as predicted...

...a snail

Our postponed appointment meant we were in Christchurch on this wet and windy Tuesday. The rain hasn't let up all day but it didn't stop us from enjoying a lovely squelchy walk over Hengistbury Head. As we passed the breeding ponds of the Natterjack Toad, I was already thinking about what will hopefully be some of next March or April's blips!

While scanning the path verges for today's subject, we found a few different caterpillar species but, after yesterday's mist adorned beauty, these were not going to cut the mustard, so one of the myriad of snails has come to the rescue. I photographed five different species this afternoon, but it was this tiny high-spired image that caught my eye. The Pointed Snail, Cochlicella acuta, is a common species in coastal areas of the south and west of England and Wales, the islands of the west coast of Scotland, and the Irish coast. In some parts of the world it has been introduced and become a pest - Australia, for example.

I have deliberately composed my image to create an illusion. This is a small snail. My subject here is 4mm wide by 15mm high. The substrate it is climbing up looks like a piece of timber but is actually the dried stem of a cow parsley flower...