You might be thinking, what the in world is a livestock farm doing sending out pictures of snails? Shouldn’t we be seeing some cows or chickens?

I admit… I don’t even know that much about snails myself, in spite of being a farmer! The extent of my knowledge is that snails eat garden vegetables, and therefore are considered to be a pest by most folks in my field.

But what I like about this photo (besides his genuine snailey cuteness, of course) is this important reminder:

There are so many fascinating things just outside our doors, under the patch of dead leaves, hiding out among the daffodils. When is the last time you just stood still and watched for nature to show up?

It can really be fun and interesting to sit and watch a flock of birds try to decide the best branches to land on–they can’t seem to make up their minds! Or to watch an ant try to roll a giant crumb into his house–will it fit through the hole?? Or a squirrel stand and look, run, run, run, stand and look, over and over, between the trees. What’s he looking for, anyway?

Look at this crazy thing we found one summer–a flying dung beetle did the most terrible landing ever!

But it doesn’t have to be animals–it can be the most intricate little plants you ever saw. Like this miniature mossy creation:

Or these pretty little rain lilies:

Here’s a fun one that tells us spring is coming–Henbit. Chickens love it, of course! The flowers look like tiny purple trumpets. You’ll probably see some if you come to one of our spring tours (schedule coming soon!).

And of course there are plenty of animals, even if they are tiny and don’t have four legs. Now that spring is coming, you can expect more of our sleepy nature friends to be waking up—the honeybees, the ladybugs, the dragonflies, and all the songbirds that went south for the winter.

But even in winter, if you take the time to watch and wait, you’ll find abundant nature in the smallest patch of grass or moss near your home.

I like to watch the snails. Their little feelers sway back and forth, telescoping in and out when they detect danger and when they find something unexpected (like your finger!). You might think of snails as slow, but they can be very quick to get into their shells when they get scared!

Shevi, my oldest son, found these snails among some dead leaves in the fall. I hope this month’s sticker will be a reminder to head outside and go exploring–it doesn’t have to be far or fancy. Just enjoy the beautiful and amazing world God has made! Why don’t you try searching among the leaves and see what you can find? Make sure you look close!