On first glance, this looks like a photo of some really interesting red flowers. That it is. But there’s more to it than that.
Do you see the curled leaf to the left of the flowers? And do you see the spider’s front legs peeking out?
The leaf curling spider (what an appropriate name!) creates its home by curling a leaf and spinning a fan-shaped web attached to that leaf. Inside the leaf might be a pair of spiders.
This makes me think about what it is to create a home or a base. Does it have to do with your geographical location? The physical structure of where you lay your hat? A routine that stays with you even when all the other elements are changing?
These spiders may well stay in this particular garden and continue creating homes out of different curled leaves. Or they may wander to the garden down the block and do the same. Whether the same place or somewhere else, it’s a succession of similar leaves, and the routine of creating that particular home.
I’m not sure yet what combination most feels like home to me. At the moment, it’s mainly reliant on the routines I carry with me. How about for you? What makes home? What gives you a solid base?
