‘O’ is for October

October Orbs

Introducing Octavia

Round and round, she spins her web Octavia spirals to the moon climbing through the night in step to the writer spider’s tune

Octavia, the Orb-Weaver Spider

Allow me to introduce you to Octavia, a stunning Golden Orb Weaver Spider. She’s our cover model for today’s story. You’ll find her bright colorful body spinning all around the garden. She adorns my banana plant in the finest silk strands.

Her name, Octavia, was derived from the Latin word, octavus, which means, ‘eighth.’ Since she has eight legs, and since she makes more appearances in my garden in October, I thought it was a fitting name for her.

Writing Spider

Just like all Spider Girl super heroes, she has many aliases. She’s commonly known as the Writing Spider, due to the distinct vertical zigzag pattern she constructs in her web.

Some know her as the Banana Spider. Ironically this photo was taken while she was weaving her web on a banana plant in my backyard. Perhaps she was writing some garden poetry. Others might know her as Corn Spider, Zipper Spider, Steelers Spider, or simply Garden Spider.

She’s not venomous or aggressive. She’ll attempt to escape when provoked, and she only bites as a last resort. She’s a good superhero, protecting mankind from mosquitos, moths, and other annoying insects.

Spinning webs, eating insects and tending her egg sacs, are her day jobs. She also teaches a spin class on the World Wide Web. But every October, on the Hunter’s Moon, she transforms into Spider Girl and shoots her web straight to the moon!

Look closely at the moon photo below, and you’ll see her legs crawling across the moon. Can you see them? Some people find shapes in clouds. Why not find shapes in the moon? This brings us to our second October orb.

October Orb — The Hunter’s Moon

Hunter’s Moon was on October 9 this year. I saw some wonderful lunar photography from great medium writers this month. It inspired me to take out my tripod and shoot some photos. I captured some shots of the glowing orb in the sky, known as the Hunter’s moon.

The above moon photo was taken on the night of the full moon. I also took some shots several days later on a bright cloudy night. The clouds passing in front of the moon gave me some unique shots. Instead, I opted to use the full moon photo shown here, due to the ‘spider legs’ shapes crawling across the moon. You have to look close to see them, but that’s what imaginations are for. 🕷

Thank you for reading. This prompt was a unique way to intertwine the Hunter’s Moon and the Golden Orb Weaver Spider for an October theme. It was also a fun way to stretch my imagination!

Mia Verita 2022

Here’s another story in the Spider Girl Series —

I’m inviting James G Brennan, to partake in this prompt, if it pleases him, and of course anyone else who would like to participate. Here is the link to the prompt —

Thank you, Indubala Kachhawa, for this inspiring prompt.

Thank you to all the hard working editors of Paper Poetry for giving this writing spider a place to spin her web. — Suntonu Bhadra, Carolyn Hastings, and Indubala Kachhawa

Mia Verita enjoys writing stories about Spider Girl and taking shots of the moon. She enjoys photography, sketching, writing poetry, and sharing inspirational stories.

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