What is the Purpose of Snails?

After all the rain this winter, and now continuing into the spring, my yard is a MESS! I don't just have weeds, I have "weed trees" - seriously, some are 3 ft. tall, or even taller. Not to mention the grass which is growing better INSIDE the planters where it doesn't belong, than it is in the lawn. And because of all that rain, the garden is muddy and yucky and the ground has been consistently too wet to be able to pull out the weeds and grass without a ton of dirt sticking to the roots. Plus, I have a busy schedule, which is the way I like it, but it also means I have limited time to work in the yard. And it seems every time I have a "free" day, it's either raining, or it just rained, so nothing has been done out there for several months.

One of my planters.
Check out all the weeds and grass - Ugh!

Finally, a week or so ago, the sun came out and I had several days in a row with no commitments. So while John was busily working on his garage project, I've been working in my garden. So far I have completely filled four of the great big trash cans and I'm still not done. But none of this is really unusual - it's pretty much the same scenario every spring.

What's equally or even more irritating than the weeds . . . is all the snails that have taken up residence in my garden! Literally hundreds of snails, entire families, maybe even cities, or countries full of snails! In all sizes, from the little bitty baby snails with almost transparent shells, up to the grand-daddy snails over an inch in diameter. Yuk! At least I've stopped cringing every time I see one, and I can pick them up and throw them in the trash barrel.

One of the smaller snail families - Yucky!

I believe everything on earth has a purpose, otherwise, why would God have created it? So my question is . . . . What is the purpose of snails? According to the Internet, the source of information and answers to all things, apparently snails are a delicacy to frogs, and to koi fish if snails happen to wander into their pond. Aha! That makes perfect sense! I don't have a koi pond, nor do I have any frogs, so apparently the snails have found their way into my yard because it's . . . a safe haven!

Well, 3 bags of snail poison later, the snails are singing a different tune! And surely frogs and koi fish can find something else to eat. Looks like I'm just going to have to sit down and have a long talk with Noah . . . . (but hopefully not for at least another 30 years!)