Tangled in the Web

This essay is an observation essay where my field notes from my personal observations of a subject were used as my main sources. I have always been fascinated by spiders so the decision was an easy one for me. I hope you enjoy the read. = )

Tangled In The Web

As I sit on my porch on this hot summer day and allow myself to drift, I listen to the music of nature. The birds are singing and the wind is keeping tune with the melody. I melt into this chair like I have become a part of the song and I dream. What would it be like to step outside of my body for a moment and see the world through the eyes of one of these creatures that I take for granted? The world would be larger to me but still as beautiful as before and I would be given the opportunity to admire these things in a way I've only imagined. I look up, my eyes catch an odd looking web in the corner of my house. I walk over to the large, overgrown bush that has taken the area by force and I notice a funnel shaped spider web meticulously built in the only shaded area of the bush that is nearly out of sight. I see him and it is almost like he is looking right at me. The spider is an artist, a hunter, and a homemaker who builds his lair from spun webs of silk and waits patiently for food while I enjoy this beautiful creation he calls a home.

As I watch him I notice that he has captured pellets of dew and appears to be bathing himself. I have never seen anything like this before and I didn't know it was even a possibility until now. This web is a wondrous work of art with such pristine detail that I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to harm it in any way. I see it all the time, children who are afraid of the spider because of its odd legs and genuinely scary look, tear through the web and stomp the poor spider like it has threatened them in some vast way. It has always upset me to see it. I wouldn't want some gigantic person to come into my home, tear it to shreds and then kill me so why would it be alright to do this to an unsuspecting spider whose only crime was picking the wrong place to build his home. This web that may have taken him hours to build, and now rests at the foot of my foliage is absolutely amazing. It would be like destroying art to tear it down and run him away and this spider has done nothing to me except provide me with an example of the beauty that can be found in the ugliest of places. I will never know how hard it is to live like a spider and I will never know the time it takes them to spin such incredible and useful art. What I do know is that, like most things in nature, this spider will not harm me unless he feels his life is being threatened. So I keep a respectful distance and just watch.

There are no bugs trapped in his web for food even though the bugs are literally swarming around the bush. I have always noticed how the insects gravitate toward this bush and I suspect