Glampstyle
Adventures – Painted Rock Hides Mommy Spider
Today I had an interesting experience with nature. I was out looking for painted rocks. I love these colourful rocks that people paint and leave for others to enjoy. Mostly, I take a picture of the rock when I first spot it, by colour, from a distance. Then I’ll take a close up, and sometimes get a shot of the signed back as well. This way I can later identify and appreciate who did the artwork. I like to give credit to the artists that put so much work into them.
So, this morning the rock I spied was a larger, flat one in interesting diamond shape. It was neatly placed in the indented knot of a tree. I plucked it from its spot, turned it over, to get my picture. That when I noticed a wad of fine white webbing spun over it. Startled, at first, I dropped it on the grass. Instead of following my first instinct to just leave it, I figured I’d best just place it right back where I’d found it. So, I carefully placed it back, with the webbed nest facing outward so some unsuspecting passerby wouldn’t end up with it in their pocket .
On my way back to camp, I couldn’t help but stop by for just one more glimpse. As I got closer, I was surprised to see the large, mother spider on the trunk, close to the stone. It looked as if she were watching out for it.
As, I moved in for a really neat picture, and she (I assume it was a she) proceeded to spread her whole body and legs across the stone. She was actually protecting her nest! I wasn’t aware spiders would do that.
Of course, I had to stroll by to visit my spider later in the day… just to see if it had remained undisturbed. By now Mommy Spider had partially covered that stone with bits of twigs and leaves as if to disguise her nest. And she has succeeded; for I would not noticed this little camouflaged hiding spot if I hadn’t witnessed the process.
I’m still not fond of being around spiders, but an experience like this gives me a whole new perspective. It is amazing what’s out there be discovered, if you’re just willing to be out there, respect nature and observe.
Now, a week later, this is what the scene looks like. No one’s going to pick that rock now. I’ll have to look for it next spring.
