Pier Spiders!

  It appears to be a season for spiders (or spider doppelgangers) and for weird names.  For the past few days, I have had more run ins with the critters than I really want.  At least (so far) all of the spiders have been non-venomous but that still does not help when you find one crawling up the pant leg or suddenly dropping from a tree into your hair.  Normally, I do not mind spiders as I look at them as helpful critters but, once in a while, I draw the line.  Black widows are a no-go for me since I have already been bitten once and I wish not to go that route again.

  The spider, today, has a funny name.  It is called a long-jawed orb weaver.  Now, go figure...long jawed?  We found this spider down on the pier.  It had spun a web between a pier post and the pier planking.  What first caught our eye was that it was long and skinny. The spider was close to two inches in length! I had no idea what type of spider it was even though I had found them often enough in the greenhouse.  It took a bit of research for long, skinny spiders to find its identification.  

  Long-jawed spiders seem to love spinning webs over water so look for them by piers, over creeks or near ponds. They seem to have no fear of the water which may be due to the fact that they can literally walk on water.  It is also here, they can catch numerous gnats, mosquitoes and other water loving insects.  The spider has long front legs and is often seen with its legs stretched far in front making it look like a stick.  The spider uses this as a method of stealth.  It can hide from its prey but also hide from its predators.  Sometimes it will cling to a slender branch, plant stem or even a thin wire or rope.  Its ability to blend with its surrounding is pretty amazing!  The female has long jaws, as well, which gives it the common name.  The male's jaws are shorter.

  Our spidery friend was left undisturbed since we appreciate it eating gnats and mosquitoes.  Walking back up the pier, we realized that earlier, we had passed nigh on a dozen of the creatures hiding along the pier planks.  They were almost impossible to see at first glance!  Creepy-crawlies are everywhere!

Bowl and Doily

  This morning, I pushed the lawnmower about the place for a couple of hours.  The grass was growing faster than a bad weed and the place was looking a bit shabby.  The shady spot near the crepe myrtle shrubs needed cutting but that meant moving the four wicker lawn chairs.  I looked around to see if Son was handy but found him atop the ladder working on the upper part of the house.  Well, I guess that meant I had to stop my mower to move the chairs.  This is not bad...the chairs are light but restarting the mower did not delight me.  The thing can be temperamental at times.  I moved the chairs, cranked the mower and continued my work. 

  It was later when I went to replace the chairs that I found the critter.  Sitting on one of the chairs was a rather unusual looking spider.  I had never seen one like this.  It occurred to me that I had better make friends with the critter so I poked it.  The spider made no effort to bite me so I figured that we were on our way to becoming fast friends or, at least, acquaintances.  As matter of fact, the spider did not move much at all.  It just sat in what used to be its web.  The throwout from my mower sort of tattered the web.  Perhaps the spider was merely in shock at losing its home.  I poked again to make sure it was not dead.  Nope.  Not dead.  The spider moved slightly to the left and sat staring at me.  

  The spider in question is a "bowl and doily" spider.  This is a rather unusual name for a critter but that is the actual name.  Of course, it has one of those names that cannot be pronounced but this is the common name.  Bowl and doily spider.  Well, there had to be an explanation for that, did there not?  Yep.   The name comes from the shape of the spider's web.  The spider first spins a lovely doily (flat web) then slightly above spins a web in the shape of a bowl.  In the bottom of the bowl is a small hole.  The spider hides between the doily and bowl waiting for prey to crawl into the bowl.  Once there, the spider reaches up, bites and injects venom into the prey so it can be easily pulled below for consumption.  The bowl and doily method allows the spider some protection from its predators while serving up dinner on a silver platter...uhh...bowl.

  The small spider was left unharmed but was encouraged to move elsewhere.  I cannot have guests sitting on a spiderweb.  The chairs were returned to their original spots sans the critter.  It was gently moved to the stump not far away.  There it can crochet all the doilies it wishes and while away the hours sitting under its bowl.

What would you call it?

  Sometimes a name given to a plant can be quite erroneous.  Perhaps it was given the name years ago merely because of appearance or maybe because of perceived use of the plant.  You can understand the former. Appearance does indeed give one the idea of a name or perhaps the name gives the idea of the appearance of the plant.  Either way, it is understandable.  Take for instance the "Rattlesnake Weed".  The roots of this plant actually do resemble the rattle of the aforesaid snake. (With the exception of the root being stark white! I have never come across a rattlesnake with a white rattle.  That would just be a tad ridiculous!) Still, you can see why the plant was given the nickname.  By the way, the actual name of this weed is Florida Betony.  

Rattlesnake Weed better known as Florida Betony.

