Think before you squish...

[Oldfloss]

Lots of mentions today, about slugs, snails and small slimy things, all out in the wide, wet world this morning. All moving on their own pathways; slow, fast, seen and unseen. I ,as ever, rambling along, taking it all in, (post later) , and thinking about a few posts I had read..

So, this silly rhyme is for TessHardy , who is going to try Oldfloss strategies of thinking of poems, song or rhymes to take her mind off her aching legs/feet...... McFitty has written a brilliant one..to the tune of We Plough the Fields! It is with SleepySloth in mind also, who braced the dampness and the onslaught of Slug Central this morning.

Seen on a Morning Run

It's easy to dismiss a slug,

As being less than pleasant.

It doesn't have the same allure,

As a squirrel or a pheasant.

The snail has little more in charm,

But, it has a shiny shell.

The myriad colours please the eye,

It moves with grace, as well

So, in the morning, as I run,

And muse on the slimy path-mate.

I wonder if they view my feet

As harbingers of cruel fate?

I see them there, I halt, mid -stride,

And stand and simply ponder,

Can my feet get, more soggy and wet

If I stand there much longer ?

They pause and seem to stare at me,

With cold and baleful glare.

A great galumphing running thing

With no right to be there.

I cannot wait until they pass,

My run time's almost all gone.

And though I may dislike the slime,

I'll still try, not to squish one.

Because...

I may be viewed as a slug, or snail,

By a giant runner, who thinks, that

I'm just a weird slow- moving thing,

And with his foot squash me flat!

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Love it Oldfloss!

Mind you, I hate slugs and snails in the garden - I swear you can hear them munching all my prize plants if you go out on a damp evening.

I once culled over 100 one evening!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Ullyrunner]

Noooo...horrid...! They are voracious aren't they? I seem to be fairly free of them where I live now.. our old house and garden.. ( daughter and son in law live there now..tee hee..everywhere!!! I did tread on one once.. with my barefoot! Eeek!

[McFitty Graduate]

Love, love, love it!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to McFitty]

Looking at yr rhyme this morning..we have more in common than running😏 Such fun...someone as loopy as me??? In the nicest possible wayx

[McFitty Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

I hereby accept the honour of being a fellow loopy lou!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to McFitty]

Wonderful...watch out world😏

[Frank-ntj]

You do have a way with words Floss, and you must have feet like twinkle toes to dodge all those slip slide things! Nice poem though. 😎

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Frank-ntj]

To be fair.. I had really stopped at that point.. took some photographs and headed home..

[PippiRuns]

You are my favorite Loopy Grey Snail (even if you aren't really a snail anymore)!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to PippiRuns]

Thank you x.. ( I am getting faster.. and travelling further too...) France on Friday... French snail! Oh.. maybe I need to be worried. L'escargots ? Ooops!!!!

[PippiRuns in reply to Oldfloss]

😱😄

[90ldfinch Graduate]

I do enjoy your word-smithery, Oldfloss . It's surprising how liberating physical exercise can be for mental stimulation

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to 90ldfinch]

Oh yes... for me, it released all my words again... and... thank you... since retirement.... I actually use my title of wordsmith!!

[TessHardy Graduate]

Brilliant - yuck! I am looking forward to thinking up some songs on my next run ! Just need a theme and a tune x

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to TessHardy]

There are sooooo many to choose from.. choose something simple, that you really know.. and before you know it... running forever.. with no aches and pains

[aliboo70]

For you floss, to the tune of "daisy daisy give me your answer do! "

Laura,Laura, give me you answer do!

Can I be a runner, I really don't have a clue....

It won't be all plain sailing. ...

I can't run from here to that railing!

But bit by bit I will get fit

And I'll enter some races too!

Xxx

[PippiRuns in reply to aliboo70]

Another poet in our midst!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to PippiRuns]

This running....it awakens hidden treasures, that we all hold inside us... I love it....

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to aliboo70]

Oh my..... we are not just runners...( well, we knew that...:)) We are poets, the fleet-feet bringers of words

Thank you for my song... I shall sing that all day! :)xxxx

[Frank-ntj in reply to aliboo70]

You have hidden talents Ali! 😊 Thats very good and brought a little smile to my face! 😎

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Frank-ntj]

Pure genius! :)x

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Another reason not to squish on a run is that they are slippy. Who wants to pick up a running injury through sliding on a slug?

I'm using nematodes and wool pellets in my organic garden (not quite soon enough... no home grown courgettes for me this year). Mind you, there was a big feisty snail stuck to the outside of the wool pellet packet...

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to GoogleMe]

So true..I am really not overly fond.... the barefoot incident I had with one..yuk! They do have cling-ability too. daughter uses the wool pellets..the nematodes were not really successful...but the slugs seem to still be munching the stuff!

[GoogleMe Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

My nematodes are really working - but they are not so good for snails. I too have walked (and slipped) on slugs barefoot in the house. Not in this house, just now we have a plague of dead pigeons about the place, thanks to our two youngest cats (behind the bath and under the bed).

I keep meaning to put suitable paint on snails and track them or have a snail race. Did a snail race before with a youth group and it was a whole heap of fun. (Mean of me to race snails when I won't race myself)

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to GoogleMe]

Snails.. I am okay with generally..hence my name for my runnin self.. Grey snail although aliboo70 changed my shell colour..

Once did a duck race.... with rubber ducks

I have no urge to race.. and am still not sure of a Park run...

[Anniemurph Graduate]

Brilliant! My running sometimes changes to a hurdling race, or a hop, skip and jump obstacle course, because I am trying very hard not to step on slugs or snails I am not yet obsessive enough (or fast enough) to note in my Garmin statistics 'This run was slower than usual because I was avoiding slugs.' But the day may come!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Anniemurph]

It is true though.. I do stop and skip and hop like you... It would be so great to have images of us doing the avoidance tactics that we employ for all manner of things.