So I had my first exciting encounter with African wildlife early this morning. A rather serene and peaceful beginning of the day by all normal standards, as I stepped out of the shower, I noticed something quite large and spindly situated in the space between the door and the wall. On closer inspection...JEEPERS!... a huge spider! (no really, like bigger than the palm of my hand...to me, this counts as big) After a quick moment of panic, I stealthily slipped around the door, armed myself with some denim, cotton, and plastic bags...and sent an SMS to Matt, asking if the thing was poisonous (knowledge is power, right?!) After twenty minutes of me checking my phone for a reassuring message and the position of the spider, I decided to suck it up and handle the situation myself, or else the thing was going to end up either in my bed or my drawer the next morning. I rigged up an impressive set of spider trap gear, I must say: plastic bag fashioned to a bent clothes-hanger for the capture basket, double plastic bags wrapped around my hands (no poisonous fangs could puncture two layers, for sure), and a cooking spatula from the sink, still with remains of last night's curry on it. I would have added a bag over my head for extra protection, but then there is that whole suffocation thing....
In any case, after only a few false starts and one itty-bitty scream, I managed to nudge the thing into my handy trap bag and promptly deliver him through the bars of my bathroom window. All those concerned with the spider's well being will be happy to know that he/she crawled off just fine into the bushes and will hopefully spread the word about my inhospitality.
Matt, gentleman that he is, came by about 45 minutes later to make sure that I was still alive and to offer the comfort that it was probably not a poisonous one. Great, I thought, at least I don't have to feel guilty for releasing him near your bedroom window.
The end. I guess as long as I don't come across any sting-rays, I'll be fine.
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6 comments:
Ooo, was that a Steve Irwin jab? I think it was.
Nice work. I'm impressed. I'm pretty sure I would've whacked him with a shoe. You're so kind. All the spiders will tell tales of your compassion. They'll probably make pilgrimages to come visit you now.
and that is the difference between you and me, michael. :) jk. as far as pilgrimages go, as long as i can can reap some type of profit from it, i guess that would be okay
just as long as black mambas don't show up...
Hello Rachel C
keep up the bloging - i am enjoying it! Here is a site to check out - spiders of SA. Don't checked it out before going to bed. http://www.museums.org.za/bio/spiderweb/mug.htm
James
We want a post! We want a post!
hey all, sorry i fell off the blogging for awhile. will catch up soon, though the first one back is kinda gloomy
What I can say is very nice and helpful as well as informative post...really help me very much more!! Thanks..
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