Saturday, January 15, 2011

Ice Spiders!

For more than a week the pond here at paradise has been covered up in ice spiders, nine large ones to be precise. Where did they come from? I watched a sci-fi movie with the exact title I believe.

No not science fiction, I think they appeared as the pond was melting during a warm spell. The pond then refroze and they have remained on the pond. This is the first time I have seen anything like this on a pond. On Tuesday I did see Cardinals and then Gold Finches drinking out of one of the ice spiders.
 Here is the biggest Ice Spider, notice the clear spot in the center? Water might be bubbling  out as the pond evaporates and the ice falls with the water level.
 Two Ice Spiders a breeding pair perhaps?
There is the pond from this morning, I see nine large Ice Spiders. See the white drain pipe on the upper left of the photo? The top of that pipe is the highest water level the pond can reach.
 After I took the photo of the Ice Spiders this morning I filled the bird feeders off our deck. This Carolina Chickadee was perched on this red bud limb. I went inside got the camera and memory card and went back outside and took this photo. Chickadees are certainly the tamest birds we have here. I know people that have trained these wild birds to eat out of their hands.

In case any of you were wondering who helps me with the blog here. Dot the Wonder Dog is my assistant, here she is helping and doing what she does best. I took this photo while building this posting.

15 comments:

Jan said...

Well I seriously thought you had real spiders over here...'til I read more closely;-) Looks like your pond can hold a LOT of water, if necessary.

I've not found the chickadees to be 'tame' here...for some reason they're almost as skittish as the tufted titmice. I have a harder time getting decent shots of them whereas the other birds seem to sit still longer.

Dot is working as hard as my 2 dogs, who spend the majority of their days doing exactly the same thing!

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Is your pond low because of the drought conditions during the past few years?

Dot looks quite comfortable on her bed. Cute little Chickadee picture.

Southern Lady said...

Dot the wonder dog looks very comfy! She is certainly a big help! Carla

bridget foy said...

love your pooch.

Rohrerbot said...

What's living under that ice? Hmmm.....you might have a hostile alien taking up residence:) Those are really neat to see in the garden. Great bird pic...and yes...my furry gals hang around me while I'm working on this thing. I've put a blanket nearby so that they can watch me. We need our assistants and Dot looks to be doing the job:)

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

I like the blue/gray color of this post!

Les said...

For this time of year, I think Dot is setting an excellent example.

Darla said...

Dot does have the best idea I've seen lately!

NotSoAngryRedHead said...

OH MY GOD! I would so bother that dog for being so adorable. And those ice spiders are wild. Very pretty.

I filled my bird feeders 2 days ago and they're pretty much drained. I saw about 20 birds around the feeders today when I was out for a bit. It was kinda sad cos of the rain, but I'm glad they've figured out that my front yard is the place to be. Nice photo!

The Field of Gold said...

I think I have the same dog ! Doggie vets all planting decisions and peers into all holes dug.

Sarah Knight said...

Fun post! :D
That chickadee is adorable!

Benjamin Vogt said...

Your "spiders" remidn me of the shadows spaceships in Baylon 5. Now I've nerded things up.

Victoria Williams said...

Dot is adorable.
I'm glad we're seeing a break in our cold weather. Our pond ice has melted nicely and I'll stop worrying about our fish now.

Just Jenn said...

Yes, Dot looks *very* helpful... lol
I've never seen ice spiders, they're pretty cool.

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