The other day I glanced at a  plane tree I’ve strolled past a thousand times and noticed something strange. In a small nook on the patchy, rugged trunk, a community was dozing.

Snails. Lots of them. All sitting close together and still hibernating, tucked up in their shells.

What startled me was how many times I walked so close this winter and early spring, and never spotted them before.

They aren’t covered up at all – just hidden in plain sight, and relying on their predators’ lack of attention to detail. What a simple, yet apparently effective, means of survival!

What else might we be passing by in our daily lives without realising? And, equally, how precarious is our own safety in the nooks we call homes?

Can you turn this into a tale or other creative work?

If you write or create something prompted by this idea, please let me know by emailing judydarley (at) iCloud.com. I’d love to know the creative direction you choose.