Charlotte and the Sunflowers

Charlotte has been turning up in assorted spots lately (perhaps she realized that George wasn't the right place for her?), but none so often as the corner of our driveway near the Awesome NeighborsTM garage. One recent evening, we found her sitting contentedly (okay, I'm anthropomorphizing) in the center of her web, which was strung between the garage and the sunflowers that Awesome NeighborTM Sarah planted.

In addition to providing a great photo-op, this location suits me a little better, as I'm less likely to stroll right into her web.

On a semi-related note, I finally watched the 2006 film version of "Charlotte's Web." I was sick on the couch for a couple of days, and it seemed like a nice "sick-day" kind of a movie. I went in with pretty low expectations, because a) I realize that, for me, nothing will live up to the book, and 2) Julia Roberts was the voice of Charlotte (what exactly was the logic there?). And it was fine. Very well made, but not terribly moving. No surprise there.

What was a surprise? How very very unpleasant it was to see Charlotte for so much of the film. A spider's face is fricken' creepy, I don't care how nurturing said spider is supposed to be. The nice thing about the book is that, with the exception of Garth William's few illustrations (all delightful and subtle, like this one on the book's cover), your imagination supplies the visuals. And chances are, your imagination is not going to zoom in for a tight shot on what is, let's face it, not a very snuggly creature. The movie, on the other hand, makes sure that Charlotte's face -- including multiple pairs of black beady eyes, in all their detailed CGI glory -- is right up in your face. (The many close-up shots of the rat weren't much better, although Steve Buscemi does terrific voice work as usual.) So I think I'll stick to the audiobook, wherein I can enjoy the wonderful characters without being face-to-face with them.