Creepy Companion

Happy Halloween! I can't wait to see posts of all your Halloween happenings. I was hoping to get this post completed at least a week before the holiday, but a day after Halloween is going to have to do. :)

A couple months ago I opened my living room shutters to see a small icky spider through the glass above our air conditioning unit. Being an arachnaphobic I thought, "Eeeek, Geoff will have to help out with that when he gets home". But since Geoff was in the middle of a surgical rotation and therefore usually gone from 4:45 am to 7:15 PM all of a sudden it was a few weeks later, the spider was HUGE (at least an inch across) and I found myself in a panic thinking, "I'm going to have to kill that myself! What if it has hundreds of baby spiders that move into the air conditioning unit? etc., etc." Then, a rainy-day miracle saved one huge spider from certain demise.

The clouds and drizzle had quarintined Audrey and I to a day indoors. Though it was cloudy, it was still fairly light through the window. I noticed the spider's web was a shambles. Perhaps the storm the previous night had destroyed it? Then right in the middle of the day, the spider was up and about (it usually only shows it's hair body late evening to early night). That's when the miracle began. Right before our eyes, it rebuilt a big, beautifully intricate web. I was entranced as I stood within inches of the spider (the glass safely between us) as it worked efficiently. The thread came from the bottom of it's torso, it grabbed it with one leg and then with another lifted it to attach at the proper place of the pattern. Bit after bit it worked until finally the project was complete and it retreated to it's hiding place. I was fascinated. I took rapid-fire pictures and then finally thought of the video-camera. Have you ever watched a spider at work?

Well, since then, there's been some talk now and again about how we should really take out the ac unit and store it away for the winter. And one or two weak importunes for help from Geoff to rid us of a possible future of hundreds of baby spiders. But the fact is, the spider is still there (Geoff is more of a lover of all creatures than me to begin with) and I peek at least once an evening to see the creepy companion hanging out in our window. After all, how can I be responsible for the death of something that can do such amazing things? (Caveat: it would still be long dead if it had been inside the window).