Get over your fear of spiders. And bugs. And insects. And creatures.
I saw the biggest spider in Australia YET. I expected upon
my arrival to Australia to see a lot of gross, big, nasty, scary spiders and
this was it – so far. The first one I saw was caught in a cobweb, just sorta
hanging out by the plugs in JD’s kitchen, not very big or malicious looking.
But this one. This one was in the drain of the bathtub plug and DISGUSTING.
Thick, black coat, creepy poky legs, just pure evil oozing out of it. I throw a
towel over it, thinking that maybe it would just slink back down the drain as
turning on the faucet could easily have caused it to jump out of the way of the
water and on to me. No. Way.Nightmares. Commence. Immediately.
 |
| this picture does not give it any justice. the fly is a bit of perspective, but the spider is covering half the drain. |
Next morning: Last night I woke up swatting at the side of
my bed, and although my eyes were closed and it was completely pitch black, I
thought that there was a spider crawling up the side of the bed.
I also fell asleep having an itch on my arm, which I swore
was a bug bite of some sort. I kept scratching it, expecting to feel a bump or
something, and rubbing my other hand along my arm to squish whatever bug might
be up my sleeve. I thought of all the ways this killer bug that had just bitten
me could have me running into Felix’s room, rushed off by helicopter to the
hospital, or I could just die quietly as I fell back asleep. But. An itch is an
itch. And I’m still alive the next morning.
------------
OK I have to revise this post since written two days ago. I
have since seen the biggest spider of my life. This spider is the godfather of
all spiders. We had just finished our long day of work, my first day, and Felix
was outside reading on the wrap around deck. He says to me, Do you want to see
a spider that has graced its presence in our home? Out of the corner of my eye,
standing in the doorframe, I see something on the wall outside. And out of the
corner of my eye, it’s pretty visibly big. Definitely not, I respond, but of
course, how can I resist? It’s like someone tasting something and saying this
is disgusting, try it. This spider, was just lurking on the outside wall of our
house, staring at us, embracing the afternoon heat of the sun as it slowly
lowers past the trees into the horizon, it’s eight legs stretching out from his
hairy body to hold onto its vertical disposition. Eight, I counted; to be sure
that it actually was a spider and not some other native Australian creature. I
scratched at invisible spiders on me, I shivered away goose-bumps, I squealed
in its presence. I surprisingly wasn’t as freaked out as I thought I would be,
but it was still huge, and it was still hanging about in our home. Our home.
It’s more like we are the new yet temporary guests in his home.
(Neither Felix nor I wanted to be in the pic for a sense of perspective)
Just look at those gangly legs, like an awkward 8th grader, knees knocking together....but not at all.
Apparently, this type of spider
is poisonous. However, it’s mouth is so small that it cannot bite humans. Good
to know. However, the red back spider, a black one with a distinct red line on
its back, is extremely lethal. That means, this other spider, which could be
somewhere around here, could kill us. Good to know. Maybe the big one, the
godfather, will protect us. Or maybe the little contraption that you push a
button and it sprays something into the air and kills all the spiders in your
house will. GET ME ONE IMMEDIATELY.
-------------
And as I
write this, a mouse scurries across the kitchen floor.
No comments:
Post a Comment