tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15895111.post5993092873774560948..comments2023-11-03T12:44:19.948+01:00Comments on Orwell's Picnic ~: Meet Herbert,Hilary Jane Margaret Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03771332473693479830noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15895111.post-75702743289901604192008-06-20T19:39:00.000+02:002008-06-20T19:39:00.000+02:00I'm not ashamed to admit I smooshed one of these t...I'm not ashamed to admit I smooshed one of these this morning as I left for work, leaving an unsightly mess on the front stoop.<BR/><BR/>The thought process was something like this:<BR/><BR/>"Crap. I'm late. Need to get to the car before I miss my train. What's that on the step? Spider? Holy...BIG SPIDER!! That thing's like a mini-tarantula. I didn't know we had spiders like that in Virginia. The landlord said one of his workmen had seen a tarantula in the house, and of course that's crazy, but it must have been one of these. Well, I don't really want to leave it, what with it aimed at the front door and the babies inside and all. (SQUASH) Wow, lots of fluid in that thing. I need to find somewhere to clean my shoe..."<BR/><BR/>This entire process took about five seconds.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03954832843414652616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15895111.post-52143065543819934232008-06-19T19:17:00.000+02:002008-06-19T19:17:00.000+02:00My grandparents had a house Up Island on the ocean...My grandparents had a house Up Island on the ocean. A paradise. But in the fall, after spending the summers getting really whopping, the wolf spiders would come inside where it was warm. From earliest childhood, I lived in mortal terror of them. The house had hardwood floors and they were pretty bold, running around in the living room in the evenings as we were watching the news or playing cards. At night you could hear their little claws tick tickety ticking on the floors. I never had nightmares about monsters, just the spiders. So the fact that I'm letting Herbert live in the window frame is a sign of great progress.Hilary Jane Margaret Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771332473693479830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15895111.post-59454461586993665282008-06-19T18:47:00.000+02:002008-06-19T18:47:00.000+02:00My parents' old home (the one I graduated high sch...My parents' old home (the one I graduated high school from) was renowned for the wolf spiders that accumulated in the vines that crawled up the sides of the house. Big 'uns, too. And in significant numbers. <BR/><BR/>Poor Heather didn't much care for it, being a confirmed arachnophobe. My family had a nonaggression pact with them--we didn't harass them, they didn't fall on us inadvertently or waltz into the house, and they could eat all the flying bugs they could catch.DPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com