  Then there is another plant named after the same snake.  While out and about my daughter's field, she and I stumbled upon a plant that neither recognized.  We photographed it and then did a bit of research. After eliminating dozens of similar plants, we made the decision that this was a Rattlesnake Master.  Well, now!  With a strong name such as Rattlesnake Master, there just has to be a tale behind the label!  I researched a bit more and sure enough, although erroneous, there is a bit of a story behind the name.

Rattlesnake Master

  Rattlesnake Master is found in prairies and fields almost nationwide. The pioneers moving westward picked the seed pods for their children. When shaken, the seeds inside made a rattling sound.  This however is not how the plant received its weird name.  The root of that same plant was believed at the time to be an effective antidote against the bite of the rattlesnake. Sad to say, this was not true. Friendly Native Americans had shared their remedy for snakebite with the pioneers and it involved the root of this plant.  Perhaps some essential element was omitted from the remedy or perhaps some mistake was made in translation but the root proved ineffective. Many folks died due to this mistake but the name stuck.  This gives us a weird name for a rather unusual looking plant!

Ground mullet, Gaff Topsails and Jelly Fish?

Some how or another, things can sometimes have weird names. It seems that a lot of things tied to the sea fall into this category..Weird Named Stuff in the Water. Tonight as we were casting for shrimp, I started to think about some of the unusual names that are attached to local fish and critters of the Bay. Just about that time, I caught a "Ground Mullet" in my net. At least that is what Hubby identified it as..a Ground Mullet. So we are going with that! Now the ground mullet is not to be confused with the "Popeye Mullet".. completely different fish and for that matter I am not even sure if they are kin! They sure do not look alike! Actually, ground mullet is a local name for the Southern Kingfish. One might ask, "Why is it called "ground mullet?" I questioned that myself..why ground mullet. That conjures up the thought that this mullet (which is not a mullet) does not live in the water but on land (ground)..and that is just ridiculous! Or perhaps someone took to grinding it into tiny bits sort of like ground beef..nope..it is still intact. Actually, according to all I can find, the ground mullet gets its name from its color. It has some stripes? umm.. blotches?? that run along the sides at sort of random pattern. (There is an oxymoron for you..random pattern (?) hehe!) These markings are mostly a brown color with maybe some grey thrown in for good measure. The ground mullet is supposed to be very "good eatin'" even though they are a small fish..usually around one pound. When I caught mine tonight, I decided he was too small and "accidently" flipped him over into the water.

Then we have the Gaff Topsails. These are a strange named fish..but then again, they are a strange looking fish! As the name implies, it has a topsail. Its dorsal fin is very elongated and sits high on the fish's back not unlike the gaff topsail on a schooner. Now the gaff part could also be referring to the "horns" or barbs that are on the fins..after all this is a catfish! The name is funny enough as it is but some of the locals actually call them by other names..gas tossils or gap topsuls. Great names, both, but they do make me giggle! I suppose these come from a misunderstanding of the pronunciation of the name. They are very fun to catch, they are very slimy, and are a tad "dangerous" if you are not careful of those horns! Although some folks do eat them, I do not. I would have to be mighty hungry to eat something this slimy!

Now on to Jelly fish. What a misnomer that is! Jelly Fish are not fish at all, they are an invertebrate species of a sea animal. They get their name from their gelatin-like bodies so at least that part is understandable. This is a whole slew of different things all thrown in one group which we could call..The Gooey Body Things That Live In The Bay. The ones that I was catching tonight were harmless little blobs of jelly that have a very unique characteristic..they glow! I am not even positive that they are actually Jellyfish but they are pretty much like a tablespoon of clear jelly that lives in the water so in my book that makes them a Jellyfish along with all the others. These little blobs glow bright green when they are touched! There are times that they are so thick in the waters of the Bay, that a paddle dipped into the water will create the most

fantastical display of green swirls! Ever since I was a kid fishing with my dad, I loved poking these little fellows just to see the flashing glow. While we are on this subject..we call our Jellyfish..Sea Nettles! Now these are the Jellyfish that most people will recognize..the ones with the stinging tentacles. What better name than Sea Nettles is there for something that lives in salt water and stings! If you look in the dictionary for nettle you will see it is a plant that is covered with near invisible "hairs" that can deliver an intense "sting". Hence..salt water dwelling + stinging = Sea Nettle!

So now you can see why I made the statement that we have weird names for things connected to our Bay and Bayou. The list is endless and periodically I will try to explain the logic or lack of behind a few more. I think this jargon of the locals adds to the charm of living on the Gulf Coast, it just needs a bit of explaining to those that do not understand it!