Eight-Legged Freaks
5:18 p.m. - 2004-04-27


My big adventure for the weekend was potting up my growing cucumber sprouts. This does not sound exciting, but it turned to be scary. I was scooping heaps of potting soil out of the big bag leaning up against the deck, and I tilted the bag forward to see how many snails had taken up residence on it and behind it. My attention was drawn to a huge spider who was lurking on the outside back of the bag, about halfway down. I thought it was one of those giant orb spiders, but it was very dark, so I leaned closer to look. It moved, and the bright red spot on its belly flashed into view. Hell's Bell's!! We have not had a problem with Black Widows ever before, and this was huge!

I ran to the garage, hoping the spider would stay put, grabbed my bio-friendly bug spray, ran back, and doused the monster. It fell onto the bricks, but still seemed too peppy for my taste, so I did the obvious thing, and called for my husband. This, after all, is a man's job. He rushed out, picked up a big board from a pile nearby, and reduced the spider to mush.

Now I am going to have to be more observant when puttering around. Lucky thing I was wearing my heavy long gloves. We have always had to be careful of Brown Recluse spiders, but Black Widows are so much more "spidery" looking, in an elegantly evil kind of way.

By the time evening had rolled around, I had changed the sheets, done laundry, and cleaned the back bathroom. It has been very hot, and we were too tired to cook or clean the kitchen, so instead of a nice Sunday dinner, he made a quick trip to Burger King. He got me a Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and I give it a thumbs up for flavor and texture. Then I watched a Hercule Poirot video, which turned out to be one of those with a narrative for blind people, and for a change I liked that feature because I was crocheting.

Completed square count (48 to 56 needed): 18