Something Is Watching

We have had some warm weather this month. Yesterday we spent lunch time on the patio again, without a breath of wind, just a comfortable eighteen degrees. Wasps and mosquitos are still making their rounds while the geese honk overhead. Meanwhile, underneath our patio is an ideal habitat for spiders.

There are numerous places for the web spinners to attach to the patio and insect activity is guaranteed. The fact that we can walk under the patio means that many webs are destroyed, by accident or by plan. The crawly creatures are never welcome as passengers on Rick and I. However they would mind their own business if we stayed away from their backyard habitat.

We have spent time watching these arthropods building their webs with precision and industry. They are methodical in their work, setting down a framework and stringers in geometric patterns. If we destroy a web, the spider hides for a time, then gets back to the repair work. They are undaunted. There is much we can learn from them.

When I lived in Buchans, Newfoundland, any time I taught a unit on spiders and insects, I woke in the middle of the night, fighting off creepy crawlies in vivid nightmares. I know I would not require advanced torture techniques to give up any secrets. A few well placed spiders and insects would do the trick. However, in my conscious life I am more curious than afraid of them.

So, here is my friend Spidey, the beautiful garden spider. We took the picture through the glass of the back door, making her underside visible. She could "see" into the family room. 

Something is watching! The stuff of nightmares!