For some reason I’ve always sung the song as “Insy Binsy” Spider rather than “Itsy Bitsy,” perhaps just because I have a tendency to mangle song lyrics, even those of nursery songs. At any rate, I am one of those people who doesn’t kill insects indiscriminately — especially spiders. I will pick them up however I can and put them outside. With an old house and gardens, we have resident spiders with the beautiful webs they spin — those that are in windows or outside glisten and sparkle with morning dew, and sunlight highlights the intricacy of the lacy weave. When they are woven in inconvenient places, the latest one being across the top of the garden gate, I do try to be careful not to wreck the spider’s work too much, and at the same time also find myself apologizing to the spider in case I do. Anyone else engage with the creatures of the natural world like this?
