Garden spider with problem solving intelligence!!!

[Islandvisions]

I have just seen the most amazing thing i have seen in years!!!
A standard garden spider was about to start making a new web between a garden shed and 2ft overhang, but the spider was lacking something on the lower side to hold the web open. It had already spun a few cross threads, but then it dropped to the ground, attatched a thread to a leaf that was about 1ft from where the spider had dropped, and then climbed back up to where it was about to start spinning the classic orb web. It then started to haul the leaf up off the ground until it was about 2ft above ground level, and let the leaf just dangle. The spider then went on to make its web, using the leaf thread to pull the web open so it could create a perfect orb shape!

Has anyon ever heard of this before? i think i should take some photos of it!

[Wild-Woman]

Fantastic observation. Perhaps it may have thought that the leaf was attached to something but it sort of worked as a counter weight. I think the more I watch spiders the more incredible they are. Very clever creatures indeed.