My template has suddenly lost its mind. It’s shoving the sidebar down to the bottom of the page, so if you’re looking for that info, you’ll have to scroll down. If it doesn’t miraculously cure itself, I’ll have to go do some tweaking. So, if at some point over the weekend you notice supreme template ugliness, fear not, it just means I’m working on it. Because, you know, I don’t have anything better to do with my time. Grrr.
Day: June 3, 2006
Spiders in the Kitchen
Cobweb Weaver with egg sacs
Another spider has set up a nursery in my kitchen window. So far, she’s got three egg sacks, one of which has hatched. To give you an idea of scale, the hatchlings’ bodies are roughly the size of grains of table salt. They’re bitty.
They are the same type of spider as the one who is living in my bedroom window. I guess this species likes the protection provided by the window awnings. They don’t seem inclined to come indoors, as I’ve never noticed this sort of spider in the house, so I’m happy to leave well enough alone and to enjoy the nature show.
Addendum: I thought I’d mention that these spiders (don’t know how common this is) lay their eggs on bugs that are caught in their webs. Then, they encase it all in a cocoon, making an egg sack. It’s pretty cool to see it in mid-stage, where the dead bug is encrusted with little amber-colored eggs.
Addendum 2: She is apparently a common Cobweb Weaver. Good to know.
And no, no mowing yet. I’m procrastinating.
More Flowerblogging
Dianthus
Foxglove
These were taken at my neighbor’s house last Sunday. The top photo is raw, straight from the camera. The bottom photo needed a little bit of color balance tweaking. The background foliage was verging on an unnatural shade of chartreuse, so I toned it down a bit.
Now, to motivate myself to mow the yard. The weather has been uncooperative lately, so it’s been two weeks since I’ve mown. The grass is getting a little out of control. The problem now is that if I wait until the dew has dried sufficiently, it’ll be hot out and damned uncomfortable for physical labor. O ick. If I let it wait until late afternoon, when it’s cooled off a bit, I’ll have lost any motivation I might have summoned up. Blah.
While I’m weighing my options, maybe I’d better go snorgle the puppy. After all, it might help to remind myself on whose behalf the mowing is done. I have no interest in having a yard, after all. If it were up to me, I’d let most of it return to meadow. Harriet likes her yard, though.
red paper boat 