Just A Friendly Spider!

   Oh, the things we find!  Son has been doing a huge cleanup of the yard this past week.  With most of the termite-damage reconstruction of the Little Bayou House completed, it was time to regain the yard.  This has gone on for too long.  I had started the cleanup and relandscaping back before falling ill but that all came to a standstill during my recuperation period.  When he finished rebuilding the pier, Son took over the cleanup.  He has done most of the "heavy" work but has no clue how I want to "pretty" up the place.  His idea of the perfect yard would have no gardens, no ponds, no fences and definitely no decorations of any kind.  A clean, clear lawn would suit him fine.  Me?  I need the mystery that outdoor "rooms" create.  Winding pathways, dark, shady nooks, babbling water features (snakes and frogs included) and funky gates.  All of those things are up to me.  He does, however, call me whenever he finds some odd critter during his work.  Today, a spider put a halt to the chores.

  Son called me as he was clearing a pile of lumber.  "Hey, there is a bug."  I knew to grab the camera because it had to be something out of the ordinary if he brought attention to it.  Sure enough, it was an odd looking critter.  When I told him it was a Long-jawed Spider, he shrugged and muttered something about it had long legs not a long jaw.  Well, he had a point but the spider's name would have to stay.

  Long-jawed Spiders are pretty neat critters.  They have figured out that nighttime provides for the best hunting and so they while away the daytime hours in hiding (like this one).  In the evening, the spider will crawl out of its nook and spin a large web usually over water.  They depend on the morphing of water bound larvae to adults as a food source.  Mosquitoes, mayflies and midges all lay eggs in water. When the larvae develop into adults and leave the water, they become ensnared in the spider's web.  Spider is happy....I am happy....a lot less bugs.  

  Since Son wanted to complete his chore, I gently moved our friendly spider to a spot closer to the little Puddle Pond.  She can have lots of hiding places and will be able to catch any flying critters tonight.  Happy hunting, Long-jawed Spider!  You are welcome to stay here!

Long Legs!

  This afternoon, I went out to help Son a bit.  He was up on the rooftop doing more home repairs after our bout with termites.  It seems that he is rebuilding the entire house.  Anyway, my help was obviously not needed so I started to clean up a bit of the scrap lumber.  While I was bent over retrieving a small piece that had fallen under the house, I came face to face with a critter.  On the side of the house was a Daddy Longlegs or Harvestman.  When I was younger, I was under the impression (as are most folks) that this was a spider of some sort.  It is not.  It is an arachnid in that it has eight legs but it is not a spider. (Mine must have met with a horrible accident because it only had seven legs!) The Harvestman is closer kin to a scorpion.  Those long, lanky legs make us think of a spider so the critter is often mistakenly called one. The Harvestman does not bite (that I know of anyway) but can emit a pretty foul-smelling musk if feels threatened.

  Finding the Daddy Longlegs made me take a trip down memory lane.  Growing up, we always called them Granddaddy Longlegs and would often catch them in the barn.  To us, these critters were playthings.  It never ceased to amuse us that once the Granddaddy Longlegs got over its fear of us, it never made an attempt to escape.  My folks had shown us how to hold one in the palm of our hand and in a sing-songy voice ask it "Granddaddy, Granddaddy, where are the cows?"  Invariably, one long leg would slowly rise and seemingly point to where the wayward cows had strayed.  As kids, we were thrilled that the "spider" had helped us in our quest to find the cows! (This was back in the day when the cows pretty much had free roam of the farm and were often hard to locate.)  Now, I realize that this ploy was to get the kiddies over the fear of critters but it was great amusement as well.  The barns and chicken houses held a wealth of critters other than the farm animals so it was rather useful thing for us not to be fearful.  

  There is a long-standing myth surrounding Harvestmen.  They are often claimed to be the "most poisonous spiders in the world".  When questioned why more folks are not suffering from bites, the myth explains that the critters' mouths are too small and weak to break human flesh.  Well, that is pure hogwash on so many points and we won't even go there.  Just remember that you can hold them, they are not spiders and they help you find the lost cows.  That is all that is needed.  "Granddaddy, Granddaddy, where are the cows?"  Enough said.

Spider Week!

  I guess if the Discovery Channel can have its fantastic series "Shark Week" then I can surely have Spider Week!  It seems as if this past week has been exactly that.  For some strange reason, I have seen more spiders than usual during the last few days.  They are everywhere!  Whether it is due to all of the rain or the mild winter just past, spiders seem to be out in full force.  This usually does not bother me as I know that the spiders are there for a reason.  There has to be a food source of other creepy-crawly things for a spider to stay in the area.  (I must have lots of creepy-crawlies here on the Bayou!)  It seems that every visit to the garden finds me wrapped up in some kind of web or I find one or more of the critters clinging to my shirt.  (Why me?) While most do not upset me in the least, when I find one that is venomous, I will try to eliminate it.  More oft than not, that involves a good smashing.  I have received more than my share of bites by Black Widows and I can fully attest that it is quite painful.  

  This week started with the find of a beautiful green spider in the garden.  I was so impressed with the gorgeous colors on this spider.  It had spread its web across the grapefruit tree and was just hanging about looking lovely.  I found spiders in the Frog Pond.  They sort of danced between the water hyacinths and then darted under the leaves. It amazes me that they can just skitter across the water. Then came the small jumping spiders that seemed to inhabit every corner of every window in the Little Bayou House.  (Don't ask..I promise that I do knock down cobwebs and dust....occasionally...maybe.)  And then..then there was the fine specimen that somehow became entangled in Son's long hair.  He had been out working with some of the wood planter boxes and must have encountered the critter unawares.  When Son showered, he found the spider.  The spider soon met its demise and thankfully that demise came before the spider decided to give him a nasty bite. 

  I am not one to get the heebie-jeebies over a critter but when they start hitching rides on someone's head, I draw the line!  I am sure that tomorrow will bring another dozen or so of the sightings but for tonight, I think I will keep watch of where I poke my fingers!  No need in finding any biting critters the hard way!