The Great Tehaleh Adventure of Scooter the Banana Slug

You’ve probably seen Scooter the Banana Slug around Tehaleh and you might wonder: how did he get his name? Scootin’ of course. Scootin’ on the trails. Scootin’ at The Edge skatepark. Scootin’ to the Mt. Rainier view at Post and Pour. From fern to fern, Scooter slugged his way throughout Tehaleh, seeing it all, loving every minute in his patient exploration.

One early morning, Scooter found himself on an odd surface. It was already too late when he realized he was crawling over a dog leash. The last thing he heard was “go!” and Scooter was on a wild ride down Cascadia Boulevard toward the mountain. He was being carried by a dog and his running human, galloping toward Glacier Pointe, a place that Scooter had never been. The dog pulled over to sniff some flowers, and Scooter took the chance to glide off the leash. He was far from home and he didn’t know how he’d get back in time for Slugday Night Slugball.

He had never travelled more than 40 feet in a single night, and here he was in uncharted territory! How would he get back, let alone cross the road to get back safely? The question was all too much to comprehend and Scooter paused to get a sense of his surroundings.

The morning dew glistened on the grass surrounding a Tehaleh garden, each crystal bead a kind of magnifying glass. Scooter sipped a droplet.

The smell of fresh pine and the scent of earth reminded him that he was still home in Tehaleh. Though further than before, he was not too far. A buzz darted overhead.

Buzzing Beans

There went a bumblebee, bumbling along. The bee noticed Scooter’s concern, shook off some pollen and landed on the top of a blade of grass.

“Beautiful morning!” the bee says, “I’m Beans! I haven’t seen you on this side of the road, what’s your name?”

“Hey there, Beans. I’m Scooter. The-“

“Banana Slug? You guys rock. Always wish I could slow things down and mosey like you.”

“And before today I wish I could fly,” Scooter said, “Then I got caught on a dog leash and wow…do I hope I never have to fly again.”

“It’s not for everyone! Keeps me busy. Keeps me young.” Beans says. “I always ask creatures the same question: what’s your favorite food?”

Scooter found that peculiar, and it even made his stomach grumble. “Well I like leaves mostly since they’re nice and crunchy. Moss is great, but maybe not my favorite. Also, a big fan of fungi when I find it, but that’s more a lucky find.” Scooter was rambling. “Oh and I love poison oak! Not sure why it’s called poison oak though. Tastes pretty good to me.” Beans had visited and hopped between 38 flowers in the time it took for Scooter to answer.

“Ah fantastic!” said Beans. “If I recall correctly, it’s an acquired taste. Humans hate it, makes them all itchy and it can be very dangerous. I would know, they don’t like getting stung by us, so we do our best to stay away from them. Sometimes they smell like flowers, so it’s a little tricky. But you know.”

An acquired taste! Scooter felt really cool. Scooter asked “How about you, Beans? What’s your favorite food?”

“Well, as a bumblebee I am a huge fan of nectar. It’s breakfast, lunch, dinner for me. Really great stuff. Pollen is super duper nutritious as well. Keeps me going. And I’m usually covered in it on my busier days, like today.”

“Wow nectar and pollen are everywhere, that must be nice.” Scooter started to turn around to move back toward home. “I’ll have to show you my favorite flowers over on the other side of the road sometime.”

“Sure! I’ll meet you over there in 15 minutes. Or…sorry. Let’s aim for tomorrow? I’ve got to fly but great to meet you Scooter.” Beans tipped his head and buzzed away to the nearby flower garden.

Scooter trudged onward toward home. What a nice bumblebee, he thought, they always seem to be in a rush but Beans was kind enough to chat. He’d be a great neighbor.

Scooter ascended and descended a mound of woodchips, snacking on leaves along the way and soon found himself approaching a shaded rosebush. A light rain showered overhead and Scooter started getting chills. The shade darkened the earth all around, a little creepy for his liking, at least when he’s in an unfamiliar place, so he started humming the Slug Spangled Banner to keep trudging along.

Creepy Crawly.

An intricate web splayed across the base of the rosebush, and right in the center was an orb weaver spider. Usually Scooter would be nervous to strike up conversation with a spider, but now he had a fun question to ask all these nearby creatures. Surely the orb weaver knew where to get some good snacks around the area.

“Hey there! I’m Scooter.”

The orb weaver spun a strand of web and turned to face Scooter.

“Hmmm. My name is Octavius.”

“I met this bumblebee a couple slimes back,” Scooter said “Beans the bumblebee asked me an interesting question: what is your favorite food?”

“A bumblebee? I didn’t know they could talk” Octavius tapped his front legs, pondering.” “Favorite?! Oh, anything that meets my web. Flies, beetles, mosquitoes…my cousins in the Midwest have told me stories about cicadas, but really can’t go wrong with a fly.”

“A fly? Wow.” Scooter chuckled. “I’ve seen them around, well it’s sort of embarrassing, maybe that’s a story for another day.” Scooter started sliming along as if to leave. “Oh actually, I do have one more question: do you eat banana slugs?”

Octavius returned to the center of the web. “Nope. You guys are already too slow for my liking. I like a speedy guy. Keeps them humble.”

“Oh, uh okay.” This made sense why Octavius and Scooter rarely crossed paths. Scooter liked dead plants and Octavius really liked lively insects. To each their own, Scooter thought, and so he continued on his way.

Oh, Deer.

As he reached the road, he was nervous that the giant hunks of steel passing by would skid on their brakes, leaving a slime trail that smelled quite disgusting to Scooter. He preferred his own slug trail. There was a great creature gnawing on some grass nearby. It looked like a large dog? It came over to Scooter and started sniffing him.

“Hey! What are you doing?! Bad dog! Bad!”

“Oh excuse me. I thought you were a banana for a second. And I’m no dog. I’m Doe-a-deer-a-female-deer, but you can call me Doe for short.”

“Hi Doe. I’m Scooter. And I’m a banana slug, so no worries on the confusion. Happens all the time.”

“Are you having some trouble getting across the road? I might be able to help.”

“That would be fantastic actually. But first I have a question.”

Scooter was a little concerned that Doe was going to eat him. But his new question was a safety precaution.

“What’s your favorite food to eat?”

“Hmm that’s a great question. I really like to eat trees and shrubs, grasses are plentiful, and I like to eat things from people’s gardens. They don’t like it so much, but hey I can’t help myself.”

“But no banana slugs?”

“Oh no, absolutely not. Anything that moves, I avoid. Plus, everybody knows or ought to know not to touch banana slugs. And you guys know where all the good fungi is, so it’s good to have you around.”

Scooter was relieved. “Look at that, you’re a fungi! Get it? Like fun guy?”

“Yeah. Anyway do you want still need that lift? Or do you have more bad jokes?”

Scooter shriveled in embarrassment. He was going to make a joke about a chicken crossing a road, but Doe’s sense of humor was a little stale in his opinion.

Scooter slimed onto Doe’s hoof and was all good. Doe looked both ways before crossing and bounded across the road. Perfect. Scooter was so close he could taste it

“Thank you Doe. That was a huge help.”

“You’re welcome Scooter. Just remember, I may be a doe, but I’m also a fun guy.“ Doe laughed and ran off.

Home sweet home.

Doe was a good one. After waving his antennas goodbye, Scooter decided it was time to return to his fern. Tehaleh was full of wonders, he thought, each creature had their own story, and today they were a part of mine, even if just for a day. To learn more about all the interesting creatures living in and around Tehaleh, check out our blog, or stop by The Welcome Center and grab a park and trails map and explore for yourself!