Tiny Critter, Little House

  In my limited area walks, I have to find flora and fauna in a confined area.  Plants are relatively easy as they grow anywhere they can take root.  Unusual plants are a different story, however.  I see few of them in the yard.   Of course, I rarely see things like coyotes or bobcats in the garden or deer next to the steps but it would be nice to see something....anything!  So I have to search...hard.

  This afternoon, Mr. PJ decided to take a rest about 30ft from the doorstep.  He had no energy to go up that mountain of steps even though I lift him.  The task was daunting and he needed to contemplate the deed.  So...I meandered in the garden a bit.  It was there that I found my critter!  In one of the empty pots, some beady eyes peered out at me from a curled oak leaf.  Aha!  Some tiny critter was spying on me and was hoping that I would not bother it!  

  After carefully examining the leaf and then photographing it, I found my critter to be none other than a tiny jumping spider.  The critter had found its "house" to be quite comfy in this wet weather.  The rolled leaf was positioned so rain would not enter and was deep enough in the black, plastic pot that it was protected from the wind.  The tiny spider even had a back door for a hasty escape if necessary.   After taking a few photos, I left the spider undisturbed and I took the tired dog inside.

The Kitchen Spider!

  Some folks have this phobia about spiders.   At one time, I did.  I was terrified of the critters.  To this day, I am not certain what frightened me so.  After being bitten by a black widow, a jumping spider, a writing spider, dozens of house spiders and twenty or thirty wolf spiders over the past twenty years or so, the fear has subsided into the realization that all of the aforementioned bites were my fault.  My hands, feet, legs and arms were all in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I was begging to be bitten, or so it seems.  Clumsy me!  I just seem to have a knack for grabbing spiders!

  This morning while I was scrubbing down the kitchen table, a small jumping spider eyed me curiously.  It was sitting next to a jar of olive oil about two feet from me when suddenly it darted out and....nope, not me this time...caught an ant!  A tiny ant was crawling on the back of a kitchen chair when the spider jumped from the counter onto the chair and back.  You go, Spider!!!  Suddenly, the spider was now my best friend!  Yep, if something wishes to live in my kitchen and eat critters, I am all for it!  (And I do realize a spider is a critter but, at least, it is not there to muss up the kitchen.)  

  The tiny jumping spider can jump up to fifty times its length!  It does this by using its segmented legs and regulating the blood (or the spider equivalent of blood) flow in its legs.  It usually does not use a web to capture its food.  The spider just pounces on it. (After all, it is not called a jumping spider for nothing.)  Also, like all spiders, the jumping spider does have venom and fangs but not strong enough venom to do much damage to big, ole humans!  No spider goes out of its way to bite us.  We just get in its way, threaten it or squeeze it.  

  So, that said, the little jumping spider can live in its corner of the kitchen behind the olive oil.  It can feast upon any critter it can overpower.  If it so wants, it can creepy crawl or bounce in the fruit bowl, behind the fridge, up the walls, on the ceiling, on the curtains or in the grocery cabinet. (It should steer clear of the stove, however!)  My new found friend is a kitchen spider and everyone needs one! 

When building a home, location is important!

  The other day, Darling Daughter and I headed to the pier for a little fishing.  She insisted on using one reel that just did not seem to want to wind.  It was all she could do to turn the handle but she refused to take my pole.  All I could think about was how was she going to reel in a fish if she could not turn that handle.  It all ended well, though, as we did not get a single bite.  No reeling for her.  

  I mentioned the problem to Mark while we were on the pier today.  He promptly took apart the reel and discovered the problem.  The reel had been left unused in the boat for quite some time.  It was that time that led to the turning difficulty.  A critter had taken up residence inside the reel!  Once Mark took the whole thing apart, he found a nice size, hairy spider inside!  Oh, geez!  At least this was not a dangerous sort as it was just a Daring Jumping Spider.  (Yes, that is its actual name.)  The spider itself was not holding the spinning parts of the reel but it (or she!) had spun webbing to house its eggs.  While most jumping spiders to not spin webs, the females do to protect their eggs and little ones.   Mama Spider had spun a nice size cocoon inside the housing of the reel.  I suppose she was seeking some safe place to raise her brood and what better place than a completely enclosed reel?

The red circle shows the Daring Jumping Spider that made its home in my fishing reel!

  Once he scooted the spider from the reel, Mark tried to remove the webbing.  That was probably the toughest spiderweb we have ever had to tear!  That stuff did not want to rip apart at all!  He finally took his knife and scraped the spiderweb from the innards of the reel and added a bit of grease.  With that, we are ready to go!  Elizabeth and I can wind the handles of our reels without the worry of a giant spider scurrying out to bite us!  Now we can just concentrate on fish bites!  You just never know what you will find on the Bayou!