What is charmlessly known as the "back end" of my blog includes stats on which blog postings attract how many visitors, and I can confidently say from previous experience that this subject matter – spiders and spider webs – keeps the punters away in droves. In fact it sends them clicking away faster than you can say "boo" to a scaredy-cat.
And so I know that the arachnophobes have already all gone...
However, spider web aficionados, all seven of you, can enjoy the following two photos of our resident orb-weaver's magnificent work, captured this Easter Monday morning as it's perfectly sprinkled with fog's micro dew drops.
The web is incredibly strong, like a ship's sail. There was a slowly waking morning breeze as I took these photos, and the web acted like a pair of lungs, breathing in and out as the wind blew it back and forth in a steady, slow rhythm.
Where's the spider? Hiding in the bushes. It does its insect hunting at night, helped greatly in this task by the street lamp outside, and our house lights, too. By morning Mr or Mrs Scary-to-Arachnophobes (and insects) is not to be seen.
It's one of the pleasures of gardening, sharing it with all creatures great and small. And both Pam and I often marvel at the cleverness and beauty of spider webs. These large orb-weaver webs are the cathedrals of spider-dom, but all their creations show how nature gives each and every creature its own special talent that helps it to thrive and survive. The main thing the rest of nature asks of we gardeners is to let them be, as much as possible. Just stand back and admire by all means, but live and let live if you can.
6 comments:
Love seeing spiderwebs in the garden at any time of year! I don't know though why anyone can find these types of spiders scary - they're so timid! :)
I agree Jess, whenever I see spider webs in the garden I always think it's the sign of a healthy garden, especially when there's a variety of webs - and species - enjoying the same space.
Spiderwebs always leave me in awe of mother nature.
Eight! Our spiders don't produce webs with a sail span. Never seen one that big.
Diana
They're our biggest webs, by far.
Mrs Orb Weaver is quite a big spider, too. But Mr Orb Weaver also lives on the web, but is tiny and in danger of being eaten by her if she notices him at the wrong time of day. So love-making is a very risky business for the Mr Orb Weavers of this world!
We love spiders at our place. We have a massive orb web high rise apartment complex, at least 7 spiders I can see, towering over our pool area. Huntsmen in the house are known as "George" and they eat the mozzies for us (or so I tell my kids). Redbacks we leave alone & I have yet to see a funnel web (thank goodness)
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