Garden Life

I am particularly enjoying the creatures living in the garden. (Of course I say "garden" in quotes, because actually it's a yard with a garden wanting to happen!) A couple of days ago I was walking around the most neglected part of the yard (and the part that most closely resembles a garden) and almost stepped on a little snake with a black head. He put his tongue out at me a bunch, but seemed totally unafraid. I had to go back three times before he was gone and I could get the branch that had fallen into the gardenia.

Then, that same evening, I was walking down the east side of the yard and found the largest garden spider I've ever seen! Her body is at least 2 1/2 " long and quite wide. She has created the most elaborate web lodge I've EVER seen! It is at least 3 complete spiral webs that are interconnected with cross webs. She sits in the outer most web in the exact center. I was watching her yesterday and a little twig of oak with 3-4 dried leaves fell in to the center web. She was totally motionless for several heart beats and then she crept quite slowly to the leaves. She touched each leaf and explored the twiglet. It was caught inbetween the first and second spiral and on a little mesh of the cross web. It took her several minutes, but she carefully undid the cross web and disengaged the invader leaves and they fell to the ground. Then she positioned herself back in her original spot! I roamed the hedges all around the yard after that and found many of her offspring, but none as amazing as she is!