It's so not a great photo of this crazy little character that Wensday was playfully chasing around and around my kitchen until it was cornered near the oven and had no escape except to wait in stillness for her to vacate the area and he could make his get away back into whichever hole he came out of. I could hear her claws scratching and paws pounding the linoleum as if she were stuck inside a small cage and furiously spinning around in circles searching each wall for her way out of the claustrophobic space. But of course she was not trapped, she was just having the time of her life with her new wind up toy. She really DID wind this guy up. When I was finally able to sweep him out from underneath the cupboard and trap him in my handy-dandy spider trap that my awesome and fabulous friend Megan bought me when we first moved to "Spider Island", (there are tons of creepy crawly spiders here...your heart would give out if you don't like the sight of them...it's constant) he was in a state of frenzy. I trapped him in the spider trap from Lee Valley (the store that has everything you could possibly need or even fantasize having...they got it all!) and brought him outside to live in the forest at the top of the driveway. But before his release I wanted to share some "quality time" with him...just me and him, inside the clear plastic pyramid and unable to jump on me. He was running around and around scouting each corner for his escape...you could hear his feet tapping the floor of his compound. It reminded me of a big tarantula that was angry and ready to bite it's prey...or the idiot who disturbed him...me! Kind of sickening...but kind of cool. I mean, they are super cool and interesting creatures...the spider. And when they are totally incapable of crawling or jumping on me...I am intrigued by them.
I wish I had a better photo of him...he wouldn't really sit still for long...the sun was quite efficient in it's shining on us and the plastic pyramid is not as clear as it once was. But he was actually very pretty. The orange pattern on his back looked like a stencil and bright orange coloured powder was used to dress him up. Had I been asked what I thought of him a few years back, I wouldn't even have taken a second to have a peek at him. I would have just screamed and ran away in any direction in which I felt the spider could not reach me. I am talking serious arachnophobia...like total, I am a big baby and will cry if you even pretend to throw a spider on me. I felt silly having such a fear. But there was no curing it...or so I thought. When I was a kid I was never scared of any kind of bug. I grew up in a Greenhouse filled with spiders, sow bugs, slugs, centipedes and sometimes lizards when we got a shipment from Florida of tropical houseplants. I
used to pick up daddy long legs that I found and carry them around the yard and put them in a new and improved spot to make their home. Depending on my mood I would choose spots which I felt I would enjoy as a little spider on the hunt for my perfect home. We had a beautifully landscaped yard, so I would choose the spot by cool bush or tree. Sometimes they would get an upscale "downtown high rise" condo in the lollipop juniper...or I would stick them in the "country estate" potentilla surrounded by pretty yellow flowers. Sometimes I would pick off all of their legs so they were just a little round pea. I thought it was funny until all eight legs were off and he couldn't move but just lie there...and was he in pain? Soooo...squish! Sorry spider. :o( I like the Daddy Long Legs that are in Manitoba. The image above (that I copied off the net) is the type that you find there. Here, in BC, they have skinnier, longer bodies...but still the way too long legs. Harmless little guys. They just like corners of bathroom, bedroom and living room ceilings to hang out in...eat your flies and just live a happy life. Part of me wants to let them live there...but then I realize they would like it better outside. And I know that my off island guests coming over to stay the weekend probably don't appreciate the spiders in their webs hanging out over them while they sleep or are trying to conversate and enjoy some wine. (so I remove them) When I used to visit my girlfriend on Galiano from Vancouver, I would have to vacuum the ceilings of her home before I could even feel at peace in the home. She let them live...procreate and set up cities in her home. I was like..."Sorry Mel, I have to suck them all up...you should keep your place cleaner." In reality, living on any of the Southern Gulf Islands, it is almost a daily chore if you want to keep the spiders from setting up camp. There really are just so many of them living here. I, at least have my super fantabulous device in which I can clear them out of my home and give them a lovely forest to spin their webs in. And that is what I do. 
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