A curious incident in the night-time

[callmemadam]

When I drew the curtains this morning this strange sight met my eyes:



There's more of it than shows in the photo. Looks like something from an ancient civilisation. What on earth were they up to?

Comments

[sloopjonb.livejournal.com]

In spring a young snail's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of lurve.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Oh my innocence! Do you really think so? The trails are very wide and very bright and cover a large area.

[sloopjonb.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. Snail mating is a complicated business, being as they are hermaphrodite. They first spend a lot of time chatting each other up, what time they wander about in circles twitching their horns at one another. Several snails may join in the dance, trying to cop off with the fittest ones. Once paired up, they basically harpoon each other and then wander around in circles, bound together, for some considerable time, presumably lost in the throes of gastropod ecstasy. All this usually happens at night, otherwise the local thrushes would have a snailfeast. The results you see on your patio.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It sounds like hard work.

[wardy.livejournal.com]

It looks like a giant squid was shot in your backyard and that's the chalk outline the police drew round it's body!

Wardy

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Hee! So it does. The marks are as bright as chalk and they're still there.