Spiders in our midst

On Saturday, I spent about an hour sitting on the deck, reading and napping. When I finally shuffled to my feet, I felt numerous sticky invisible threads on my head, arms and legs. It felt like the scene in Gulliver’s Travels when Gulliver is tied down by the tiny Lilliputians and taken prisoner.

Spiders have taken over my corner of the world. They started out this spring as tiny spiderlings huddling together for protection. A breath of air would cause them to scatter, then come together again. But they have had all summer to grow, and now they are huge and lurking everywhere.

Today I couldn't even sit down in my chair. Spiders have taken up residence, and I'm outnumbered.



This lady is a yellow argiope or writing spider, and she made herself at home in my garden last summer. Thank goodness there was only one, because I really am faint of heart and cowardly about getting too close.

My assailants are gray-brown garden spiders, not very beautiful, but very busy making webs on anything they can find, including plants, deck chairs, and me. After laying their eggs, they die. I remember reading Charlotte’s Web to my kids, and when Charlotte’s life was over, I sobbed like a baby. My kids, unaffected by the tragedy, kept wondering what was the matter with me.