As a child I played around some blackberry bushes at the end of out short street. One day I ran into, at face level, a spider much like the one you photographed. It seemed huge and was suspended in the middle of it's web. I stayed away from those bushes for a long time after that! It was one of the most startling moments of my life. Later I got revenge of sorts finding what I momentarily took for bits of shredded wheat in my cup of tea one day. I realized a spider must have plopped itself into the kettle when it was empty and accidentally gotten boiled. Mu-hu-ha, except that too was one of the most startling moments of my life!
Eww - boiled spider in your cuppa?! - aargh! I can totally understand your alarm! Hope you can get to like them one day, Rebecca - I'm the kinda person who goes round saving them from drowning in the bird bath etc... I love the little darlings!
Thanks - the shadow really caught my eye, the spider was suspended just in front but you can't see her web in the photo. She's like a 'pet' spider, that one, as she lives in a plant that grows by the side of the wall and has been there all summer. I go out and check on her every day! I imagine she was totally oblivious to the shadow - but I wonder if she's aware of me?!
I love the spiders at this time of year - my garden is ... "low maintenance" (i.e. I'm a rubbish gardener who doesn't like doing it!) and so we have a load of bushes etc. They cast these amazing webs at this time between the various bushes - we have a tree on the pavement right outside our house too - they sometimes manage to create ones from the bushes up to the branches of the tree - 8ft or more drops - fantastic stuff
Ah, I'm like you Furtheron - with a low maintenance garden which encourages lots of these garden spiders and I do love to see them all come out at this time of year too. The way they weave those webs is amazing - your one from the bushes to the tree sounds incredible, just imagine what the equivalent of human 8ft is in spider terms... miles!
But spiders - oh, they're beautiful (in their own way), they're harmless (in this country), they're extremely environmentally friendly, they're hard-working (just look at those webs!) and they're heavily persecuted for the way they look. They need kindness, support and tolerance. Love a spider today, you won't regret it.
(That was a party political broadcast on behalf of the Spider Appreciation Party...)
Ah, everybody loves the little green fella! I was so struck by the 'design' on his back - so perfect and beautiful, I know they are called 'shield' bugs for good reason but this particular one really does look like something out of 'Zulu', don't you think?!
Ha - yes why is it that 2 to 6 legs, or 10 or more, are ok with most people - but that the dreaded 8 legs isn't?! It's a strange one - I wonder if you'd feel differently if that little green shield bug had 8 legs?
Just think, if spiders knew the fear they cause in so many humans, they could take over the world!
As a child I played around some blackberry bushes at the end of out short street. One day I ran into, at face level, a spider much like the one you photographed. It seemed huge and was suspended in the middle of it's web. I stayed away from those bushes for a long time after that! It was one of the most startling moments of my life. Later I got revenge of sorts finding what I momentarily took for bits of shredded wheat in my cup of tea one day. I realized a spider must have plopped itself into the kettle when it was empty and accidentally gotten boiled. Mu-hu-ha, except that too was one of the most startling moments of my life!
ReplyDeleteEww - boiled spider in your cuppa?! - aargh! I can totally understand your alarm! Hope you can get to like them one day, Rebecca - I'm the kinda person who goes round saving them from drowning in the bird bath etc... I love the little darlings!
DeleteThe shot of the spider is fantastic. I wonder if they're aware of their own shadow - do they think it's a predator or prey?
ReplyDeleteThanks - the shadow really caught my eye, the spider was suspended just in front but you can't see her web in the photo. She's like a 'pet' spider, that one, as she lives in a plant that grows by the side of the wall and has been there all summer. I go out and check on her every day! I imagine she was totally oblivious to the shadow - but I wonder if she's aware of me?!
DeleteI love the spiders at this time of year - my garden is ... "low maintenance" (i.e. I'm a rubbish gardener who doesn't like doing it!) and so we have a load of bushes etc. They cast these amazing webs at this time between the various bushes - we have a tree on the pavement right outside our house too - they sometimes manage to create ones from the bushes up to the branches of the tree - 8ft or more drops - fantastic stuff
ReplyDeleteAh, I'm like you Furtheron - with a low maintenance garden which encourages lots of these garden spiders and I do love to see them all come out at this time of year too. The way they weave those webs is amazing - your one from the bushes to the tree sounds incredible, just imagine what the equivalent of human 8ft is in spider terms... miles!
DeleteLove the little green chap, but his arachnid chum has made all my hair stand on end.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that...
DeleteBut spiders - oh, they're beautiful (in their own way), they're harmless (in this country), they're extremely environmentally friendly, they're hard-working (just look at those webs!) and they're heavily persecuted for the way they look. They need kindness, support and tolerance. Love a spider today, you won't regret it.
(That was a party political broadcast on behalf of the Spider Appreciation Party...)
I'd rather be trapped in an elevator with the little green fella but...the spider photograph is really striking.
DeleteAh, everybody loves the little green fella! I was so struck by the 'design' on his back - so perfect and beautiful, I know they are called 'shield' bugs for good reason but this particular one really does look like something out of 'Zulu', don't you think?!
DeleteHe does...or something out of the cannibal Congo.
DeleteSome of those East African shields are really gorgeous...especially the Massai and the Azande.
Ha - yes why is it that 2 to 6 legs, or 10 or more, are ok with most people - but that the dreaded 8 legs isn't?! It's a strange one - I wonder if you'd feel differently if that little green shield bug had 8 legs?
ReplyDeleteJust think, if spiders knew the fear they cause in so many humans, they could take over the world!
Both great pics but that spider one is so good it would make a great cover for an album....maybe by the Shadow Spiders!!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I like that idea!
Delete