My first impulse was to throw trash in on the spiders web and if that didn't kill it, maybe it would take off. But I must confess a fascination over it's markings and though squeamish, I found myself watching it as it worked it's web.
When grandson arrived for nanny care, I took him out and set up a step ladder for him to climb high enough to view the spider. That's all it took. From then on, nearly every day, we'd get the step ladder and check out what the spider was up to. I surprised myself with actually WANTING to keep tabs on the spider and would even inquire on it's well being when I would throw something away in a nearby trash can. No ... the spider never answered me. I talk to my cats, plants, God and self much the same way. Only the cats respond right away.
It wasn't long before grandson was taking me around the yard and pointing out more webs. Now, at first I was like ... what the ... On one walk about, he revealed to me SEVEN separate locations of garden spider condos. Some were wrapping up their dinner and others just seemed to be sunbathing. Some of the webs were striking and what quick repairs would be made after a storm or my watering would damage them.
I didn't know we had so many spiders. Is this normal, or is this just the year of the spiders. One year we were inundated with so many millers, one would have thought it was snowing in summer. One year it was locusts, in fact, this year the locusts were more than I've ever seen, or heard. These last few years it has been the grasshoppers and the dragonflies that have topped the numbers charts. And one year it was rattlesnakes. So maybe this was the year for many garden spiders?
The day I decided to take pictures, after a couple of freezes, the webs look like a couple of old farts were weaving them. I can sure identify with such loss of ambition. :)
The following two spiders were found in the browning garden.
Picking produce from the garden would often bring me up close with these two. Why would I forget they were there until reaching for tomatoes near the ground and movement would bring my focus in on the spider web near my face! And aside from jerking back ... I never destroyed these spiders to make picking produce easier. When we tore down the garden fence and tomato cages to get ready for a fall till ... I even felt sad for these gals losing their homes.
And of course the spider that started it all, the trash can garden spider:
And of course the spider watcher.
Getting in the trash barrel for these shots was heart stopping. NOT. I did have to put my hand in the trash can and then point the camera up ... getting as close as I could WITHOUT TOUCHING the web. Mind you, I'm trying to do this without letting grandson know that I was controlling a freak out. I don't know why spiders scare me? No reason for him to be afraid of them, too ... for no reason. Right? :)
I was so focused on taking pictures without dropping the camera (God please don't let me drop and have to retrieve my camera from under that spider ... God why in the hell am I doing this?) AND trying not to touch the darn spider so I didn't see grandson's antics that I captured in the background until I loaded the pictures onto the computer. What a ham!
He then begins to ask me if he can TOUCH the spider. Deeply involved in the picture taking and now grandson is threatening to make this spider move ... Yes, I had a little trouble keeping the panic out of my voice ...
"WHAT? NO ... NO You can't ToUch the spider. Depending on what kind of spider it is, if it bites you, you could get real sick." I responded in a, louder than normal, tinged with fear, voice of wisdom. Or should I say, warning?
"I'm mad!" He says and folds his arms a moment and then climbs down the little ladder in his best little 'huff'.
He's been doing that lately when he's told not to do ... or heck, even to do, something and he'll suddenly be mad. If I ignore his little huff, then he usually does, or does not do, what I'm asking. He's only three and it is very hard not to smile .... he often looks adorable but I try not to smile ... and this day I COULD NOT smile ... I was focused on spider pictures ...
Ok, ok that was enough for me. Time to get outta that can and settle my insides down.
"Hey .... wait for me."
He is already over his mad and was calling back to me from the sandbox.
"Hey Nana, you wana play in my sandbox with me?"
"Sure, buddy! And what are we gona play?"
"Let's dig for treasure!"
There is something very calming about playing in a sandbox after spider watchin ...
