Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Halloween Questions

This time of year there always comes to mind a couple of questions. One being how did purple go from indicating royalty to a witches favorite color? Maybe this Violet toothed polyspore was used in some witches brew.? Or why are spiders, which aren't even around this time of year because they are hibernating or worse dead, cause to signify fear, spookiness? After all this demure little lady all tucked up under the leaf...
and the artist of this beautiful creation just wants a fresh meal for herself and her babies. Now who could blame her for that?
Now these little jumpy spiders can give a little nip but they only do so if they are protecting themselves from careless humans that bump or thump them while gardening.
A person surely couldn't hold a grudge against a hard working Wolf Spider that does its best to rid your tool shed of unwanted denziens.Spiders are such beautiful creatures and most misunderstood. They come in such a wide range of sizes, shapes and...
colors. I wish you could see the neon colors of this Venusta Orchard spider up close. It is a beautiful spider.
I do hope you all have a fun, spooky Halloween week. Just remember to give the spiders their due respect for all the helpful things they do in your garden.

25 comments:

  1. Cool spider photos Lisa and that web is fantastic! Thankfully, I've learned to become a little bit more tolerant of spiders.....they're pretty amazing.

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  2. Gorgeous photos, Lisa! That spider web is stunning. Spiders do get a bad rap, don't they? I don't appreciate them in my house, but they are certainly welcome outside in my garden where I make sure they aren't disturbed.

    Speaking of questions, why do black cats have such a bad reputation as well? I think they're beautiful:)

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  3. Yikes, they may be our friends in the garden, still I don't like 'em. Especially this time of year when they want to come in a be house pets.

    Walking thru a spider web in a dark basement sure gives me the creeps. I just know that spider is in my hair and going to crawl down my collar.
    Marnie

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  4. Lisa...perfect photographs and perfect post....spiders are indeed beautiful and get rid of a lot of nasties in the garden......lovely to hear someone else give them some well deserved praise.....

    AND I have just been to my post box at the end of the drive....inside was mail from you. I opened it with anticipation....what can I say.....it stole my heart, there before me was my darling Poppi.....tku for the time and love put into the beautiful drawing....I have a book of treasures.....it will be added to my collection of special moments........you have captured her eyes perfectly, also the very essense of her........tku so very much........

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  5. Lisa, this is such an interesting and provocative post. I am one that never really looked at spiders this way! Thanks.

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  6. fantastic web photo. I have to confess that spiders creep me out a bit especially when they catch me by surprise. even so, they are more than welcome in my garden. I heard a bit of trivia once....something along the lines of no matter where you are in the world, you are probably within six feet of a spider. Now that's a lot of spiders to go around. and certainly they don't all deserve the bad rep.
    irena

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  7. Fantastic images Lisa - what amazing colours & that spider web is spectacular.

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  8. Hi Lisa, always love to see spiders web photos and the first shot somehow it reminds me of a rams head.

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  9. Lisa,

    Interesting questions! Great photos, too. I like spiders in the garden and when I find them in the house we just escort them outside! I am not crazy about Black Widows or the Brown Recluse that like to hide in dark places! Like the wood pile or the garden shed!

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  10. Hi Lisa, happy hallowe'en a little ahead of time. You chose the perfect garden denizen in our friends the spiders. Why did they turn into a late October holiday icon? Is it the timing of the web's appearance with lots of foggy mornings? I used to know about the black cats, but have forgotten. ;->


    Frances
    http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

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  11. Dear Lisa,
    Spiders are our friends that is for sure. I love the way they spin their silk. I watched a BBC program called "Life in the Undergrowth". wonderful series if you get a chance to see it I highly recommend it. One section was on the spinners. I am awed by the spinnets the spiders have and all the different ways they catch prey.
    Lovely tribute to the spider. Good questions...
    Sherry

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  12. I do respect and appreciate their work in the garden, but I will never love spiders or find them cute or friendly, I'm afraid. Charlotte notwithstanding.

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  13. Love the spiders. They take care of so many bad bugs. Your pictures are great.

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  14. Beautiful shots of fascinating creatures Lisa. I love the web. I enjoy looking at spiders, and appreciate all they do in the garden. I also appreciate their general willingness to respect my personal space. ;)

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  15. Cool photos, Lisa.

    I don't think it's a coincidence that election day and Halloween come at the same time of year. I find many candidates spookier than any spider.

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  16. I love them... as long as they are OUTside. :c)

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  17. Fun post Lisa :-D Great photos too - loved the fungi especially.

    Mm... I've two shades of purple on my blog! I wonder what that could signify? Ah... but Halloween means only one thing in our house - a birthday! My daughter will be 18 this year so its time to get the decorations out :-D

    Wishing you a fun week too :-D

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  18. Spiders are fascinating as you have pointed out and show so well in your photos. I don't like when they crawl on me though. Where do these traditions originate? Hmmmmm and boo!

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  19. You know, Lisa, I used to be terrified of spiders. Now I rather like them, sort of. At least I'm not as afraid of them and can appreciate them so much more, now that I garden with them all around me.

    What about the Big Butt spiders? LOL

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  20. As for the purple, I couldn't tell you what that means. But, legend states, if you see a spider on Halloween it the spirit of a loved one watching over you. :-)-Randy

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  21. Love your spider photos, Lisa. Most timely & in keeping with the season. I think spiders are fascinating; though must admit I prefer them outside to inside. Happy Halloween! <[:->/*

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  22. Great photos, Lisa. I like spiderwebs, especially in the morning with dew. It's like looking through a net full of little diamonds. We do have a lot of spiders here and I like to observe them, but unfortunately I do not know (yet) their names. There is a saying here "spiders in the house are bringing a lot of luck"...

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  23. atta girl -- bravo for being in support of the spider. I am constantly taking photos of the webs and I welcome them in the garden.

    Happy Halloween

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  24. Great spider pics Lisa! I like spiders and my cat Delia likes them too; she eats them. Not very respectful, I know. I, on the other hand, try to capture them when I find one in the house and carefully release it into the wild again. Born free ...........! ;-)

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  25. Lovely post, Lisa! And great job on the spider photos... I love spiders, and they definitely do get a bad rap. Glad to see you giving them some positive PR here. :)

    Happy Halloween!

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