What are little boys made of?

A while back we went for a walk one evening after it had rained. We found a yard down the street that had a bunch of snails in it, so I was trying to show Loren what they looked like, but they kept hiding in their shells. I kind of felt guilty for thinking it would be cool to take some home, because I didn't know much about them, so we didn't bring any home. We came home and looked up snails on the internet and saw some videos on You Tube. Turns out they're more or less garden pests in some areas, so I didn't feel as guilty about considering bringing a couple home. Loren learned that they are gastropods and learned about their four tentacles. Two on top for their eyes and two on bottom for tasting and feeling. I also read that they're relatively low maintenance for keeping them, at least on a temporary "study" basis.

A couple days ago, it rained one of those nice, all day sprinkly, drizzly rains. Even though we were tired after playgroup, I told Loren we'd go for a rainy day walk and see if we could find a couple snails to bring home for a little while to study. We found several right in that same area out enjoying the nice rain, so we picked up a couple to bring home.
When Loren first picked them up, they would retreat back into their shells and hide, but they actually got pretty comfortable with him holding them gently on our way home and they ended up crawling all over his hands and arms (and mine too- that was fun... holding a snail, Justin, the umbrella, and my camera...). I had to find something to put them in, so right now they're in a giant "tupperware" thingy with wax paper taped over them because I don't have any plastic wrap. Apparently they like to sleep upside-down attached to the underside of the wax paper.LL has had a blast with them and loves to get them out and have them crawl all over him, and all over my keyboard. They're pretty "friendly" although one of them seems to be a little shyer than the other one and takes a while to come out of it's shell (pun intended).Yesterday Hurricane Ike hit landfall in Galveston/Houston, Texas, so I've been following the coverage on that on the tv. Obviously hurricanes make a swirl pattern, but the newscasters were comparing it to a donut (with the eye being the donut hole and the main/major part of the storm being the donut). Loren and I were looking at the snails later in the day and he told me "Mommy, the snail shell looks like a hurricane." Wow, I was stunned! Of course I had to tell him he was exactly right.

I'm not sure how long we'll keep them, but even I'm enjoying them while we have them. Loren knows if they aren't happy in their home here, then they will have to return to the wild. I told Loren if he wanted to keep them longer he could ask someone to buy him a tank for his snails for his birthday so we can make sure they like their home better than "tupperware and wax paper."

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.