Walking in the Nature Preserve yesterday, I didn’t see this. The colors were there, and it was morning, but instead of clear light, steady rain alternated with downpours. This picture suggests what I saw a few years ago. I have seen nothing close to this again.
Binghamton University owns the Preserve and its Biology Dept uses it for a laboratory. So what I did see was a 40ish woman knee deep in the pond, scooping up water into a bus tub with 15 or so young people, not dressed for the weather, watching her. She heaved it to the edge of the pond and all but yelled, “What do we see?”
Inaudible. “Yes, water spiders! Where did we see water spiders last week in the river?”
More inaudible. “Yes clinging to the rocks!” She then thrust her hands forward at head level and spread her fingers as if she were about to grab onto the last rock.
The young people stood mute, perhaps flashing back to the life and death struggles they had witnessed only a week ago.
“Yes, it’s so much easier for them here…they can just relax… near the pond edge the weeds make it harder for the fish to eat them.”
Spiders and October but, of course.
and an absolutely beautiful picture
fuster wrote:
Yes – all are required to click on the image and view it in its full webbish glory – hit escape or back up if you find yourself trapped in the wilds and want to get out.
[actually, now that I've said that, I see that the image-handling set up may leave something to be desired - I'll see what I can do about that]
@ fuster:
Thanks.
Actualy, pretty it’s a pretty interesting spider. It’s only from this chance encounter that I heard of it all. But you must know all about them since frogs eat them.
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