Along Came a Spider

As if the heat & humidity we’ve been suffering with aren't bad enough, I stepped off the porch yesterday morning and got a face-full of just-begun spider web ... NO amount of bug spray is gonna fix THAT!!!

ugh!!!!

I did my best to brush the sticky silk off my nose & mouth, and ears even, but the thought that perhaps I had a little hitchhiker in my hair kinda took me off my game, running the 4 mile loop in about 37 minutes [I know, you'd think the arachnophobically-induced adrenalin-rush would make me go a little faster, right??? Nope!!!]

Of course, there were no sprinklers running that I might rinse her off and cool down just a bit ... when I got in the post-run shower [fully dressed in my running gear, like I usually do when it’s nearly 80° with 80% humidity and I’m Sweating like Nixon and it’s not even 7AM yet] I didn't see any crawly friend in the tub, so all that worrying was for nothing.

I can't tell you how many times I've come back from early morning trail runs/rides wearing a spider-silk mask/hairnet. The "nice" thing is pulling a "leaf" out of your hair in the shower and watching it unfold and crawl away. Funny, my reaction was usually, "Oh, Hi there!!!"

While one of my friends once commented that she’d “try to save the little dude or dudette from drowning,” I would not get carried away, here ... I mean I would gladly assist her to an open window if that's where she's headed [most adult spiders are girls, the dudes don't make it long] but I'm not going to "Extraordinary Measures" if she's going down the drain, either.

By bedtime, Little Miss Creepy Crawlie had a new construction up ... AWAY from the porch steps, but firmly fixed to the railing. She's a smart girl; any moth-like buggies flying toward the porch light would prolly end up as dinner ... Spidery Strategery!!!

I'm so glad she wasn't home when I walked thru her house; she's about 2' long a 3/4" wide all cuddled up in the center of her silvery net [6cm x 2cm for those metrically inclined]

My grandmom used to tell me that if you kill a spider, it will bring rain. As much as we need it, I wouldn’t want to CRUNCH this little girl.

As luck would have it, we DID get a shower last night at about 2:30AM; but with the nightmare our little web-weaver induced in me, I bailed on my run this morning to make up for the sleep I missed.

When I got up to start my day, I took a peek to see if she'd survived the rainstorm.

The web was there, but she was not home.

Again, all that worrying was for nothing.