The Big Favor

  Every now and again, we need to applaud the critter world for doing what they do best.  Each animal, fowl, insect, fish or whatever, does a remarkable job of being just that critter.  A lot of them can seem a tad scary at times but, when we really stop and watch them, they are not so "evil".  I will be the first to admit that I am not overly fond of spiders.  Garden spiders, house spiders and other non-venomous one don't bother me in the least but I do get a wee bit jumpy when it comes to ones like the Black Widow or Brown Recluse.  I was bitten by a Black Widow several years ago which might account for my disdain for the critters.  Others, though, are quite interesting when it comes down to it. I watch spiders just like other folks do birds.

  Mark and I were on the pier the other morning to watch the sunrise. The gnats were terrible!  It felt like we were being eaten alive.  We were heading back up the pier to make our escape when he noticed a rather large spiderweb stretched between the pier posts.  It hung low almost to the water's surface and spanned a good four feet.  We stood watching the spider for some time all the while scratching ourselves like a couple of flea-infested mutts!  (For being so tiny, those gnats can cause some itching!)  

  The spider earned my full respect that morning.  As we watched, it caught gnats and instantly devoured a good number of them. The others were wrapped in silk and stowed up under the pier boards for a midday snack.That web held strong and caught hundreds and hundreds of gnats!  It takes a brave spider to dangle itself over the water like that.  The tide was rising and within a short time, the area would be underwater. The least bit of wind could have ripped the web and sent the spider tumbling into the murky water or even a hungry fish could have jumped the few inches to nab the critter if it so desired.  But the spider braved all odds to do us the wonderful favor of eliminating at least some of the gnats!  Yep, I do, indeed, like this spider!