Eight-Legged Pets

I haven't seen such a cluster of lightning in Finland before this evening, and due to the very heavy rain, I didn't quite manage to get the entire lawn mown before it fell. It is about eighty percent done though, and what I left is hidden in the back corner, behind the house, so I will take that as a pass.

However, I probably would have finished the whole lot if I had started fifteen minutes earlier, rather than taking some shots of a little spider that was stretched out on its web near the garage.

Take the opportunities as they arise.

Note: I dislike spiders.

A lot.

But since coming to Finland, I have learned to accept them without quite the fear that gripped me in Australia. For starters, they are far, far smaller here and I think, pretty harmless on the poison scale. And now that we live in an old house with an old garden and a cold basement that has wood stored in it, spiders are definitely not an uncommon sight. This one however was a little different to the usual suspects, so with the clouds threatening and the thunder in the distance, I grabbed my camera.

It is unusually warm for this time of year, with the temperatures in the low twenties today, and as said, it is stormy, making it very humid, even with the light breeze, which made it hard to get these shots. The web was stretched about three meters between the wall and some plants, with the little fella at roost in the middle, gently swaying back and forth, protecting whatever it had already captured in its trap.

What was interesting was when I coughed, it raised its legs up to attack, even though I was a fair way away. I assume that since spiders don't have ears (from what I remember), it could feel the vibrations in its web and the sharpness of the sound put it on guard. I tried to get a decent picture, but it was difficult on the angle it was, and trying to hold the flash to fill, because I had to shoot straight up into the sky. I need to get better with a flash.

I was shooting on a 60mm prime lens with an off-camera flash I was holding on one hand, which again, is something I need to get better at. I tend to be pretty lazy when it comes to setting up shots like this, but remember - I did get eighty percent of the lawn mowed also!

This weekend, we also have the little dachshund we babysit from time to time visiting, so my wife and Smallsteps are super happy, despite the rain. He is admittedly a pretty cool dog and it has been a while since he has visited, so it is nice to have the change of pace in the house.

And a much nicer guest, than the usual eight-legged variety.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]