Sunday Edition: You'll Never Guess Where I Spent This Week
Hint: I'm still in Montana.
The Sunday Edition is Tuesday’s little sister—off-the-cuff updates I’d bring up over a coffee catch-up with a friend.
Being a novelist is the coolest because it provides a container for curiosity…
Some of you may remember that two summers ago, I happened to notice that the bushes alongside a hike I’ve done a million times in Tryon, just outside of Portland, were glittering with spider webs. On closer inspection, I noticed that the webs were perfect half-domes, tiny architectural marvels that each housed a tiny spider. The discovery sparked a million questions that ultimately led me to the research by Dr. Paul J. Watson, an evolutionary behavioral ecologist who’s devoted his career to answering these questions.
As I began to draft the outline of my current novel, I kept returning to these spiders and realized that their courtship rituals provided a rich metaphor for my protagonist, and my curiosity around them wasn’t going anywhere. So guess what?? I reached out to Dr. Watson, who generously offered that I join for part of his next research trip to visit the population he studies in Montana (!!).
Over the past few days, I’ve been following Dr. Watson himself through bushes at a biological station on Flathead Lake, asking one million questions and observing the incredible, intricate mating rituals of Sierra Domes (I shared as video below of two males measuring each others’ sizes before fighting; watch at your own level of spider comfort!).
More than anything, I feel so wildly grateful to be here, and amazed by how many opportunities there are in life to learn something completely new. I still have a few days here, and cannot believe how much I’ve already learned. I feel like I’ll have a masters in these spiders by the time I leave, or at the very least, a newfound level of appreciation for this tiny creature.
Read on for more updates and photos from another memorable week in Montana, including my new favorite concert venue and recommendations from Bozeman:
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