The Quick, The Slow And The Dead

A Swedish snail, a Tuscan turtle and some desert creatures - the quick, the slow, and the dead.

a tuscan turtle, a swedish snail, and a trio desert beings
 
five separate lifeforms, living as they do 
the perils of life unbeknowst to them, it's true
 
each at their own pace, will eventually win their race...
 
...or will they?
 
 
 
THE QUICK, THE SLOW AND THE DEAD
traditionally slow, this little guy found enough speed and strength to duck away from me for a short while, but not before I snapped this little pic of him, presumably, taking a rest from 'the chase'...
perhaps all snails are created equal, but this Swedish friend kept up the tradition of sleek, Scandinavian design.
it looked as if there were a stowaway on his shell...any thoughts on that little yellow, aphid-like creature?
bigger than he looks, faster than you can imagine. in the blink of an eye these lizards appear then disappear. they can often be seen from afar, as a result of their colored scales radiating reflected light.
desert javelina. they travel in packs, they're not very fast...but they stink, and they too like to 'charge' at humans, occasionally, if you get in their way. wild desert boar, basically...with a twist (and a love for cactus flowers)
a Texan grasshopper (I think). in a rather vivid (and somewhat gross) display of the circle of life, I looked down during a recent shoot to see this dude about 10cm from my foot. the ants were in a frenzy...can you blame them?
and *this* is what happens when you're not quite fast enough. This truly disgusting and quite unnerving creature is known as a Pale Wind Scorpion. Google it and you'll learn that it's actually a natural 'hybrid', part spider, part scorpion.  While it doesn't have the poison that scorpions do (and thus, won't kill you), it's a very aggressive bug...and it uses those sharp purple pinchers (towards the front of it's head) to rip and tear its prey apart...yeah. As quick as they are, however, it clearly wasn't quite fast enough to avoid my car pulling up in the driveway at night. sorry buddy...but I'll sleep better now. 
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