The Web

Threads of gossamer, threads of life, fairy bridges by a spider's wife...

Now apparently, there are certain spiders that weave on the approach of sunset in order to grab dinner from the cooler night skies. They weave with alternating patterns of sticky strands and unsticky so that they can maneuver through their step ladders without themselves becoming tangled...

I was discussing this with my friend, who has seen his spider rotate between two locations at the back of his house: off the awning at their back door and between their garden shed and the house itself (a span of more than four feet). This begs the question (if, indeed, we would beg about this) on the ability of the spider to attach that first strand and then traverse that four foot distance to begin building... Is it the wind that assists? Is it the unraveling and then reclaiming of a certain amount of web material? Or is it an incredible ability to jump?

This morning, as I left for work, this web had vanished...