Friday, October 3, 2008

Do Not Inivte a Hobo To Breakfast

The kids have today off school, we are all hanging out, it's cozy inside and the first rainy day in awhile outside. I've defrosted blueberry pancakes (extras from last weekend's cooking) and made cheesey scrambled eggies, fresh mug of coffee. Everyone sits down to eat....mmmm.... I pop the rubber band off the newspaper and screeeeeaaaaaaaammmmm. Eeeeah! A large male hobo spider has been dumped out from the rolled paper and is standing on the table. Huge and harry and poisonous. I am a total spider wimp. I vacuum him up, and have to scream some more because he's running his large body across my dining room table as I chase with running vacuum. Do not invite a hobo to breakfast.

Still shaking I sit down and try to find that inner bliss I was enjoying moments before, only to find the paper is missing the comics section. Reading about Palin is also not a nice accompaniment to my breakfast........


FYI if you life in HObo country, this is what the male looks like. The female has larger abdomen. If she's got stripy legs, then she's a "false hobo" like the large girl I host in my art studio. She's got a lovely big web and I enjoy her company as long as she stays put near the far window.

This time of year, male hobo spiders are coming inside looking for females. See those big black things in front? Fangs? Nope. Genitalia. They make funnel webs, don't see well and have to attack prey to eat, so......... yuck. OK. Just yuck. See? I've lost my ability to be rational and scientific. They are huge and hairy and gross me out. The bite is bad. I hear.

Ok, deep breathing.

I DO NOT ADVOCATE THE KILLING of non poisonous spiders. I carry them outside nicely in a jar. I love spiders really just not anywhere near me. I appreciate them. They have an important job to do. Nuff said.

4 comments:

Tonia said...

o goddess, o goddess, o goddess... I have the heebie jeebies just listening to your story. I do not feel spider love if they are anywhere near me. Nor do I feel any Palin love. Hmmmm wonder what she would do in a room with a Hobo spider? Oh, wait I know. She'd get in a plane and shoot it from the air. (Sarky Tonia) --tonia

Aly- Bliss Monkey Studio said...

I feel itchy looking at that photo! Told my mom the story and she screamed over the phone.

I didn't even mention that I found two in my studio.... it's just that spidery time of year. :-(

Tonia said...

get your other spider, the jumping one, on the job! get those chickens! I hold Betsy up to spiders if they are on the wall, she's very accurate and darn cute!

Aly- Bliss Monkey Studio said...

Yea, my jumping spider left the studio. I was glad too, she was too intense for me to relax around. But I read there's such a thing as a "large house spider" and they eat the hobos.

Does Betsy really?? Wow! My girls go after worms and all sorts of things.... they peck so fast, I can't spot what they are eating sometimes.