A beautiful yellow and black orb-weaving spider has taken up residence in the tangle of tomatoes and irises off my back porch. She’s stayed long enough and has grown large enough that I’ve given her a name: Louise. The picture doesn't do her justice. She's about the size of my thumb. She’s been very busy catching and tying up grasshoppers. I’m a little sad that she’ll kick the bucket in the fall. I visit her every morning. The Finlander says I’m like Eve, always wandering around in the garden and talking to creatures I have no business talking to; however, I haven’t named the snake yet. For further details, read Samuel Clemens’ The Diary of Adam and Eve.
5 comments:
Oh, wow, a garden spider. I love
them. As a kid I could spend all sorts of hours feeding spiders.
These you could see the profusion of silk being guided by those rear legs wrapping up the grasshopper.
The task would leave the web disfigured. Often you can watch, at dusk, or early in the morning, the repair. Or you might just find
the spider back in the center of her celestial net, glowing in her newly symmetrical web again.
We seem to have quite a few spiders this year. I really enjoy watching them do their thing. This one scurries around while I pick the cherry tomatoes. She does this cool zizag thing with her web.
Yeah, all the garden spiders do that, the zig zag running vertically down through the center
(but running vertically side to side). You know those spiders you find in the corners of places you live? They've built a web there?
I've always fed them, as long as they're not right over my bed or anything. Growing up we used to call grass spiders "door lockers."
Spider mythology.
Really? I've never fed spiders, just mammals, reptiles, birds, a few amphibians. I usually end up feeding the fish the bait.
Welcome, Louise!
I obviously liked the name, too. Unfortunately, Louise has moved somewhere... It's not because I clean house with vigor, but she might have been the victim of my pet chicken Honey Pie, who also hangs out by the cherry tomato vines. Being a spider is a tough row to hoe.
Your blog is nice. Great pics. I've added you to my favorite places so I can keep track of what you're up to.
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