In honour of...

.... Abstract Thursday, for which I am a day late posting, but mostly because I felt that it was a much more appealing blip photo for those who are not into spiders...which was my alternative ... 

My mind has been on dock spiders the last couple of days..I usually see one at least once a year sneaking up through a crack between the dock boards whilst I am lounging, but until yesterday, I had never seen a web and egg sac being guarded by the mom. I was quite fascinated by this dedicated mom who did not leave her post even though I was right there grabbing the swim ladder handle upon which her babies-to-be were attached...

That sent me to the internet...I have always been fascinated watching a dock spider and have been so impressed by them that I never had the urge to kill one....but seeing that egg sac made me wonder If I should be destroying that web? One spider is nice - 1000? not so nice...

Yes..Quel surpris...The internet told me that from one egg sac, 1000 baby spiders will hatch!.... Uh oh....but I kept on reading....and was even more impressed with this amazing creature..Some fun facts? 

The dock spider is Canada's largest spider and can grow up to 3 inches wide. They don't spin webs to catch prey but to protect their eggs. They stalk their prey and inject a paralyzing venom. They have water-resistant legs that they dangle in the water to sense vibrations of possible prey lurking below; they can walk on water and jump vertically into the air off the water to avoid being caught by a fish...and they can stay submerged underwater for up to half an hour to hide from predators or catch prey.....which makes me re-think swimming with Charlotte..at least if she is up on the dock where I can see her, all will be fine....it is that surprise encounter whilst in the water that gives me pause! 

But sanity returns....we have always had dock spiders; they have always reproduced and their little egg sacs have hatched and we have suffered no ill effects from their presence....Knowledge is a valuable thing, yes, but it can also lead to unnecessary fear... 

So..I decided with encouragement from my daughter to just let nature do its thing...and now am hoping I don't regret it. I would rather not have known that Charlotte can be under the water in which I am swimming!