I know it’s their Christmas, because all the spiders in town had been awake all night decorating. They ran to and fro along the creek banks for miles stringing their prettiest threads over pyracantha, ceanothus, grass and star jasmine — the milk thistle was draped extra thick and milky — but clearly their favorite thing to deck with silver and white was the wild fennel, at every stage of its growth, from fine fronds to long-dried seeds.
After a half hour of admiring the holy day celebrations of spiders, I was brought up short by a different sort of beauty. Willow bushes rising from the creek are lifting their buds heavenward; it must be their message of resurrection joy that filled my heart to bursting.
Christ is risen!
Gladsome Lights 
Ahhh! Pussy willow! They are so pretty. Your spiders are quite amazing. Some of those webs are huge and very thick. Nice photos!
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It is so fun to see what is happening in a completlely different climate than my January New England climate. ❤
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Yes, Christ is born, and Christ is risen! (I’ll leave the spiders alone to enjoy their holiday, as long as it’s on the west coast. You are very charitable to them, is all I can say, in your imaginings.) 😉
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Oh my, this is such a helpful post! (I confess to harboring miniscule doubts about the beauty of creation. Why bother, for example, to invent things like spiders. Father, forgive me.) Spiders, you are blessed. Willows, I see you differently now.
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WHAT an interesting sight to wake up to! I am surprised both by the quantity and the array of spider webs you came across.
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Ahhhh – thank you for sharing. Glory be to God.
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I love trying to identify spiders by their webs. You obviously have some orb-weavers, but it looks as though the second web might belong to a sheet-web spider. Recently, I saw a photo of a web covered with droplets that had frozen; I certainly prefer yours. Being able to wander at will and admire them without worrying about frostbite is a blessing!
Ah, pussy willows. They always were one of the first signs of an Iowa spring. We’d cut a few branches and bring them into the house for forcing. I still remember their silky smoothness.
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The spider webs are beautiful. I love how intricate some of them are.
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May have to rethink “busy as bees” after seeing how hard your spiders have been working!
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My spiders are decorating inside the house and I am loathe to tear down their enthusiastic creations. Now I know it is spider Christmas I will give them a few more days:)
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Wow, so many webs! They are beautiful! So surprising to see willows blossoming while we’re in such a cold spell. Enjoy the beauty! 🙂
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What beautiful pictures of so many different kinds of spider webs!
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