Snips and Snails and Puppy-dog tails

I was astonished to find this, pictured above, yesterday when I sat down with Benjamin in his play area.  I lifted up a little piece of cloth and there were his babies, all in a row, tucked in and taking a nap.  He's been playing with these "babies," as he calls them, for weeks now, and he has made beds for them before, but I was just astonished that he had done it all on his own when I wasn't in the room.  It wasn't for me to see at all; he was just playing pretend by himself.  As I'm writing here, I'm trying to convince you that this was worth being surprised about.  Maybe the feeling was more like wonder tinged with regret that he now has an independent imagination.  

JB got Benjamin a little guitar at a second hand store last week, and B has been jamming with dad ever since.  My favorite snapshots though are of Benjamin playing with snails.  I've commented on his interest in this before, but snail hunting is now a full-blown obsession.  Overheard from JB while he is playing music with several friends who are married but don't (yet) have kids:  "If you are having any doubts about having children in the future, consider the snails."  

I don't think he meant this to be a cautionary consideration.  He didn't mean, "consider how gross the snails are when you find them in your children's pockets," but consider how helpful the children are in helping rid the yard of snails that destroy your garden.  

Last week even when it hadn't rained in a while, B and I were out with his bucket ("buppet") finding old snail shells and the occasional misguided snail in the garden.  But last night and today it rained, and oh the joy!  As you can see in the pictures below, Benjamin picked a whole bucket of snails this morning.  Snail hunting kept him busy and happy for a whole hour or more, and he probably helped save some of our plants too.