May 24, 2026
Nature Done Wright
Incorporating the Celery Farm and Screech Owl Companion blogs
Monday Morning Mystery 010217
Yikes, is it another year of mysteries already? Thought we'd start this on eat a snail's pace.
Tom Mitchell writes:
Walking around the "lake" [last week], we saw a snail shell on the ice a couple of feet from the shore and a couple of feet from a small hole in the ice.
This was by the bench on the southeast between the PM tower and the Warden's Watch.
What is it and how could it have gotten there? (Thanks, Tom!)
2 comments
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I like Sal’s answer but I have a question instead. Could it have something to do with the oxygen level in the water? Also, I do believe you could use the shell to measure seasonal climate change if you have it analyzed. Carbon isotopes within the shell could be analyzed to provide information on diet, local vegetation change, salinity, and carbon cycling. (Since the environmental conditions in which the organism live are reflected in the types of isotopes that are present in its shell.)
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Raccoon had a midnight snack while sitting and relaxing





2 comments
Marianne Herrmann
I like Sal’s answer but I have a question instead. Could it have something to do with the oxygen level in the water? Also, I do believe you could use the shell to measure seasonal climate change if you have it analyzed. Carbon isotopes within the shell could be analyzed to provide information on diet, local vegetation change, salinity, and carbon cycling. (Since the environmental conditions in which the organism live are reflected in the types of isotopes that are present in its shell.)
Sal
Raccoon had a midnight snack while sitting and relaxing