I spied 'er!

About to pick a luscious looking blackberry the white cross-markings of a garden spider caught my eye and I left her undisturbed.

Today being old Michaelmas Day (or Eve)* was traditionally the end of  blackberry picking season. The Devil, it  was said,  will have spat, peed, dragged his tail or otherwise polluted the remaining brambles on the bushes as he fell, cursing, from Heaven into a briar patch.

More important though to let Mother Spider weave her web and trap her supper in peace than to indulge in the now spoilt fruit (although they're still fine for cooking.)


* 10 days were 'lost' in the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752. September 29th became the new Michaelmas Day.