8.23.2008

Blue Skies and Black Widows

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I figured I'd better post a little something for the faithful few who visit here so I took a couple of pictures yesterday while we were at the new house. The sky shot was taken from the side porch as we sat and pondered where the new vegetable garden would go. The black widow (Latrodectus mactans) is one of six we found a few days ago as we moved piles of wood, bricks, and cinder blocks. I chose to leave her cinder block where it was just to see if she would stay or move on to someplace more secluded. Apparently, she likes it where she is and stayed put.

Treebeard and I have been very busy of late with preparations for our impending move. There are lots of other things I have seen that I would have loved to have been able to share with you, but it's hard to take pictures while driving a tractor or digging with a shovel, or stacking wood :) But, we have discovered a wealth of critters on the new property, from turkeys to cottonmouths so I know I will have plenty of blog fodder for future posts.

7 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Ooooh!


Eeeek!

Crowe said...

It's impossible not to smile when there's a turkey around.

Except possibly if there's a black widow spider around as well.

I don't like spiders but I am always kind to them because I figure it's not their fault that I don't like them. One even became my friend last year. He was called Big Stanley and this year there are lots of Little Stanleys in my garden.

Anonymous said...

Count me among the "faithful few."

swamp4me said...

lynne,
Not a spider-lover, eh? :) Black widows are really pretty, you just have to respect their space. This one had a couple of snails in her web the day I found her. I found no trace of them yesterday...hmmm.

crowe,
Turkeys make me do more than smile, they make me laugh out loud. There were two young turkeys down on the south end of the property yesterday. When we startled them they started to run along the wood line. Apparently, they were looking for a brier-free spot to duck into the woods.
Hope all the Little Stanleys are doing well, munching on the insects in your garden.

swamp4me said...

pablo,
Glad to hear it! I visit you regularly, too, although I have trouble leaving comments...web gremlins, I guess.

Cindy Lee said...

your blog looks a little different to me. I like the color layout and the salutation.

Nice view from the porch!!

Never got into spiders and to be quite honest while I often move spiders rather than kill them that widow would have had a bunch of orphans if I had found her!!

swamp4me said...

cindy lee,
I have changed up things a little bit - same basic template with just a few color changes and a new banner pic (that still needs some work).

We do enjoy our view from the porch and plan to do a lot of porch sitting once we are in the house.

Black widows are usually safe around us. We move them when they are too close to the house but otherwise leave them alone.