Spiders

Those who study arachnids say that a spider is always within six feet of a person. There are that many of them. Yesterday morning as I walked through the retreat house property after a day of rain, spider webs were clearly visible on the trees. It actually looked like a poorly decorated Halloween display - one of those tacky houses that overdo their decorations. Well, the trees here were just covered with hundreds of webs. The grasses, flowers, and bushes had a silk covering to them. It makes me wonder how many thousands of spiders crawled on me as I cut down old trees and shrubs on the estate. Anyways, while I would prefer not to have a spider on me, they don't freak me out. Even the ones in Australia didn't seem to worry me - and every one of those have toxic stings.

The amazing webs spun by spiders are incredible. These webs go up overnight and are so fragile and yet so many insects get caught in their delicate spindles.

 I worked on the new garden terrace this morning. I planted perennials and covered them with mulch to protect them during our long winters. I'm already excited about spring's arrival. The bottom three levels of the terrace will be perennials while I'll plant vegetables and herbs next spring. I think it is a good start. When I think back on what the area looked like six months ago, it is an incredible transformation. A school desk chair was tilted near the kitchen window. Large unattractive bushes overran the top level and some old equipment was left to decay. And now, we have a floral terrace that out to light up next year. I can't wait.

I owe thanks to Kane's Flower World in Danvers for their generous benefaction. Without it, we would not have a terrace garden yet.

 This morning porpoises were seen swimming in Brace cove. I'll have to look around for them and see if I can shoot them with my camera. Life is abundant at this retreat house.