Pollen season has arrived. With it comes the revelation of one of nature’s wonders: spiderwebs. By design they are almost invisible, but pine pollen now dusts them into full view everywhere. We can marvel at how ubiquitous they are! Some are tucked into inconspicuous corners or hung between blades of grass, while others are boldly sited by daredevil acrobats who drop their plumb line from the unlikeliest of high points. So many more than we ever noticed before.
We admire their delicate symmetry and can only imagine the discipline it took to create them. Yet despite the craftsmanship, these gossamer tapestries are quite ephemeral, often relinquished by their artisans after only a few days. Some arachnids even knit new webs every single night. Do they quest for that perfect web, the sublime example of lacework that they envision, the one that Mother Nature has ingrained into their being? From time to time, we’ve all been dazzled to stumble upon such masterpieces. Tedious though the pollen may be these several weeks, it unveils some of nature’s most beautiful designs. —Mark Gabriele, Wellfleet
Readers are invited to send their own mini-stories (word limit: 200) about funny or illuminating only-on-the-Outer-Cape moments to [email protected] for consideration for “Incidentally.”
