The Life of Goldie

   Since I have been forced to slow down a bit due to health issues, I have to find things to entertain myself.  Thankfully, as Son has always said, I am easily amused so it is not overly hard to deem something as interesting enough to take a break from chores.  This afternoon after canning hot sauce, I headed outside to empty the remnant pepper stems.  Once I returned from the compost, my attention suddenly was drawn to the eaves of the house.  Aha!  My good friend "Goldie" was busying herself in her web.  Goldie is none other than a Golden Silk Orb Weaver.  The spider, I am quite sure, is the offspring of the one who had a web in the exact same corner of the back porch.  It seems that this is a favorite spot of these huge spiders and I am all for them being there.  With the wet weather we have had lately, there are a ton of every type biting bug imaginable so Goldie is sure to be well-fed.  But...why suddenly has she captured my attention?  Well, Goldie was busy, as I said.  It did not take long for me to figure out that she was in the midst of molting!  Goldie was going to get bigger!  

  Every year since I was a kid, I would seek out the orb weavers simply because they are so huge.  The palm-sized spiders demand attention from all but especially of curious kids.  Back in the day when I was a small kid, I watched as they spun their webs across the window in Pop's shed.  Now, I watch as one molts near the backdoor.  Funny how things come full circle, isn't it?

  Grandmother once told me how these spiders spin their gigantic webs to bridge a gap between the human world and that of nature and whosoever treated the spider with kindness would always be protected.  Well, even though I know that Grandmother merely did not want me to destroy the web (for the same bug-catching reasoning I have now), it would be nice to know that a spider this size is on my side if things ever hit the fan and I am in trouble!  

  Goldie still has another couple of months to grow before she weaves her egg sac and fills it with eggs.  Those eggs will hatch in a few weeks but the spiderlings will stay put in that sac throughout the winter months.  Then!  Then, the tiny critters will spill out and things will start anew.  Man, I love Goldie!

The Disappearing Act!

  Overnight, we had a heavy fog lay in across the Bayou.  It so thick that at one point I began to think it was raindrops on the roof but it was merely the fog accumulation dripping from the tree limbs.  This morning, the fog lingered as I strolled about the place.  The walk to the pier was pointless as nary a thing could be seen other than "white" so I headed around to the back behind the canebrake. Since I could see no further than about twenty feet ahead of me, I figured that perhaps some critter would still be out and about.  No critters were found other than spiders.  The ground behind the canebrake was littered with webs ranging from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter.  These were webs of the local "funnel-web" spiders.

  Each web found had a distinct funnel-like tube in one corner.  This funnel housed a small spider that was waiting patiently for some bug to either alight on the web or crawl across the surface.  The spider then darts out to see what is causing a ruckus on its web.  If the commotion was due to a suitable prey, the spider bites it and waits a few moments before dragging its breakfast down the tunnel.  It does not devour its prey in the open as that would alert other potential victims to the use of the web.  

  These spiders belong to the family Agelenidae and are venom specific which means they are pretty much harmless to big, ole humans.  They are relatively shy spiders that scurry away rather than stand their ground if something is deemed a danger.  In fact, it is often very difficult to see one as even a shadow will scare them into hiding.  I was fortunate this morning as one particular spider did not think I was a menace.  Most of the webs seemed empty as the spider was far down in its funnel.  One, however, sat happily at the entrance and allowed me to photograph it from just inches away!  

  Our funnel-web spiders are not to be confused with those in other countries that can be highly venomous.  Even if you could catch one of ours and it did bite you, it would not be too bad.  Our spiders are "lightning-fast" so catching one would be a feat!  In just a blink of an eye, that "oh, so bad" spider will dart under the first thing available to hide!  Personally, I rather like them.  They make interesting webs, especially when covered with an early morning fog.  They are also great about catching would be pests.  Carry on, Little Spiders!  You have no reason to fear me!  I am so happy you let me photograph you!

The Tangled Mess

  I have always been fascinated by spiders and spider webs.  Not that I particularly wish to find them in the Little Bayou House but I have been known to not kill them.  It is a fact that I will gently catch and move a spider if it is deemed bothersome.  Spiders are good.  They eat other critters that infest homes.  To my way of thinking, it is far better to have a couple of spiders than a house full of roaches, fleas or other creep-crawly critters.  Don't get me wrong here!  I will occasionally kill a spider.  Brown recluses or any of the widows are on the "evil" list.  I was bitten years ago by a black widow and do not wish to repeat that!  To be honest, I get bit by some sort of spider almost weekly but the widow did the most harm.  

