And Then There Were None!

Baby Spiders In My Garden


It was an exciting day in our backyard a few weeks ago when Coconut discovered the egg sac we had been watching had hatched!  He came racing into the house, telling me to get my camera and dragging me outside to see our babies.  They were...well...beautiful, in their own way.  Tiny little yellow creatures, with no mother to guide them and only each other for comfort.  If you breathed too hard they scattered easily.  So Coconut and I had to be very gentle in our movements to investigate the brood.  We had our magnifying glasses out, inspecting each minuscule arachnid with care. 

Repeatedly we would check on them, watching them curiously.  Near dark, they would gather themselves up into a tight sphere of yellow bodies.  I assume it was for warmth, which, in a weird way, I found touching.  We took numerous photos - and tried to count them without much success. 

But, as Coconut quickly noticed, with each passing day their numbers dwindled.  Trying not to cry (because really - you can't help but think of Charlotte's Web - and if that story doesn't make you tear up - it is possible you are a psychopath - look into that, will ya?) I explained how the wind blows them gently to their new homes.  There just is not enough room or food for all of those spiders between the Peony bush and the Purple Columbine.  So they had to go and make their way in the big, wide world.  Leave their siblings and warm webby home - and make their own.  He got it, but I had to discourage his six year old scientist side to 'save' them by letting them live in a container. 

Years ago, before I had kids, I was terrified of bugs and spiders.  But the fear came from a lack of understanding.  I started watching them closely - and realized they are not out to get me - they're just trying to scrape by and live like the rest of us.  They are actually quite interesting.  Plus - spiders clean up pesky bugs from the backyard.  I like that.  So in our house, when we see a spider, instead of squelching it under a newspaper, we rescue it.  We scoop it up, and plop it into a new home - our garden.  A whole other world exists in our great outdoors.  Lives are lost, there is mating, babies are born, they move, they hunt - eat, destroy - just like humans (but with more legs). 

Check out your garden, and read Charlotte's Web - and shed a tear so you can rest assured that you won't become the next CNN profile story about serial killers.  If your kid doesn't cry...well...gulp...sleep with one eye open!

I can't believe it but...I blogged about spiders!

Happy exploring,

Kathy Pettit