Garden Spiders . . .

. . . Natural and Otherwise

With apologies to any visitors who suffer from arachnophobia, I happen to love my garden spiders - and they are my topic for today.

I enjoy seeing the many kinds of spiders that inhabit our garden, and will even allow black widows to go about their business undisturbed, so long as they don't try to move into my potting shed - but the harmless golden orb spiders are definitely my favorites, and I am always particularly happy whenever one or more of them chooses our place to set up web-keeping. 
I know how it sounds, but I feel that I have developed mutually respectful relationships with several of these bold beauties over the years (or maybe I Just read Charlotte's Web once too often when I was young, lol).  
We aren't lucky enough to attract a resident orb spider every year, but when we do, they (and their strong and expansive webs) seem to appear overnight, and since they invariably choose to build across my walkways, our first encounter usually involves me getting a faceful of spider silk and suddenly transforming into a squeaking, flailing fool (are spiders capable of laughter ?).
After repeating the ordeal once or twice, I can finally remember to begin to carry a small stick of some sort so that I can clear the path with a minimum of random calisthentics and drama.   But I always feel a pang of guilt to destroy any part of the spider's construct, especially knowing that their goal of removing some fat, juicy bugs from my garden is very much in my best interest, anyway.  Whenever I must clear some webbing, I truly try to disturb the integrity of the structure as little as is absolutely necessary, endeavoring only to create an archway that I can pass through - and in nice weather, I do a good deal of tramping back and forth through my garden, so I might need to "modify" the poor spider's web several times a day. 
Interestingly enough, our orb spiders eventually seem to catch on to the idea that this large and leg-deficient (and rather annoying) critter is quite persistant and will have to be accommodated - one way or another - and the opening required for my passage seems to become part of the spider's own design. 
I'm not sure that it means that they like me as well as I like them, but at least it means that we can co-exist and go about our respective chores placidly.

If you have already seen my post A Metal Menagerie: http://bohemianborealis.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-metal-menagerie.html   you know that the theme of spiders is a recurrant one in our garden.
These spiders in the photos below are also from our own workshop and they serve a needful purpose in our garden (in addition to simply making me smile whenever I see them).  The presence of these big copper spiders on glass surfaces (doors, windows, glasshouse walls) has dramatically decreased the incidence of bird crashes and injuries., that is one of the reasons why we have so many of them.

 

 

 

 

 

This next one is a version crafted from bits of stainless steel, she is heavier and requires more support than the simple suction cups which suffice for her copper sisters, so she stands guard on our little porch, beside the back door, where we can provide for her needs.

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting, I do hope that you will stop by again soon ~ Ellie

 

 

 

A Metal Menagerie

The creations pictured here were all born in our own studio and workshop, and as of this posting, they still cavort in our home and gardens, 'tho some of their siblings have since been "adopted" by appreciative clients and friends.

Let me begin with a confession - I am a hard-core rust junkie - there, I said it.

Luckily for me, hubby shares my affliction and knows just what sort of surprises to bring me when the occasion arrises.  Over the years, he has returned from visits to his family's farm with all sorts of goodies culled from the farm's heap of cast-offs, including a pile of rusty bailer chain. 
Not sure what to do with it at first, I shoved the chain around on the workshop floor for a week or so before I finally found that "Rusty", the invisible horse, was hiding in there, just waiting for the welder to give him form.

 

That heap of rusting farm scrap at the old homeplace also yielded the wornout disc blades that serve as the head and thorax of my giant garden spider, "Queenie".  In the photo below, you can see that her beau is significantly more diminuative.  A strange romance, perhaps, but who am I to argue?  They both seem quite comfortable with the arrangement.

 

 

 

Here are a couple of photos taken before they took to roaming about in the garden beds, startling  unsuspecting arachnophobes.





Queenie measures 5 feet plus from her front "feet" back, and roughly 3 feet across - both her head and thorax are scrapped disc blades and her delicate steel rod legs were the only thing specially purchased for the project.  Her much smaller paramour began as a brass drain plate.  His legs are pieced together bits of various gauges of copper tubing  left over from other jobs.

More recently, we were thrilled to discover that a neighbor has a farrier in the family, and that he was more than happy to donate scrapped horseshoes to our supply pile!

The result includes the obligatory iron butterfly and a family of armadillos, still freshly polished from the workshop. They seem eager to be set free to find their final "rusting" place.

Not exactly part of the critter menagerie, but these hungry-looking and sharp-toothed Venus flytraps have also been popping up here and there in the garden beds.

 

 

Well, that's it from here on a Thursday in mid-January. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you smiled once or twice ~ Ellie

Testing, testing ..... 1, 2 , 3

This is only a test post ...

... I'm just getting started here and trying to get a feel for it all works.

 If you should happen to stop by while I am still nailing the bits together, please do check by again later.