  Another facet of the world of spiders that I adore is their webs.  While I admit that (again) I am not fond of them in the house, outside is a different story.  The webs are interesting.  Let a light fog or misty rain fall upon the Bayou and every web is a jewel-encrusted decoration!  The sheer strength of the webs to hold so much water is impressive.  Most of the spider webs are of the orb type.  The spiders will string webs between two trees, in the marsh or even on the side of the house, itself.  Once the fog rolls in, the webs catch the drips and hold them tight.  Occasionally, I will come across a web of one of the "tangle-web" spiders.  These are the ones that build webs with no particular design other than a mass of sticky silks.  Think cobwebs here.  The tangle-web spider family includes the pretty docile house spiders, several species of the yard spiders AND the widows.

 Walking after the rain the other night, I came across a tangle-web.  One of the common yard spiders that created its web between some twigs and grasses.  The spider was not to be found.  The web had been abandoned during the torrential downpour.  With the spider gone, I was able to confidently examine the web without fear of disturbing my little friend.  Yep, it was definitely a tangled mess!  It was easy to see how a hapless bug could become ensnared in this mess!  

  The web was left intact just on the outside chance that Friend Spider was going to return.  Perhaps with the next hike the spider can be identified and photographed but, for now, the web was my interesting find of  the day.

The Lovely Lady In Her Garden Home

  In the garden, one can often find any number of critters.  Well, let me correct that.  In MY garden, one can find critters.  I do not use chemical pesticides so critters abound.  Pop always used to say that we just had to plant a few extra things so the critters could eat, too.  That is not to say that I relish losing my prized tomatoes or plump peaches but it is just a fact that I do not wish to poison myself along with the critters raiding the garden.  This includes insects.  A worm in a tomato, now and again, is not the end of the world.  That said, I AM all for natural elimination of the plant devouring critters.  

  Strung in between a tomato plant and the chives is a large spider web.  This is the home of a beautiful orb weaver called a yellow garden spider or writing spider.  She is most welcome to live in my garden and I try to avoid tearing her web whenever possible.  Occasionally, she gets a little spin-happy and strings her long silken threads across the path so I gently move them to another location.  I to not want her to relocate! 

  This spider does a remarkable job of catching the insects that lay eggs on the plants.  It is those eggs that hatch into what we call "worms" in the peaches, beans and other fruits and veggies.  A variety of moths and beetles get caught in her web each day and I am sure the same happens at night.  My pretty friend is growing fast!

  There are a number of natural pest control methods that can be used to keep the garden pest free.  My spider friend is a big help as is the rat snake that frequents the area.  While a few of my people friends have qualms about entering the garden due to the critter friends, their presence delights me and I continually tell them so!

Long Leggedy

"From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!"

  I remember Grandmother reciting the little Scottish prayer to me when I was just a tot.  We would sit on her front porch in the big old rocking chairs and listen to the owls and other creatures of the Bayou.  (My grandparents' home was not far from where the Little Bayou House sits now.  It was exciting for me to hear what all was in "their neck of the woods" compared to the old farm place which was just down the road.  From the front porch on the farm, we heard the farm animals as they settled in for the night, the hundreds of bullfrogs in the large pond and the occasional owl but from my grandparents' porch, bull alligators could be heard drumming, owls abounded and bobcats, raccoons and even some unidentified beasties could be heard!  The two porches were a world apart even though as near as a half mile together.  Front porch sitting was a nightly pastime, back in the day, and the lack of it is probably what is wrong with the world today.  Things were at a slower pace back then....and that was good.

  But the long-leggedy beastie today was a three inch long spider.  Down in the marsh near the pier, there is one spot that is devoid of marsh.  This makes for the perfect spot to moor the little skiff but is also a favorite spot of a lot of predators that hunt for breakfast,  The spider was busy all night weaving a huge web that spanned the pool.  It had feasted on termites, gnats and mosquitoes during the night but this morning, it was hastily trying to retrieve its web before the sun rose high in the sky.  

  It made me wonder how the spider felt secure enough to spin its web out over the water.  Any number of things could go wrong for the spider.  A fish could easily reach it, a shorebird (such as a heron) could inadvertently destroy the web and even high tide could present a problem.  The spider was brave and persistent.  By night, the spider ruled the pool by catching any smaller critter.  By day, it hid and tried to evade being the prey.  That long-leggedy beastie was pretty smart.  It had its supper and was on its way to rest up for the next night.

  While I was entralled by the noises made by the beasts of the nighttime Bayou, I am certain that Grandmother kept mum about the small, silent beasties so as to not frighten a little girl.  There was a certain air of mystery about the larger ones that could be heard from a distance but those sneaky, quiet little ones that could possibly be crawling up the back of the chair may have been a bit much!  

