The Wisdom of Spiders

Forget what the calendar says, forget the falling leaves. Here is the south the truest indicator of autumn in the Southern Writing Spider.

When this thumb sized natural hunter builds her torso sized webs, autumn has begun. As the year marches slowly towards a winter's death, she subtly changes the pattern of her home adding thick white zig-zags and gulfs and whorls reminicent of writing. Her penmanship is amazing.

All my life I have watched writing spider's build their webs. From a young age I watched in fascination and a little envy at the fatal beauty of the work. Autumn, with the wind and the cool breezes and the falling leaves, always makes me introspective. Perhaps it's the spiders.

Outside of our office, a red and black beauty has built her lethal domain. If she is left undisturbed, I'll watch her complete her life's work and maybe next year I'll watch one of her children herald the coming of autumn again.