Saturday 27 October 2012

Watching brief


In my hall, betwixt wall and ceiling, lives a little spider with its cocoon. At least, I hope it lives; it doesn't seem to move much. There is a neat circular doorway, and what looks like a bit of discarded leg.


It's hard to photograph, standing on a little stepladder holding a camera above my head.


I realise how little I know about spiders, yet I share my home with gazillions of them. We fish them out of sinks and bath almost every day; big beefy black-legged ones flee under the fridge, and little ones festoon the indoor plants with tiny webs.


I shall watch this one carefully over the coming weeks, to see what happens. I so enjoyed my garden spider watch way back in 2009.

And of course I shall let you know.... Sorry if you hate the thought!

24 comments:

Linens and Royals said...

But doesn't that look like lots of baby spiders in the web?
Out with the spray and vacum cleaner NOW! XO

Arthur Ransome said...

Glad to hear there are other spider watchers out there. In my old flat I used to lie in bed and watch one who lived on a web on the outside of the window. I convinced myself it was the same spider year after year and made a complete fool of myself with the builders by trying to make sure it wasn't hurt when they replaced the windows. I think the cocoon is the spider's eggs but I may be totally wrong.

Anonymous said...

Bit like watching paint dry ? I'm scared of spiders so didn't enlarge your pictures but loved the way you described them and actually now feel concern for the spider with missing legs. Hehe. 

They're quite old spiders when they start to lose their legs I think? Heard the one about spiders in Chocolate factories? 

This post made me smile a lot just now( in bed with a bug atm). Glad you're posting regularly again. Missed your posts. 

Danielle P. said...

Spiders are such fascinating creatures! I look forward to your updates.

One of the things I miss about my old apartment is the spider that had her web just outside my kitchen window. On clear mornings, the rising sun would catch it just so and make it glitter, and I would stand there staring in awe...

judy in ky said...

I must admit I find spiders more interesting when they are outside rather than inside. I won't kill them, though. I try to pick them up and move them outside.

flwrjane said...

Creepy.

No really, creepy.

xo J.

Shelagh said...

And how long did I stay with you and never notice even one web, let alone spider?? Two weeks wasn't it?! Don't tell me I'm THAT unobservant. Well, perhaps I only see what I want to see...But I don't mind looking from this distance! xo

Jen said...

Good for you! Have you read Charlotte's Web?

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

The bundle on the left probably is full of eggs . At first glance , though , I'd thought that it was her winter larder .

the veg artist said...

Daddy-longlegs get picked up and put outside. Spiders (if running around the place) get a jar put over them so I can slide a piece of card underneath and chuck them out as well. If I can't reach them, well, the hoover can!

Rattling On said...

As you know I am a spider watcher/admirer. There are loads in my kitchen and I leave the little nests but remove cobwebs. The cellar is like something from a horror film, though. Spiders absolutely everywhere, the girls won't go down there!
Love the Annie Sloan paint job (it's a British company which makes it so interesting you saw it mainly on US blogs)I have loads of painting to do. Blah!

CarolD said...

Last weekend, on the lovely warm Sunday we had, we went for a walk near to Millfield Gliding club. Along the road back towards Doddington, there were spiders webs stretching across the road from hedge to hedge! We had to break strands to walk though! Perhaps we should have limbo danced underneath them! LOL! Maybe not .. just shows you how quiet the roads are around that area.

June said...

I like spiders too, although recently I met the largest one I have ever seen inside my house and I wasn't too crazy about her! Talk about your "big and beefy!" Yikes!
We had one, who'd moved in for the winter, living in the bathroom. She cuddled up on one side of the room for a while then found her way to a corner on the other side of the room. Now she's gone. I think the cleaning lady lost patience with all of us.

Anonymous said...

We had a beautiful Golden Orb spider for a long time in our garden - her web looked beautiful when we added colourful threads to its strong structure - the very strong web even tolerated a few sparkly beads!! The spider had built her web near the fairy lights in the garden which attracted insects at night.
Some spiders here in Australia are nasty though -white tail spiders, poisonous red backs, and today (inside) I sprayed one of the more aggressive and nasty black spiders.
The big furry Huntsman spiders however I find rather harmless and beautiful,in a spider kind of way!! - usually solitary, if I see one, its always welcome to stay inside.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I think it is the time of year for these enormous spiders. I can't say that they thrill me, but they do no harm and they do catch flies and such like - so live and let live I say (although I do draw my feet up onto the settee if I spot one speeding across the carpet).

Pam said...

No, sorry, I'm not prepared to share my home with anything smaller than a cat. I'm definitely into the jam-jar-and-postcard ejecting system. Wouldn't squash them, though.

jabblog said...

Studying spiders is the best way to overcome an irrational fear of them - at least, so I have found. They are delicate creatures with amazing patterns (don't know about the big, black, scuttling ones, though)

Gwen Buchanan said...

Wow I am amazed that so many of your readers are fond of spiders.. really pleased!

knutty knitter said...

My old kitchen is a spider magnet :) About once a year I clear away the old webs but not the spiders. They are great for clearing away the flies but do tend to be a little messy.

There is a bumble bee nest in the wall this year. Great for the flowers.

viv in nz

Anonymous said...

I rescue spiders from the sink and bath and put them outside, but leave the ones on walls and ceiings where they are!

Pearl said...

You are far kinder than I am!

On the other hand, continue, please, with the photos!

Pearl

Marcheline said...

Uh... and I thought riding out Hurricane Sandy was bad! 8-)

rusty duck said...

Oh spiders... I usually catch them in a duster and relocate them to the greenhouse. They apparently love aphids and the like.

Leanne said...

hello!

I arrived here by blog-hopping, and was so taken by your header picture i stopped to read.. its a lovely photo by the way! but then i have a soft spot for both cats and patchwork!

i moved to the SW 6 years ago, its beautiful isnt it?

finally, just wanted to say youre a kindred spirit! i too do not disturb spiders and their cocoons, i hate that people kill spiders so readily...

Leanne x
talesofsimpledays.blogspot.com

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