This little lady was happily spinning her web among the rhodendrons and a fly on a nearby leaf would I think have ended up as dinner. I am reminded of the children's nursery rhyme -
.................Incy Wincy Spider
Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain
And Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout again!
The origin of this nursery ryhme is a little hazy - the most commonly referenced first published version was in 1962 (Baring-Gould-MotherGoose). However, numerous earlier references can be found — for example, in Western Folklore, by the California Folklore Society (1947) and The Growing Family: A Guide for Parents by Maxwell Slutz Stewart (1955). An alternate version can be found much earlier in the book, Camp and Camino in Lower California (1910).
lovely capture and interesting info about the rhyme too!
ReplyDeleteThe web is nicely caught in the light, making a lovely pattern.
ReplyDeleteIs that "Charlotte's Web" or the "Itsy bitsy Spider?!"
ReplyDeleteLooks not unlike some spiders we have here in Florida. This is a nice shot...they are hard to capture mid-web!
ReplyDeletesuper shot of the spider in her web.
ReplyDeleteWell I remember the charming nursery rhyme way before the sixties--maybe the forties---so knowing how old I am that little ditty has been around a long time. LOL MB
I love that, it is so hard to catch the light just right so that all of the web is visible.
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find "Camp and Camino in Lower California" from 1910? That's pretty obscure, even for this Californian book collector! I learned "Incy Wincy Spider" as a children's song (with itsy-bitsy instead of incy-wincy.)
I recall that a book on poetry, written by a prominent poet, used this rhyme as an example of a "perfect" poem... now, that will drive me crazy until I think of what book that was...
Three Rivers Daily Photo
Soo, you're a spiderwoman then...:)
ReplyDeleteI like spiders, nice pic, much rather have a spider in the house than all the bugs the live on.
ReplyDeleteThe origins of these well known childhood verses is quite interesting. Bill Bryson told one story about a verse and the history of it, cannot recall it now apart from the fact that it stuck in my mind.
Been a long time since I heard that nursery rhyme brought a smile to my face
ReplyDeleteMagiceye - As I was taking a photo of the flowers, I noticed the web.
ReplyDeleteAB - Spider's webs are very intricate
Leif - Maybe it could be both?
Jacob - Methinks the spider had her eye on dinner (the fly)!
Small City Scenes - I think the rhyme is older than many of us.
Three Rivers - the book was written by Arthur Walbridge North and the rhyme is in chapter 21 'The top of the peninsula' on page 279, although a couple of words are slightly different.
Rob and Mandy - Without any powers
Paul - Yes, spiders are better than other creepy-crawlies. The origin of some 'nursery' rhymes were less than good - such as 'ring a ring a roses'.
Joe Todd - I too like a lot of the old nursery rhymes and can remember most of them.
ReplyDeleteThis is such wonderful light you've captured here. The spider is transformed by it and the web truly sings.
ReplyDeleteGreat image and interesting story of a very nice nursery rhyme!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping at my photo blog. I love this photo! I've tried to get spiderweb photos in the past with no success.
ReplyDeleteYou asked about the lantern in my picture. We don't use candles, they are solar powered!
Brattcat - Each species of spider spins a different web.
ReplyDeleteVogon Poet - Most children learn the "actions" that go with the rhyme.
Mari - The sun was shining right on the web which sort of made it 'glow.'
Thanks for the info on the lanterns - solar power is good.:-)