For the past few months the house has been occupied with spiders I've named the ballerinas because of their exquisite delicate legs and violin-shaped bodies. The ballerinas create nearly invisible webs and thus seem suspended in mid-air, gracefully spinning, sometimes doing what seems like dance across the span of threads, occasionally seeming to cartwheel as they stay out of the path of my movement.
One was beneath the windowsill by my garret chair. In the evenings when I write she would spin to keep me company. Her spinning is what brought me out of a stuck place in the summer.
Another one lived by the window over the kitchen sink. She would visit as I washed dishes, quickly disappearing if I splashed too much water.
Last week I discovered one in the huge seashell that sits on my bathtub ledge, the perfect place for a spider who needs easy access to private spaces.
This one lives above the roses hanging above the laundry room sink. Although she sometimes comes down to the sink itself, today she was encouraged to come low enough for the photo.
The ballerinas seem to be dying out this time of year, although I'm noticing lots of very tiny ones, nearly impossible to see in their fine, transparent youth.
Other than Charlotte, these are the first spiders I have become attached to - they seem to add something to the spirit of creativity, artists in residence.
What a great attitude and view of them. My favorite are the garden spiders, with their fat yellow and black striped bodies (and brown and clear striped legs) and intricate orbicular webs. I love watching them spin.
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely blog. I am richly enjoying the reading and viewing of it.
ReplyDelete- M
Ballerinas sound far more delicate and enriching than daddy longlegs. It lends to them an enculturated place among the finer things of the classic household.
ReplyDeleteI used to feed them scouting ants I found in my bathroom, gently dropping them into their cornerful webs. I figured since I was going to eliminate the ants, I might as well nourish the ballerinas.
My sweetheart JoAnn is ardently scaredtodeath of spiders. There is no reprieve from this. We're born with two fears: the fear of falling and of loud noises. All other fears are acquired. That knowledge goes not very far towards helping her embrace and transcend her hyper-arachnophobia.
Nice to see that you are charmed rather than alarmed. Dance on. ;-)
My attachment to the ballerinas is noteworthy also b/c I have spent most of my life terrified of spiders.
ReplyDeleteA spider walking toward me with a syringe would have been my worst nightmare. :)
Things are shifting, though. Syringes have become vehicles for schwung, spiders are dancing and spinning and setting stories in motion.
There is simply no telling what might happen next!
billie
Things are shifting, though. Syringes have become vehicles for schwung, spiders are dancing and spinning and setting stories in motion.
ReplyDeleteGlorious and amazing.
There is simply no telling what might happen next!
Nope. And I've learned that isn't really so scary after all. . .