Snail Day
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I’m calling March 13th of this year Snail Day at McKinney Falls State Park because I saw a fair number of snails there that had left the ground and climbed up on various plants. I found this inch-long snail adhering to a mustang grape vine, Vitis mustangensis. Don’t you like the way the twisting tendril casts its shadow on the shell?
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
It’s rather amazing to see that relatively large snail attached to such a small vine. I like the contrasting shapes, too – the curves of the snail, the angularity of the vines and other sticks. The tendril almost seems an interloper, as interesting in its own way as the snail.
shoreacres
March 30, 2013 at 6:31 AM
Like you, I was intrigued by the contrast between the angularity of the many branches and the rounded contours of the lone snail. And then there was that tendril, which partakes of angularity (when compressed into two the two dimensions of a photograph) and curviness (in its actual three dimensions). As far as I’m concerned, tendrils can interlope all they want, especially if they cast curlicue shadows.
Steve Schwartzman
March 30, 2013 at 7:47 AM
If you recall that’s where I saw all the snails when I visited in December! As always, your composition is beautiful.
Bonnie Michelle
March 30, 2013 at 7:17 AM
Now that you say it, I do remember. On March 13th I walked (among other places) in a part of the park where I don’t usually go, and that’s where I noticed the many snails. Maybe they’re always or often there and I’m not aware of it, and maybe that’s where you happened to go on your visit. I’m glad you like the “busy” composition.
Steve Schwartzman
March 30, 2013 at 7:54 AM
[…] As I said, I’m calling March 13th of this year Snail Day at McKinney Falls State Park because I found a bunch of snails there that had left the ground and climbed up on various things, including the dry grass you see here. From the angle at which I took this picture the grass seemed to form a loop, and that irregular loop partly contrasted with the more-regular spiral of the snail’s shell. If the previous post was an example of a composition that could be described as “more is more,” this one is an example of “less is more.” […]
Snail Day, part 2 | Portraits of Wildflowers
March 31, 2013 at 9:13 AM
Shadows are one of the pleasures of photography for me.
The World Is My Cuttlefish
April 1, 2013 at 4:50 AM
For me, too.
What a coincidence that you showed a picture of many snails in your most recent post.
Steve Schwartzman
April 1, 2013 at 8:04 AM