The elegant banana slug

I'm channeling Englishman in Bandung tonight. Dave does the most amazing creepy-crawly pictures I've ever seen. I will never have his skill with manual focus and macro, but those of us who subscribe to Dave's journal dearly love his lengthy and adventurous descriptions of how he gets his shots, often involving mud, naked feet, danger, and dedication. While I didn't have to lie down in a rice paddy to get this shot, I did stretch out on my belly on a wet, muddy pavement in the rain, in order to meet this slimy creature face to face. One driver did stop, thinking to render aid to a woman lying in the road. I waved him on, laughing and pointing to the camera.

Banana slugs are native to the northwestern USA, and this one is about six inches long. I got about 20 shots but chose this one because it shows his and her (they are hermaphroditic, distinguished for the size of their pleasurable bits) antennae and ripply feet, and because the leaf in the background echoes the shape of the critter. I found an absolutely charming six-minute video by a very dear park ranger who treasures banana slugs and is a bit embarrassed about discussing the um, organs of regeneration, and a bit uncomfortable talking about kissing. Made me laugh out loud.

Other interesting facts: the banana slug is the mascot of the University of California at Santa Cruz and was once nominated by a group of eight-year-olds as the State Mollusk of California; as is the case with many of our populist movements, the initiative was defeated. At least no pepper spray was involved.

I had fun in the woods today and have posted seven more pictures on Flickr, including a full-length view of this lovely being.

P.S. I artfully chose a much more interesting thumbnail, but for some reason I got the default and can't fix it. Sorry.