The Comeback!

   Several years back, Son mentioned that we had no orb weaver spiders.  "It has been years since I have seen one." he said.  I thought about it for a few moments, then, had to agree.  Where had all of our spiders gone?  I mean, it is not like these spiders can hide very easily.  With webs that span about 6ft and the spider being the size of your hand, it was unreasonable to think that we were overlooking them.  We just had no spiders!

  A few years later, I was over the moon with excitement to find a single web!  Woohoo!  They were making a comeback!  That year, I carefully watched over the egg sac until the little ones all emerged.  We had babies!  From that point on, more and more of the spiders survived and now we have almost too many! (Nay, you can never have too many orb weavers!  Three webs are stretched across the back deck making going out that door a bit tricky.  Son and I never want to tear the webs.  Several more are between the fig trees and greenhouse.  Those are pretty safe as I just use the back door to the greenhouse.  And then, more are hanging in trees, down in the marsh and in the gardens.  (It is a good thing that I like these spiders!) 

  Today, however, Son came to me and said "You know how we think these spiders are big? You should see the ones behind the shed!"  Well, that meant one thing!  Yep, I grabbed the camera and followed him to the back side of the workshop.  Oh, my goodness!  There were webs strung everywhere!  And spiders!  Lovely spiders dotting those webs!  He took several photos for me since his height gave him and advantage.  He could get clear shots of the spiders.  Not to be outdone, I wriggled my way under the webs to get a "front view" of the creatures.  I was in perfect bliss!

  It is good to see the orb weavers have made a comeback.  These are the Golden Silk Orb Weavers that will leave their lovely golden egg sacs affixed to the shed, wall or branch come this month or September.  Then, I shall have to say goodbye to my beautiful friends and hope that the little ones stay safe over winter.  So glad they are back!

 

Spiders or Mosquitoes...Which Do You Prefer?

   With the almost constant rains of spring, mosquitoes are now a huge problem.  The county (and city depending on where you live) used to have leaders smart enough to call for spray trucks to make their rounds at least weekly.  It kept the mosquitoes down somewhat but then folks started complaining about the spray killing the lightning bugs (fireflies for those not in the south) and other critters.   So, in an effort to be "environmentally (and politically) correct" the spraying came to halt.  I agree, the spray used was not species specific so it did kill other critters and something needed to be done but to quit spraying altogether was not the brightest move.  The mosquitoes are now in giant swarms and literally start eating you alive if you are not careful.  There is no entertaining outside which is pretty much mandatory with the pandemic situation that is upon us.  That added another stress on folks.  Anxiety levels are escalating for folks.  Me, not so much as I am accustomed to both being isolated and being with mosquitoes.  I live on the Bayou so both are a constant thing.

  Well, with that onslaught of mosquitoes (and midges) something had to be done.  Now, my life has taken a turn to trying to attract spiders.  I admit to being one of those folks who used to "dust" the cobwebs from every nook and cranny but now those critters are free to web anywhere they please.  Pretty soon, the place is going to look like some horror film set!  Just today, a lovely orchard spider decided to pull her webbing across a potted rose that sits on my outdoor plant shelves.  As I was watering the potted plants, she happily spun her web.  I was all for this so was careful not to disturb her.  She and I will coexist just as I do with the orb weavers that have strung webs across the doors and windows.  These webs give visitors the heebie-jeebies which is all fine and well since no one is supposed to enter anyway...(city mandates about social gatherings and doctor's orders for me.)  The spiders and I have a mutual understanding that they can stay if they do their jobs of catching the biting bugs.  This evening, the small orchard spider had a lovely web that spanned between the rose canes and the night blooming cereus.  She should soon be fat and happy!