Day 255: Have a banana. I have seen larger specimens (they grow 'em big on the Olympic Peninsula), but this one still qualifies as a whopper. It took me entirely by surprise. I'd pulled the kayak in through a tangle of branches, beached it on a narrow shingle and was just going around behind a large cedar tree for purposes unsuitable for mention in polite company, and as I went to put my hand on the tree for stability, teetering on the soft, spongy soil, I saw the banana. It was about three feet up from ground level and had a mouthful of lichen. Suffice to say, I was startled by the monster in the gloom of the deeply shaded wood, and jumped out of my skin as I realized I'd nearly leaned on it. The span of my hand is seven and a half inches; note that the slug's head and shoulders are curled somewhat (tail is at the top), adding at least another inch to its total length.
Ariolimax columbianus is our largest Pacific Northwest slug. They can reach sizes up to ten inches long. According to Wikipedia, they are the second largest species of terrestrial slug in the world! Many have dark spots on their body, but the most common colours are the sickly olive-green (shown here) or yellow, the latter giving rise to the common name Banana Slug. They may be so extensively spotted that they appear black (a very ripe banana!), or may even be entirely white. Whatever colour they may be, their size is the clue to their identity. And now you know that bananas grow on cedar trees.
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