great & small

[kaberett]

Watch on Vimeo

[a bat swoops back and forth against the trees silhouetted against the sunset; the audio track features the output of a bat detector, held by My Glamorous Assistant just to the right of the shot. video taken 2021-04-19; first sighting of bats this year 2021-04-18]

Below the cut: THE SNAIL.

The Snail arrived with us on the 12th of April, by which I mean, that is when Adam dropped it in front of the dishwasher and then put a toe through its shell.



Here it is two days later, on the 14th (photo by A!), the day Adam's Rush-Ordered Cuttlebones arrived. It is sitting on the edge of a black plastic microwave steamer, r e a c h ing toward a slice of apple and a piece of cuttlebone. Lots of damage is visible on the shell, which is still looking quite rough and patchy, but it's already managed to start reforming the interior membrane..



The photo above was taken on the 16th (by A), after its living quarters had been upgraded for the first time (i.e. A drilled a bunch of holes in a plastic crate). It is not yet allowed soil -- the membrane hasn't quiiite hardened up enough yet -- but even with the blurriness of the photo Some Improvement Is Visible.



By today, the various other Home Improvements Adam had ordered started arriving -- so here is the snail on one yoghurt lid full of veg pieces (which have subsequently been partially upgraded), in a box now filled with Snail-Grade Loam, admiring its reflection in its water dish yoghurt lid. The ongoing improvements in shell integrity are sort of visible, but honestly you'll do better with them in a pair of videos (also from today) of it Eating Food. Sound on for monching:

Watch on Vimeo

[A snail, rasping bits off a cuttlebone fragment. Video by A.]

Watch on Vimeo

[A snail, monching on lettuce, with the damaged portion of its shell visible. Unfortunately we did not manage to get the actual close-up on its OPEN little MOUTH that we achieved in person. Video by A.]