Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Spider webs

Between the lightning storms and downpours we sometimes wake up to heavy fog in the mornings. Yesterday morning I took off on my walk with Choco (Tetsu slept in again) and grabbed my camera on the way out.

As I walked I was thinking how Tetsu should be walking with me regardless of the weather. I wasn't in a particularly good mood. Just as I got past the first trees in the forest, I noticed a spider web between the tree trunks. With all the drops of fog on it it was just beautiful. I snapped a picture of it but it didn't photograph very well. The camera focuses on the trees behind the web not even registering that the web is there. As I walked along I kept my eyes open for other spider webs that might photograph better and I was surprised at how many spiders had been busy during the night! Suddenly it seemed my world had turned into a web making workshop! Webs in the branches, webs over the bushes, webs in the telephone wires, webs between the rice stems in the field. How is it that I've missed all these before?

One reason is is because the dew drops outlined each of the threads in the web and made them sparkle this day. Another reason is because some of the webs, sparkly or not, can't be seen well against a light background, they need a dark forest behind them. Another reason is that unless I'm looking for them, some are too high up, some are too small, some I need to turn around and look at from a different viewpoint.

By the end of my 40 minute walk, I was in a very good mood and felt like I had been on God's own little treasure hunt looking for spider webs to photograph! I think I took over 50 pictures of webs, some beautiful, some ruined, a few with spiders still in them.

It made me think of the treasures all around us that we pass by without noticing even though they are there. Our hearts' lenses tends to focus on the bleakness behind the blessings. Maybe a Special nudge makes them more recognizable on a given day, maybe we need to turn around and look from a different viewpoint. Some blessings we only realize when the darkness is behind them lighting up the fragile threads of friendship or circumstance or knowledge.

“All thy threads with magic art
Have wound themselves about this heart." William Cowper

I hope I've learned to appreciate the spider webs that I usually find annoying but more than that I hope I've learned to search out God's blessings in my life and be thankful for the dark backgrounds or the teardrops that make them stand out all the more clearly.

20 comments:

artfilstitch said...

Tanya,
You have sent a beautiful message today that indeed we shouldn't focus on the negative. The beauty of the earth is always there, we just need to have a clearer vision with our eyes, heart and mind. God doesn't leave us but, we sometimes stray away from His beauty. The photos are very uplifting and beautiful handiworks of our Lord.
Thanks again!

LaurieG said...

What a great post! You really touched me.

Quilt Pixie said...

your pics are great -- very artisitic. Glad you were able to "tune in" and hear a more positive message for the day ahead.

meggie said...

A wonderful post Tanya. It is just how I feel, except as you know, I don't have a god or religion. I still look at things the same way as you, & still feel blessed somehow to have discovered those secrets.

Karen said...

What a wonderful post. How much we don't see. Only focusing on our own little worlds. Yes, we all need to see from a different view point every now and then.

belinda said...

Just wanted to let you know you have a wonderful blog!! I came across it yesterday via LazyGalQuilting/Tonya's blog. I scanned WAY back into your postings and throughly enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.

belinda said...

Oh....and by the way....my mother's name is Tanya.....

Mel & Seigo said...

Hi Tanya,

Hi again! Just wanted you to know that I've been reading all your entries, even though I haven't had any time of my own to blog or comment much recently.

I have a friend in Australia who wants me to buy some Japanese fabric (cotton) in kimono designs etc for her. I think I remember you mentioned going on a buying trip like this in Tokyo a while back and wondered if you remembered the store name? Also, if you happen to know any online material shops etc, I would be very grateful!

Thanks again for always providing me with an insight into your life,

Melanie

(melbray79(at)hotmail(dot)com

Lazy Gal Tonya said...

beautiful words and photos. LOVE that last pic in particular. you did a great job.

Lazy Gal Tonya said...

beautiful words and photos. LOVE that last pic in particular. you did a great job.

Amanda said...

Spiders' webs are so incredibly beautiful, it always amazes me how well crafted they are. A dewy morning is always the best time for a walk I think, the dew can make so many things look as if they've been sprinkled with diamonds.

theroyalblog said...

What a beautiful post!

Connie W said...

I think your photos are wonderful!

Shelina said...

This is a beautiful post, with absolutely incredible pictures. Thanks for the reminder.

Diane said...

How beautiful the spider webs are. My father used to tell me a story about spider webs. I am sure this story is told in many cultures. He said that many years ago the Spaniards were looking for an important member of the Indian tribe that lived on the island my father came from. The Indian hid in a cave and while he was there a spider wove a web across the opening of the cave. When the Spaniards reached the cave, they did not go in and look because they believed the web had been there a long time and had not been disturbed. He told me this story when as a little girl a small spider was in our tub and I cried because I was afraid. He always said spiders bring luck. My father was born in 1899 and I am 63so it is an old story.

margaret said...

It's all there for us to notice, but usually so many things get in the way. Thanks for the reminder, and the lovely photos.

Christine Thresh said...

What a lovely essay on observation. Thank you.

Kathy Wagner said...

What exquisite photographs! And what an inspiring message you wrote...thank you!

The Calico Quilter said...

Thank you for your lovely post. We sometimes forget to look for the beautiful small things in our world. A lovely yellow garden spider once decided to spin her web in the corner of my front porch, where she could reap the bounty of the bugs attracted to my porch light. Although she made a little mess, I couldn't bring myself to tear her web down and banish her. Visitors were a little nonplussed to walk under her web in the corner above the door, but she wasn't hurting anything, just trying to live in a world that was hers as well as mine.

Chookyblue...... said...

fantastic photos........I was lying down under a big gum tree the other day wondering who else had stopped and taken the time to "look"........we walk around with our eyes shut to much.......simple things can please us so much more.........