Monday 27 June 2016

Spiders


As a boy I was always terrified of spiders, the smallest money spider in my room would have me searching for the nearest person to evict it whilst I hid far from it. As I grew I slowly became bolder catching them in glasses to release outside and having a study whilst it was safely contained. It wasn't until I began my apprenticeship at eighteen that I finally managed to truly begin to quash my fear though.


You have no choice really when in the garden, you’re going to come across them often in situations where freaking out is not an option. I've had big black hairy spiders wander across my hand while carrying rocks I'm unable to quickly put down, orb spiders hanging off my dreads after walking through a web and on more than one occasion daddy longlegs actually step on my open eye! These are the kind of encounters that either kill or cure and thankfully they cured. I have now developed a true appreciation of these incredible creatures and with the help of a macro lens come to see them physically in ways I could never have hoped to before. The intricacy of silks and web building, the variety of species and patterning of bodies and the awareness they have of their surroundings. I've always thought of them as simple automata behaving purely like organic machines with no real knowledge of what's happening around them but being down at their level with a camera and getting to watch them watch you, the turn of a head to keep you in their sights, the slight repositioning of the body to allow it a clear exit it needs be.


I love sharing the garden with all manner of wildlife but for me spiders hold a true fascination and will always draw my gaze for a few moments of study and respect. Without them the world would be very different and to have them adding their spirit to the garden certainly makes it a more magical space.



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