Monet, Spiders And Thoughts Thereupon

/ Ally Bean

I took these photos while standing on our deck early yesterday morning.  It was foggy outside and the world looked like something out of a Monet painting.  Nature’s beauty charmed me, but also lured me into a much too contemplative frame of mind for a Monday morning.

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Seeing my world in this hazy way left me feeling grounded + old.  I realized that I’d seen it all this way before, but was now remembering that there’ll be a finite number of other times that I’ll see it this way again.  Feeling introspective, I was.

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But as if on cue, when I went back inside the house to refill my coffee mug, I saw this little spider climbing up the inside of the screen.  Now here is a critter who’s living in the moment, I thought.  Good for him.

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He’s applying himself to the task at hand with all the enthusiasm + strength that he can muster.  And perhaps he has the real message of this early morning: get out there, start climbing and do something.  No need to get stuck in maudlin contemplation when there’s life to be lived now.  Spider Wisdom 101.

26 thoughts on “Monet, Spiders And Thoughts Thereupon”

  1. Lovely photos. And I see value in both activities. I hope there’s never again a time when I’m too darn busy and wrapped up in my own stress that I can’t take a few quiet moments to appreciate…those few quiet moments! As you remarked, there are always fewer and fewer of them. Then, as your arachnid friend did, I can get going and get on.

    Such a great post today, AB. Finding that balance in life daily is sometimes a matter of Nature. Maybe we don’t really have to work so hard at it.

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    • nance, thank you. I liked how naturally hazy the outdoor photos turned out to be, but couldn’t resist sharing the spider one. I think that you’re onto something when you say that to attain balance: Maybe we don’t really have to work so hard at it. Smartness, my friend.

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  2. Love the photos. This year because of some big changes I made around our pond, nocturnal critters have been brutal on the vegetation. That means I have very little blooming anywhere around or in the pond. As a gardener I just love your photos. Maybe in a year or so, my back area will be better. I can also get caught in the maudlin. Someone was discussing when they were going to retire. They talked as if they were going to live a set amount of time after they retire so if they retired later they would live longer. I reminded them that we all have an expiration date that is set and no decision (mostly) will change it so if they retire later they will have less time for that. I was the life of the party.

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  3. Definitely Monet like photos. Thanks for posting this today. It gave me the kick in the butt I needed! It’s very dark and threatening rain all day, just like yesterday, which always makes me feel down. I need the sun! But this post of your little spider friend inspires me to get going and enjoy each minute of today. At least our plants are happy for this much needed moisture!

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    • beth, I know what you mean about those dark threatening stormy days. They can get to you. But because this little spider, who I allowed to live btw, was such a productive soul, I found him to be inspiring. Who’d have thought?

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  4. Life among the spiders, squirrels and deer can be so educational and motivting when related to us in such well-crafted terms. Thanks as always for your words. They make us readers better souls as a result.

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    • Z-D, aren’t you a sweetie pie this morning?! Thanks for the encouraging words. Living in the [forested] suburbs has turned out to be something else indeed.

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  5. With three poisonous spider bites to my credit in the month of July, I have to say I would’ve seized the moment and crushed that spider with the heel of my shoe………

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    • Andra, oddly I didn’t do that. Usually I’m anti-spider when I see ’em, but this little guy was moseying by at a time when I was more mellow than normal. So he got to live and inspire me, benevolent human being that I am.

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  8. I love the muted, slightly blurred beauty of your garden photos. I still haven’t decided what to do with the front gardens and I think they will wait till next spring now. I wish I could hire you to come plant them.

    But I’m afraid in my world, a spider climbing up the inside of the screen is clearly suicidal. I am not zen enough to find meaning or inspiration in his climb.

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    • Zazzy, Monday morning had such different colors going on that I was inspired to snap a few pics. Glad that you liked.

      I have no idea why I found the little spider charming, but I did. Once in a while I can get zen-like. I can groove on the extraordinariness of the ordinary. Sure, I can do that!

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  9. Keep climbing indeed! I’m trying. I love the photos and the haze. It is strange what pushes me into a contemplative mood and I usually just go with it. (unless it makes me maudlin, which is a bit too frequent)

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    • Margaret, everywhere that I looked on Monday morning the scene in the backyard was hazy and weirdly pinkish. So different. And somehow it just sent me off into a reflective state of mind that I normally reserve of evenings after a glass of wine.

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    • knottedfingers, I have to admit that usually I smoosh the little creepy things the minute I see them, but for some reason I let this guy go. Maybe I knew deep down that he’d make a good blog post… and you know how we bloggers are: everything is potential blog fodder!

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    • philmouse, I bet that you’re right– why wouldn’t Monet approve? Thanks about the steps. I like them, too. No matter what time of year or weather they seem perfect to me.

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