A SPIDER SAFARI

Once upon an African trip we saw lots of early morning spider webs. Huge webs highlighted by the morning dew and brightly angled sun.

Actually, our target was the big five--lions, elephants, Cape buffaloes, black rhinos, and leopards, but for our first sightings of one safari day, we spotted webs.

There were magnificent. As in the picture, one could see the intricacies of architecturally designed catching machines. But whether anything was captured or not, I like to think the spider proud of the creation. The magnanimity of the effort. Kinda like a good feeling after a hard day's physical labor.

I guess I can identify with the spider because if I could weave a web, one of the first things I would want to catch is some sun rays, too. I would also want to catch some predator or annoyance. And I wouldn't mind catching an insect either--just to keep him away from me. Or maybe for exhibit.

Most of the webbing we saw that day contained no spiders who must be earlier risers than we, or late workers on the graveyard shift. And while their efforts were appreciated, they weren't the Big 5. Which we saw in our three day sojourn. Well, at least my wife got to see the leopard--I had a morning in the room recovering from something eaten the night before. Probably snagged from a spider's web.