Spider Webs Filling the Sky

Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day.  Blue skies, sunshine, cool weather and a nice breeze completed the recipe for a glorious day.  As I took care of a few 'to do' items in the garden, I glanced upward and saw that the sky was filled with spider webs floating in the air, being carried by the breeze.

Tree limbs, fences, everything was covered in webs.  If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the sunlight reflecting off of the webs caught in the power lines.

In reading on the Internet, I learned that these are indeed tiny spiders that climb to a high location and releases stings of spider webs into the air.  The wind catches the webs like a parachute and carries the spiders away.  They have been found over 900 miles away from shore in the middle of the ocean and as high as 16,000 feet up in the air.  Just below you can see a very long web that has landed and is draped over the live oak tree and caught in the fence.  It would be interesting to know how far away it traveled from prior to landing here.

Why are spiders doing this?  They are dispersing to find new habitat.  Most of us hop in a car or truck or call uber or lyft, but these tiny spiders have it all figured out.  Eventually, though, they land just as they did below.  Welcome to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.

I for one, hope that as soon as they unpack, they get busy eating pests in the garden!