Spider’s Jewels

Heading from summer to autumn, this is the first blog from the autumn and dates from 28 September 2013.

After a long hot summer I knew that autumn had finally arrived when the morning’s dew remained captured on the delicate filaments of the Spider webs well into the following morning, rather than disappearing at first light. Overnight the Spiders had been working hard in our hedge, to make the top surface a bejewelled carpet of webs, scattered like a fine gossamer blanket that had been snagged by the upright shoots of the hedge when blown in the wind.

Spider Webs – 28 September 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

In the morning sunlight the fine threads were covered with an amazing array of tiny droplets of dew, it was as though someone had been out all night threading tiny iridescent beads onto the threads. In the morning sunshine each of these beads then reflected the sunlight in all directions, producing an array of tiny rainbows. A temporary but very beautiful effect that didn’t last long, for even this late in the year the morning dew does not last forever and the strength of the autumn sun soon evaporated them.

A Spider’s Web Covered in Iridescent Beads – 28 September 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Incy Wincy Spider Grows Up!

While the first storm of autumn, blows and blusters through the surrounding trees, its time to go hunting wildlife, closer to home, and somewhat more sheltered and drier than outside! In an old house, in autumn, it is never a difficult task to find the odd creature hiding away in the more remote corners of the place or even making more blatant bids to move in, especially the Spider, which will take up residence anywhere it seems think is available. Today the hunt led to the disused entrance, which I have to say is the fond haunt of the Spider, being cool and relatively undisturbed. In this case today’s is a very very large one – a Giant House Spider (Tegenaria duellica) to be precise.

Giant House Spider – 25 September 2012 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Have to say I’m quite fond of these creatures, with their long gangly legs that are covered in the most amazing hairs, each hair being at least 5mm long (long when the creature is just a few inches across, and this includes their legs) and each angled out from the leg at 45^o. Accompanied by their mottled brown bodies, the patterns of which seem to be unique to the individual and pair of glistening jet black eyes, like a pair of polished coals. This one at least is safe, living with the recycling and bothering no one, happily constructing its almost orb like webs in the corners.

Pair of Giant House Spiders – 12 September 2012 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Lost Valley

OK, so there I was standing in the bottom of the Crook Burn valley on Wednesday. Supposedly I was in a wide and gently sloping valley, but at that moment, it could have been almost anywhere, as the visibility had dropped to less than 20m in any direction and the surroundings where coated in a think layer of cloud.

Crook Burn Valley – 30 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

But oh, what surprises awaited! What I had been led to expect to be the remnant of a long lost northern hay meadow, that may have been suffering from under grazing and scrub invasion, actually turned into the most amazing complex of valley wetlands that graded into drier grasslands on some of the steeper slopes. The valley floor and all the lower slopes were dominated by various wetland communities. They contained the typical Rush pasture of northern hay meadows, to areas of valley fen dominated by Sedges and Water Horsetail, to those areas that truly quaked and wobbled like a jelly, and also areas of tall herb fen carpeted by Meadowsweet through which water flushed.

Amongst the swirling mist that rose and sank, as the breeze moved it around, patches of Marsh Marigold almost glowed, as though they had been coated in a fluorescent element, and some of the flowers were unusual in being semi-doubles.

Marsh Marigolds – 30 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Out of the gloom there also loomed a number of Greater Tussock Sedges, and with the mist swirling, they could almost have been monsters escaped from a Dr Who program, especially as many of the leaves where coated with tiny drops of water. Plants weren’t the only items to be coated in droplets of water and amongst the areas of taller vegetation where a number of spiders webs that had been decorated with hundreds of droplets of water, all seemingly individually sculpted and placed.

Spiders Webs – 30 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Finally though, in what has generally become a highly agricultural area, the valley had one final secret to reveal and to me one of the highlights of the day, as it took me to one of my favourite places, the North Pennines, and this was a thriving colony of Globeflowers (Trollius europaeus), with their much paler lemon coloured blooms.

 

Globeflowers (Trollius europaeus) – 30 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Incy Wincy Spider

While staring out of the window this morning, dreaming of being out in the now newly arrived summer, and watching the passing of the world for a few minutes, I noticed that a large spiders web had appeared in the corner of the window. While staring at it innocently, a passing Mayfly became entangled and no sooner had it become caught than the Spider dashed out from his hiding place and bundled his catch away, already paralysed and probably wrapped. Wow! One blink and the whole sequence would have been missed, for no sooner had the insect been caught then it had been ferreted away. Further observation showed that the spider was not to be fooled by either the stronger gusts of wind that rattled the web or a number of feathery seeds that it brought with it and had got caught in the web as well.

Incy wincy spider climbing up the spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
Now incy wincy spider went up the spout again!