Zigzagging in the Marsh

  I have been missing my writing spiders in the garden,  For some strange reason, they have moved elsewhere and have vacated the tomato patch for good.  This makes me sad as each morning, I could find several with their large two foot in diameter webs strung between the tomato crates.  I knew the spiders were helping keep the place pest free and would often thank my friends for the job well done.  I miss them.  Their disappearance had me confused as there is still a mass of insects for their dining pleasure since I use no pesticides.  Then, a few days ago, I spied a fine specimen in the marsh near the pier.  Ok, so one writing spider down in the marsh is not unusual even though most found there are either wolf spiders or fishing spiders.  The writing spiders, more oft than not, stayed in the garden or the woods behind the house.  This morning, another large web and a healthy writing spider was spied in the marsh.  I am beginning to think that all of my friends have discovered the joy of living on the water!

  Writing spiders are interesting critters.  Also called, zigzag spiders, zipper spiders, black and yellow garden spiders, these spiders get quite large but are usually harmless to humans. They will bite to protect themselves but they are do not go out of their way to do so.  It takes a lot to rile them.  They are, however, a threat to garden invader.  Their large, circular webs usually have a bit of "writing" in the middle. This writing is in a straight line or can be in an X shape.  This is thought to draw insects into the middle of the web. During the day, the large female can be seen on this writing. The smaller male will usually be on the outer edge.  If a predator comes too near, the female will scoot to the outer edge or will bump the web making it vibrate.  The bouncing web can then become a threat to the predator. 

  Although, I miss the spiders in the garden, it is good to know that they are still around the place. I guess I will just have to be happy having the multitude of wolf spiders underfoot as I weed.  At least, I do not have to fret about accidentally walking into the writing spider's web!

Garden Messages

  After a daily rain for the past few months, we are now with a lack of rain. Not to mention...it is HOT!  So hot, in fact, that the garden is taking a beating.  Yesterday, things looked pretty bad so I dragged out the sprinkler.  After a good soaking, my plants looked much better and the garden was refreshed.  This morning, I wandered outside to pick a few tomatoes when something caught my eye.  The watering had brought the critters out and into action!  There were writings in the garden!  Perhaps this was a "thank you" for the cooling mist!

  Actually, a spider had made its web across some of the chives.  The inner part of the web was a thick thatching of webbing that resembled handwriting, albeit poor handwriting.  This spider is what we always called a banana spider.  I have no clue where the name came from but I do know that they can get quite large and make huge webs that can span between trees.  I have not seen one in years!  When we were younger, my brothers and I used to catch these spiders and keep them in old mason jars for a day.  We would feed them insects that we caught and poked down into the jars.  Mom and Pop had no qualms about our play but by the end of the day, we had better let the critter go free.  We were told to return them to the place where they were found.

  Some folks called the critters "writing spiders" after their habit of decorating the inner portion of their web with thicker silk. This writing attracts bugs to visit and inadvertently "stay" for supper.  Now, I am no spider expert but supposedly this is a male spider.  The slender abdomen of my garden writer seems to indicate it is not a female as they are much larger!  I will leave this guy as he could prove useful.  His beautiful webbing may just catch that horrid squash bug that has been terrorizing the stalks of my yellow summer squash.

Foggy Morn

The fog came.  All I can say is that it must be winter here on the Bayou.  This endless cycle of fog, cold, rain, and warm seems to be the norm at this time of year.  It does make for some interesting mornings when you cannot see your hand in front of your face. This morning, it was not quite that bad but still it was thick enough to cause everything to be dripping with moisture.  There was no sun to greet me as I waited on the pier.  I had headed out this morning at my usual time but with the thick fog, it was black.  No light ever brightened the eastern sky, it merely went from black to grey.  I could barely make out the silhouette of the gazebo across the Bayou.  Not much else could be easily distinguished.

So, with all this drear, I decided to meander about the hillside just peering at things that were hung with water droplets.   Most folks have tired of the usual "spiderweb covered with droplets" pictures but for the life of me, I could not find anything the least bit more interesting.  It is extremely hard to not photograph these things when you are hoping for that one fantastic picture!  The webs were there, my camera was in hand so I photographed.

Probably more interesting and more useful were the droplets on the Fennel.  Although we had a wee bit of rain yesterday, the ground was still dry.  My plants were dying with the lack of water.  This morning, the Fennel actually looked quite healthy with its coating of moisture!  If not enough to thoroughly soak the ground at least the plant itself was able to absorb some life-giving moisture.

That same watery goodness was enough to cause me chills.  I headed back inside only to be confronted by Ms. Ez, the dog, who obviously had better sense than I did.  She had stayed in her nice, comfy bed while I was traipsing about doing nothing but getting wet!

Spider Webs and Cast Nets!

