I confess I've never gotten close enough to a snail to watch it eat. But this is adorable (in my humble opinion of course). After seeing this video I started to think about how snails carry their homes on their backs and the fact that they have two two pairs of retractable antennae on their heads. One pair contains their eyes while the second is used to navigate through smell. They're pretty nifty critters, don't you think?

This is the third part of the story of how I learned to reclaim my voice in the workshop Susan Osborn offered in Japan. I still marvel at how our meeting and the lessons she taught me continue to resonate in my life today. Enjoy: https://open.substack.com/pub/whalesinmybackyard/p/singing-my-way-home

Part II in the ongoing series of short videos featuring advice from nature. Here an elderly oak advises listeners to be like the seasons. To learn more about Wild Dialogs and join the fun (read, create, and share stories) visit Wild Dialogs on Substack: https://whalesinmybackyard.substack.com/p/wild-dialogs-stories and Skool: https://www.skool.com/wild-dialogs-2031/about

This is a juvenile Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). Cute isn't it? But don't let its cuteness and size fool you. Even though it is less than 5 inches long, this amphibian is a poisonous carnivore with the ability to regenerate severed limbs! Eastern Newts begin their lives in ponds with dull-green skin, fin-like tails, and feathery gills. After a few months, they migrate from their breeding ponds to begin their terrestrial juvenile years, metamorphosing to an orange/red skin color with light spots/bumps outlined in black. At this stage, they develop a neurotoxin that can be secreted from these bumps, which is quite dangerous if ingested. After a few years in their juvenile form, they return to their breeding pond as adults, metamorphosing back to a dull green color and fin-like tail, though they retain their spots and some of the toxin. This serves as a warning to fish not to eat them. But what is most surprising about these newts is their ability to regenerate limbs, tails, jaws, spinal cords, eye lenses, and even heart tissue after injury. They are pretty tough little changelings. - Information provided by The Central New York Land Trust

This video will grab you by the throat. Gotta wonder who was watching who and for what reason, right?!! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18VnnMh26P/