A Master Weaver!
I was outside grilling last night (about the only thing to do in this damp heat!), and I was wondering what happened to the orb weaver spider I had seen the night before because she was missing from between the nearby corner of the garage and a planter.
She was the third orb weaver I have seen this August (two in my yard and one outside my kitchen window), which is a nice change from last summer when they seemed quite rare. And these have all been "teenage" spiders, which is nice because usually I see them at the end of August when they are bigger but then there is less time to appreciate them before Fall really sets in!
So I look up from my grilling and there she is, having appeared like magic! And she is really moving out, like a speed demon! (:O She is going counter-clockwise from an outside radius inwards, creating a new orb web before my eyes! I have never witnessed this before!
What a master builder! Her front legs would reach out to instantly find the next spoke, then her butt would go to one side so her spinnerets could make a web "weld", and then she was off in a flash to the next spoke and to the next weld, so sure footed and efficient! She wasted no time, and was so masterful in her work! I just watched in awe, and ended up slightly burning my sausages watching her creation! ;)
She was the third orb weaver I have seen this August (two in my yard and one outside my kitchen window), which is a nice change from last summer when they seemed quite rare. And these have all been "teenage" spiders, which is nice because usually I see them at the end of August when they are bigger but then there is less time to appreciate them before Fall really sets in!
So I look up from my grilling and there she is, having appeared like magic! And she is really moving out, like a speed demon! (:O She is going counter-clockwise from an outside radius inwards, creating a new orb web before my eyes! I have never witnessed this before!
What a master builder! Her front legs would reach out to instantly find the next spoke, then her butt would go to one side so her spinnerets could make a web "weld", and then she was off in a flash to the next spoke and to the next weld, so sure footed and efficient! She wasted no time, and was so masterful in her work! I just watched in awe, and ended up slightly burning my sausages watching her creation! ;)