~"The difference between utility and utility plus beauty is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web."~Edwin Way Teale

You know..Edwin Way Teale said it all when he said this. I was out and about early this morning trying to get another photograph of the sunrise. It did not happen..no sunrise this morning. Oh, I imagine it rose..I just could not see it for the fog that engulfed the Bayou. There was a complete "white out"! I could only see maybe twenty-five feet in front of my face! I was just thankful that I did not need to drive anywhere in this pea-soup! But despite the blurriness of the world around me, I could see beauty! There are spiders that make webs in the marsh every night. This morning those webs were dripping with jewels of fog droplets. I was mesmerized by the strength of the webs and by the intricate lacework that the spider had spun. Some were so off-kilter in their design that I made the assumption that some intruder had torn the web at some point. The spider had obviously made hasty repairs and had not bothered to match up the lines of the web. Hopefully, the poor trapper still caught supper and did not go hungry. Life must be hard for a marsh spider..what with high tides, birds and marsh critters constantly smashing their traps to smithereens. I can only think that a lot of patience is tested each night as the webs are rewoven.

Later when the sun did make an appearance, I was thrilled to see the number of Pelicans in the Bay! While on the pier earlier, I could hear the constant splashing of some diving bird but was not sure if it was Pelicans. I counted eighteen beautiful fishermen diving for Mullet this afternoon.

Speaking of Mullet, for some reason the Bay is full of these fish. It is a little "out of season" for them but I am not complaining! I have been going down in the late afternoons and casting the net to catch a mess. The first two days yielded enough for me to give my oldest brother some and then the third day, I decided enough was enough! I needed a mess of fresh fish! I caught six nice Mullet and then threw the net over a hefty sized Sheephead. I cleaned the Mullet for supper but the Sheephead managed to gain a reprieve and was let loose! The Sheephead is a spiny fish and is quite difficult to fillet so after its photo ops..it was slipped back into the water. Perhaps another day it will become a meal..but for today, it attained freedom.

Spider webs and cast nets..sort of alike when you think about it!

Rain, Geckos and Purring Cats!

It was a wonderful day on the Bayou! Finally..a rain! A wonderful, cooling rain. The good kind of rain..the soaking kind that is godsend for the gardens. The water came down for a good hour and since then it has been drizzling. It is far too late for the dried tomato plants but I know the other plants are rejoicing! Everything looks and smells so much better now. The rain has cleansed the dust and grime from their leaves so now they can breathe! Outside my window, the tree frogs are still calling for more and in the distance grumbling thunder says they might get their wish. I hope so! With this rain came a few minutes of high wind that blew the Cosmos to the ground and flattened the Blackeyed Susans. This is a minor problem that can easily be tended in the morning. There are already stakes cut that will support their lanky stalks until the sun pulls them straight again. No doubt there are other plants blown over but that too shall wait until morning. I have not ventured out to see how any of the other gardens faired but I am sure that regardless of any wind damage, most of the plants are happy. Plus!! In the morning I can remove the old tomato stalks and plant the Butternut Squash! The rain is good!

I did poke my head out the back door just long enough to let the cat, Ms Put, inside and noticed a tiny gecko crawling on the flower pot holding the Forsythia bush. This little gecko is a House Gecko so named for its habit of living in and around homes in warm climates like we have here. They eat a massive amount of bugs and spiders which makes them welcome here. This little gecko was acting so strange that I just had to investigate. It was flipping from side to side and the little feet were moving as if walking but it was not getting anywhere. What was going on here..I grabbed the camera and slipped out the door. Quietly I walked across the porch and down the steps..flip flop..flip flop..what was it doing?? I admit that my eyesight is getting poorer as I age, but I still could not see what it was doing. As I said..it was a tiny gecko, probably only about two inches in length and it was easy to see that it was in distress just hard to see what was the cause of this distress. I stared and stared trying to focus on the gecko and not on the drizzling rain that kept sending rivlets down my glasses. Five minutes of standing in the rain and then I saw..what is normally a gecko's prey had now become the predator! A large spider had my poor little gecko in its sight and in its web! I went into action, the spider slipped into its hole under the flower pot and the gecko now frantically flip-flopped! A larger monster (me) now loomed menacingly over it. Flip flop..flip flop..poor little guy! Obviously, it was not tangled so much that it could not move but given time the spider would have eaten my baby! A single thread of spider silk was stuck to its leg and try as it might, it could not break loose. I made like a super hero and quickly with a single stroke, broke the web and the tiny gecko sprinted to safety! Bayou Lady to the rescue! One happy gecko, one hungry spider and one rain-soaked crazy person!

Returning inside, I had nice surprise. Ms Put, who normally is rather stand-offish, graciously allowed me to hold her for a bit. As another thunderstorm grumbled outside, I was in a cozy house holding a warm, soft, purring kitty. Those few moments made me feel that all was right with the world.