The Tide Was Out at Charlestown Harbour - and So Were the Spiders

The tide at Charlestown was a very long way out. This seemed to give everything a different perspective. Just look at the old sea groin below, almost looks like some long lost sea monster.

As for the harbour wall, it looked so different without the covering of the sea. Interesting to see the variation of the stones.

Looking back across the rough sand and stones all seemed as it has been for hundreds of years.



We walked alongside the cliffs.

Must stress though that some of the cliffs are liable to fall occassionally. So care has to be taken.

We reached a cave which I find fascinating.

Fascinating because if you look upwards, while inside the cave, there is a square hole to the very top of the cliffs. I've heard various reasons for the hole but the one I like best is one I may have written previously:

We go back to the days of smuggling. The smugglers would beach their boat and rush their contraband to the cave. There would be a rope dangling through the hole and this would be used by the smugglers associates to heave the goods to the top. They would then transfer the smuggled goods to a safe house - and the boat would  quickly take sail before the customs men could take any action.

Could be true!

Lots of seaweed on the shore and rock pools.

Looking across to Cornwall's green fields.

With the tide so far out Charlestown harbour looked so very different.

And now moving on to something completely different: spiders and cobwebs!

There seems to be an abundance of spiders and cobwebs everywhere at the moment.

We have even had spiders in the house, several of them have popped in to say hello. Some quite large.

I never kill spiders, as the old saying goes: If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.

I caught the spiders using a glass and a card. They were then released outside. 

Moving on we visited the Eden Project with our son and his family. One of the exhibits I wanted to see again were the horses made of driftwood by artist Heather Jansch. I had read that she sadly died in July.

The horses have been by the entrance to the Eden booking office for a long time. I'm always fascinated how they have been created from genuine driftwood.

Many thanks for visiting my blog - how quickly time time passes. Enjoy every moment ~ Mike 

The False Widow Spiders in Cornwall

Not my favourite creatures by any means, but a few have been spotted in my neighbourhood. They are the 'noble false widow spiders'. The posh name being Steatoda nobilis. Their body looks similar to a skull and the female often eats the male spider after mating.

According to Wikipedia "...the Steatoda nobilis is native to Madeira and the Canary Islands from where it allegedly spread to Europe, and arrived in England before 1879, perhaps through cargo sent to Torquay".

They supposedly got their name as they look very similar to black widow spiders which can have a very nasty bite - potentially dangerous. 

The false widow, as in my photos, can also bite but it is not usually too serious, something on a par with a bee sting. 

False widow spiders seem to like houses, sheds, garages and the like. The spider in my photos was from a house four houses along from where I live.

In England they are generally only seen in the south.

The quandary is what to do with the spiders if captured. I don't like to kill anything so I expect if I caught one indoors I would release it into the local woods.

For more pleasant creatures please see:

The Lost Gardens of Heligan: 18 Photos of Farm Animals, Plants and Jungle

or

Farm Animals Seen In Cornwall

Thank you for visiting my blog - Mike.