I held up the clear-sided, water-filled container and stared intently at the beige snail shell rolling around inside. It looked hollow. I said to the salesperson, “This snail shell looks empty, like no one is at home inside. Could the little snail be dead?”

Shaking his head, the salesperson responded confidently, “No. It’s alive. That’s a mystery snail. You don’t see its foot because this type of snail has a little trap door that can be closed when they want to hide.”

Snails with trap doors! I’d never heard of anything like that before. because I decided to buy it because I think snails are fascinating. I would just have to watch to see if it eventually moved. Turning back to examine the various betta fish for sale, I wondered which one to buy. There were small reddish ones with small fins. I figured they were females. One black betta had long, dreadlock-appearing fins. Two of the fish had large, fan-like fins. The fish I picked to take home was black with white fins. Its ruffled white pectoral fins reminded me of Victorian lace as it fluttered nervously when I picked up the small container it was in.

My daughter, Niki, gave me a small aquarium for Christmas. It was equipped with a water pump and three seed growing trays to cover the top of the tank. In the trays are specially coated “growing” rocks. Wheat grass and radish seeds were included in the kit. The sprouts from these seeds can be harvested and eaten in salads. The water pump keeps the rocks constantly damp, which makes them a perfect place for seed germination. I loved this setup because it would keep my cats from trying to go fishing whenever I wasn’t looking.

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