Spider Thoughts
Well, the garden spider on the east eave of the southern porch is done. She died sometime in the night on Sunday. I figured the cooling weather would do her in. She left four egg sacs, however, and each one of them might have between 300 to 1,000 eggs. That’s a lot of little spiderlings to carry on the family business, but we have lots of little mosquitoes so I’ll take all the help I can get. She lived a short, but productive life. About a year.
I’m pretty sure she had no idea what she was in for when she popped out of her egg sac. She just ran on instinct and did what her body told her. She hid until she was able to get on about her business. Then, without being told how, she wove a wide, intricate web, found a lover, and built protective cocoons for her babies. And I wonder if she ever looked up at those sacs and wished she could be there for them when they hatched in the spring.