re: #210 SanFranciscoZionist

Spiders are amazing. However, they scare the living shit out of me. I like the big argiopes that live hereabouts because they’re strictly outdoor spiders, and I do not run the risk of one being in my house, or, God forbid, BEING ON ME.

Except, some years ago, we had this one giant argiope that decided that the porch of my house looked like a super frame for a web. Right across the front. We would dismantle the web in the morning, and the spider would come back while we were at work, and rebuild it. This went on for weeks. I lived in terror of leaving the house in a hurry and walking into the spider.

4th biggest animal in my house was a big female wolf spider that lived in the basement. Didn’t back down from me, or the cats. Have a picture around somewhere of it while it was carrying an eggcase. Was probably making a good living on the field crickets.

Outside bricks and window frames of the house were home to lots of jumping spiders (teeny to 3/4” in body length). They were a hoot to watch. One night a small one was in the house on my computer screen - chasing the cursor.

Watching spiders is neat. I must have a thing for observing predators at that scale since I think dragonflies, tiger beetles, ant lions, and praying mantis(es?) are all pretty cool as well.