Dear Readers, the cold snap continues – the temperature as I write is a chilly 28 degrees (don’t laugh, Canadian readers). So far there’s no snow, but there’s a chance of some overnight and tomorrow, which, as I am working from home and don’t have to go out in it, makes me rather selfishly excited. But what was even more exciting this morning was the way that the overnight frost had exposed every single spider’s web in the garden. Who knew that they had been so busy?

I suspect that these have been built by lace-web spiders (Amaurobius sp.), though they could also belong to the noble false widows which seem to be cropping up everywhere, and which also make a sheet web. The frost has revealed every strand, and shows the structure, with long, thick strands anchoring the web, and then a multitude of smaller ones forming the basis of the web.

In this web, the spider who made the lacy web at the top has been joined by a garden spider lower down.

The bags of compost that I left on the garden table have formed the basis for some very impressive webs.

And a poor robin waits patiently above the frozen pond for someone to break the ice. Two minutes after my husband had broken it, the robin was back, having a bath. Clearly s/he got the memo about cold water being good for you.

And finally, a few more orb webs on the garden chairs.

It’s amazing what goes on in the garden that we can only see under very particular conditions. I love that the spiders were so busy during the summer, and that they left us these signs of their passing. These are the loveliest decorations that anyone could ever wish for.