A busy few days here in Spider Land…
August 12. My Spider Companion
The spider model is complete. I carried my new buddy around with me all evening. It’s big enough that it’s like having a puppy. Or at least a plastic model of a puppy.
Decided not to paint it because I like it the way it is. The gray makes it nice and easy to see the shadows. Thanks again to Maker81 for the design and to Janet for printing it!
August 13. The Elevator Spider
Got in the elevator, and the closing door startled a spider that was crawling on it. It ran around in circles. When the door opened, the spider disappeared into the wall along with the door. I squeezed past, keeping an eye out for webs. I didn’t want to accidentally pull the spider out of its hiding spot!
Google Lens tells me that my elevator friend is a triangulate cobweb spider. There are so many different spider types around here!
Later, I got into the elevator again and the spider was still in there, but now it was swinging wildly on a web, at about head level just inside the elevator door. While I was in there with it, it managed to get itself under control and climbed up the web to the top edge of the elevator door. I exited, carefully.
I’m just realizing now that, on my way back into the building, I had forgotten all about the spider and just strolled into the elevator, not thinking about spiders. I am rewarding my bravery with ice cream sandwiches.
August 14. Wolf Spider: Endgame
Remember that wolf spider that went missing in the kitchen last week? Well, we found it. Crumble found it, to be precise. Close to midnight, I noticed Crumble swatting at something that he’d trapped in a corner of the kitchen floor. I showed up just in time to see the Wolf Spider leap out from under Crumble’s paw and race across the floor. Crumble took another swat. And another. Thwap! I started quietly freaking out. Knowing that the wolf spider can give a nasty bite, I had to act fast to make sure Crumble didn’t get bitten.
I hopped over the two battling creatures to get a big jar out of the cupboard and – PLONK! – I dropped it onto the spider. Okay, now I just needed a piece of cardboard to shove under the jar, so I could hold it on there when flipping the jar over. But then Crumble started swatting at the jar! “Dude, you’re gonna let it out!” And then the other cat comes in, “Hey what’s going on in here, guys? Ooh a spider!” And then both cats sit down and start swatting at the sides of the jar.
I couldn’t hold the jar down AND look for cardboard at the same time. So I tried a piece of paper that was on the fridge door – some sort of salad dressing recipe. But when I tried to flip it over, the paper wouldn’t stay flat against the jar opening and I ended up releasing the spider and it ran right at me. PLONK! Got the jar back onto the spider.
Okay that’s it. I waved my hands wildly at the cats and spoke in my best hey-cats-what-I’m-saying-should-interest-you voice and it distracted them long enough for me to grab some cardboard from the recycling bin under the sink. I wedged the cardboard under the jar, flipped the whole thing over, and held the cardboard onto the jar while I looked for a proper jar lid. Full of adrenaline, I took the jar out into the stairwell and released Mr. Wolf Spider a couple of floors down. It scurried off along the edge of the carpet.