What the Orb Spider Told Me

Unfortunately, I had to disturb an Orb spider today because he had spun his beautiful web across my path. Born with PhDs in engineering these much maligned creatures do not intend to scare or annoy us...yet they do.

Anyway, after I broke the part of his web which was connected to the ground, at an angle of 45 degrees over a distance of two metres, I watched his reaction. The impact of my action was immediate, as was the response of this marvellous arachnid.

He quickly gathered the remnants of his web, first going down to the other ground anchor point, then back up, bundling as he travelled all the way back to a crack in the brick work on the wall. 

I began to wonder if he grumbled as he worked. Was he furious or just irritated? Was he complaining bitterly about the carelessness of humans before running off to have a whine to a friend with a sympathetic ear? Do spiders even have ears?

None of the above, I'm sure. Quickly and without fuss, he did what had to be done. Collected his web, and retreated to safety. He'll probably set up shop again tonight once the sun goes down.

The spider did not speak to me, because he couldn't, (he was too busy) but I was reminded of the uselessness of complaining. If there is a job to be done, just do it! Interesting timing given my last post. God bless the Orb spider.