Looking at it now, that thing is not photogenic. In real life, though, it was pretty cool. We were just leaving Red Rock State Park when we saw a critter perambulating across the road in front of our van. It was this large and hairy specimen of ickiness, clearly visible from 20 feet away. We pulled over and took photos, which was also interesting: One of the kids used a flash, and the spider froze and arched its rear up. Apparently they shoot web as a defensive strategy. To my disappointment, none of the kids got the Spiderman treatment, though. That would have been cool.
Our oldest went on an early morning bird-watching/nature hike at the park another day. Way less cool was the ranger’s story of a tarantula that got in his house. When he went to catch it, apparently it decided on the full-speed escape approach instead of the sit-there-and-prepare-to-fire approach.
GAH.
Which is why I will never live in the south.
I moved to the UK to get away from large Australian spiders, you know! I know they’re amazing critters, but I’m arachnophobic and I don’t want to see them in my daily blog viewings!
I freak out at the mere possibility of a crawly. This one gets by only on its novelty points, and it just used them all up.
My eldest picked up one much handsomer than that one when we were camping near some caverns in New Mexico. Jet black with bright red front palps. I was less taken by its looks when it escaped in his messy bedroom. Can you imagine my tippy finger search? Once I found it, it went to the garage to live.
I hate to say it, but “black with red markings” doesn’t speak beauty to me…more like Minion of Doom.
I couldn’t even handle an ant farm. You are a brave mother.
He’s a real nasty!
I’ve watched, avoided, caught-for-removal, or killed more tarantulas than I’d like, but that’s the South. Same for snakes — shudder! I can live without encountering any more of those critters, thank you very much!
Snakes don’t bother me, because there are no poisonous ones here. (Except, of course for the deadly Lesser Canadian Snow Snake, whose primary habitat is the fertile imaginations of naive and trusting Texan guests.)
Pretty much, I put up with Canada’s crappy winters because nothing that nasty can survive here. Winter is nastier…
Very interesting ….. from a distance.
I’m not sure why spiders frighten me so.
Too many wiggling legs or something. I’m not sure.
Ok, so I’ll be the lone wolf to say I don’t mind spiders or snakes though I do respect them and try to stay out of their ‘space’ as long as they stay out of mine. I think many of them are quite beautiful and ya’ know how the saying goes, “they have their place in the food chain even if we don’t understand it.”
)
)
HOWEVER, I moved out of New Orleans decades ago to ‘see the world’ (secretly to escape the ‘crawlies’) and have lived all around the U.S. But when I moved to Northern Arizona 19 months ago I did not realize there were cockroaches here!!!! Arrrrgggh! If I can get up the courage to approach a roach I WILL squash that sucker like a nasty bug!!
Otherwise, I’m a pretty calm character
Here’s my best gross roach story. I was about sixteen, living in Durban, South Africa. During a typical hot and humid summer night, I was woken by something tickling my back. Still mostly asleep, I reached behind me, grabbed “something”, and tossed it across the room before promptly going back to sleep. Next morning, I was greeted by the sight of a large, half-crushed, cockroach lying on the floor next to my bed
.
I showered more than once that morning.
In one particular house in southeast Asia, My parents would wake up at night with roaches nibbling their hair…but roaches don’t bother me in the slightest. I’ve beheld a wall glistening with a thousand shiny brown bodies and not even flinched (inside a collapsed septic tank; long story).
I don’t mind them just as long as they keep to their side of the room. The thought of them walking on me while I’m asleep, however, makes my skin crawl….
Please, do NOT post pictures of a bazillion shiny brown roaches. Ever.