Since they're living in a slowly disintegrating tree in the back 40, I don't really care.

And yeah, my friend the eternal ray of sunshine pointed out that when the tree is gone, the armadillos are going to move somewhere, most likely my garage.  That's probably an astute, practical observation, but I'll deal with that at some unspecified time in the future.

I know I'm not the only person with affection for armadillos (woodlice, not the mammals that can give you leprosy).  Lots of little children have cupped the gentle little bugs in their hands and pretended to gobble the pill bugs.  They curl up into little balls, and neatly tuck in their legs so they're not creepy on ticklish hands.  Well, sometimes their little legs flutter like a feather, but that's just cute.

I also find tiny snail shells in my garden, but I have never found a living snail.  I find this very mysterious.  I have plenty of slugs though.  I think slugs and snails must be related, but the snails seem far more considerate about enclosing their slime in their own self-contained packaging.

I gently moved some worms out of my way and think I must not have changed very much since I was an intent child examining the local fauna in my environment?  My dad was good at encouraging my interests.  We had a lot of field guides to study, and sometimes he took my study subjects away for bait.

I'm just rambling with pleasant memories and associations.  The book I've been working on has a much different tone, and maybe I just need to contemplate quiet, childish play?  I was going to write a novel, but my non-fiction idea insists on coming into existence.

I looked up how many pages I have to type to create a book, but the advice is not to count pages, count words.  That's easy to do in a Word document under "tools".  Average books have 55,000 to 175,000 words, with the average about 80,000 words.  So far I'm over 21,000.  Woo hoo!  1/4 of the way there!  Okay, not all of these words are the best words, so it's going to take a lot more work, but I'm humming and happy about the process.

I've actually been pleased the weather turned back to winter.  It keeps me inside and typing.  I'm worried my budding pear trees are in trouble, but we all need to sacrifice a little in creating.  If I lose them, I guess the armadillos and tree snails will have something to eat instead of my garage?

16 comments:

  1. I loved the tiny armadillos as a child! Thank you, Linda ... another terrific piece of writing and awesome illustration.

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  2. We call them woodlice over here Linda and they are always around in the garden..they seem to do no harm. However snails are another thing....I have more than I would ever want..would you like to home them for me? LOL. I'm glad the book is coming along. Your illustration is brilliant! Enjoy the weekend xxx

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    1. Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stick with my empty snail shells instead of another pest to eat my garden :)

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  3. We call them dango-mushi (dumpling bugs) and I know that spring is just around the corner when I find these creatures in our bathtub (our house is very old). They have inspired many of my etegami. Funny that you call them armadillos. My grandmother had real armadillos digging up her Texas garden all the time, so I associate them with dry climates.

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    1. I like that name. I wonder if I'll remember it next time I make them move house? I don't need actual armadillos either. I have a ground hog and bunnies to harass my gardening.

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  4. Happy 21,000 words!
    It seems like whoever named wood lice didn't think much about general appeal, given all the spin-offs. We always called them roly-polies when I was a kid.
    Nice illustration. Snail shells are like some of nature's jewelry

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    1. Thanks! Roly polies is a good name too. Clearly, people like these little guys :)

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  5. Striking illustration!

    I don't recall what we called the little darlings, but definitely remember playing with them.

    A book?! I'm so inconsistent with reading my favorite blogs these days, that this is the first I've heard of it; assuming you've mentioned it before. Congrats on adding an obviously fulfilling goal to your life. Keep us informed!

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  6. Thanks Anita! I wonder if kids these days are getting out enough to play with bugs? You haven't missed much in my book news since I haven't said that much about it other than I'm trying to write one. I'll share more once I get it more together and it's more worth talking about.

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  7. Keep up the good work. And may it snow a lot around you, till your novel or faction is completed. And don't get derailed by armadillos or woodlice (which is a less nice word, I agree). :-) Exciting to read you are about a quarter into the writing of the book.

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  8. Thanks Otto! I'll admit I'm looking out the window at a warmer day today and getting a little spring fever :)

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  9. I'd love to hear more about your book. Mine ended up at 95,000 words. My goal was 100,000. But, I could edit more in. You're well on your way!

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    1. I'm going for average at 80,000 words, but who knows where it will end up. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've written.

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  10. Got to tell you, I love snails, but the pill bugs...blech! We've had the same kind of weather in New England. The flowers, trees, birds, and animals are so confused!!! I'm a bit upset, because while I was excited to see the super-expensive, ultra-fancy variety of tulip bulbs I planted are coming up, I know they are not due to sprout for a few more weeks and have been buried in snow twice now!!! UGH!!!

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    1. I'll admit don't play with the bugs anymore. I'm back to warm weather again. The plants must be even more confused. I hope you get to enjoy your extra fancy tulips :)

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