I came across this local resident in one of our old horse chestnut trees this morning, basking in the sunlight. The night-time temperature had touched zero and then climbed back up to nearly twenty degrees (centigrade). Cool nights and sunny days - just how my Pamela likes it.

Looking at the web, I was reminded of the giant sequoia trees found in the north western United States. Some of them are over 2000 years old; they have a web of interconnected roots, making a sequoia copse effectively a single tree.

I have always thought of spiders as being distinct from their webs - but of course they are not. The web is part of the spider - the spider is not on the web, the spider is the web, the web is the spider. Each morning this little chap recreates himself for all the world to see - if we have eyes to look.

The effect of the web is to make the spider a much bigger entity, sensitive to wind, weather and other webs. In this case the spider is about four feet across - extended and enlarged by the web he has created.

But you must know how he feels - it is through the power of your own web that you are able to read this!