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Mention the word ‘web’ and thoughts probably turn straight to the worldwide web – that great engine that connects us to other people, other thoughts and ideas so quickly and so (usually!) efficiently.

But it’s at this time of year that spider webs grab our attention, shimmering and glistening as they waft in a breeze, catching the clear and gentle autumn light.

Spider webs are made from a natural silken fibre made of protein. This fibre has an extraordinarily high tensile strength – five times stronger than steel! The beautiful webs are, for the spider, the means of catching food, raising young, and travelling.

A fly caught in a web generates a vibration along the web – this alerts the spider who then moves in for the kill.

Webs are also used to weave a protective covering for the young spiders so they can grow free form the threat of predators. A web can also be used for travelling – known as ‘ballooning’. The spider releases strands of silk that catch a breath of wind and enable the spider to travel – sometimes great distances.

The golden silk orb-weaver, a spider that lives in warm parts of the world, spins webs with a beautiful golden sheen. This silk has even been used to create cloth, an example of which was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2012.

So next time you flinch or hesitate at the sight of a spider, remind yourself just how amazing these creatures are and enjoy the beauty of their intricately woven environment.

The autumn equinox approaches and the excitement that comes with the onset of autumn builds…

It is a fair time of the year. The sun creeps lower in the sky and the heat lessens but the light is clear; mornings come with a hint of chill and evenings are darker.

But it is a time to celebrate the ‘drawing down’ of nature as plants shed their leaves, new growth slows, leaves fall and autumn harvests are gathered in.

The colours can be beautiful and need to be enjoyed, admired and wondered at… Enjoy!

November heralds the season of drawing down and drawing in. The clocks have gone back; the evenings are suddenly so much darker. Countryside and garden lose leaves, blooms and colour. All seems to be shrinking in on itself. If a cold snap takes hold we hasten indoors. If those grey lightless days have charge we feel like taking cover and hiding away.

There’s still the possibility, however, that we might be blessed with a brief Indian summer – a spell of mild and sunny autumnal weather falling specifically on the nine days between Martinmas, on the 11th November, and 20th November. Bringing sunny and hazy days this interlude is also known as a ‘Martinmas Summer.’

This welcome phenomenon is said to influence the direction of the wind and therefore the severity of the forthcoming winter.

‘If the wind is southeast on Martinmas, it will stay there till Candlemas’

so we’ll be in for a mild winter. But – if the wind has veered round to the north this suggests that we’ll be in for a hard winter. However, other folklore says that if the weather is warm on St Martin’s Day, then a harsh winter will follow. So, take your pick…

Saint Martin’s Day or Martinmas is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated on 11th November. Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for cutting his cloak in half with his sword and giving half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the very same half-cloak.

In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it was an important festival in many parts of Europe, particularly Germanic-speaking regions. It marked the end of the harvest season –

and the beginning of the “winter revelling season”.

In Welsh mythology Marie Trevelyan recorded that if the hooting of an owl was heard on St Martin’s Day it was seen as a bad omen for that district.

If a meteor was seen, then there would be trouble for the whole nation.

In the 6th century, the church called for fasting on all days, except Saturdays and Sundays, from Saint Martin’s Day to Epiphany. However, this period was shortened to begin on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and became the current Advent within a few centuries.