I don’t like bugs.  I would rather find a mouse in my house – than a big spider … or a centipede … or earwigs.  (Eeww)  If you walk into a room and there’s a mouse, he at least has the common sense to scamper and hide.  Bugs don’t.

Now I know that some bugs are beneficial to man-kind.  I read that the centipede actually will eat just about any other kind of insect – so they really are great to have in the basement.  Really??  We get visits from centipedes from time to time in the basement.  They are UGLY.  I try to strike a bargain with them.  I tell them they can eat as many bugs as they wish, just don’t let ME see them.  They are supposed to hide when they hear me coming.  They don’t.  I usually spray them with whatever I can grab (Windex, or GooGone – what ever is closest) or I smack them with whatever I can grab.  It’s really gross because those thousands of legs go flying everywhere.  I mean – I have to smack ’em dead, ya know!

We currently have this big fat spider outside of Amanda’s window.  I have provided a picture for you.  Amanda has decided it’s a ‘she’ and has named her Charlotte (yeah – not so original) but we have been fascinated watching her.  She’s been there a couple of weeks now.  She is a good spider because she is OUTside – where she belongs.  I can appreciate her as long as she keeps the window between us.  And I have enjoyed watching her build her webs, capture and eat her prey (gross – but resourceful), and grow big and fat.  Charlotte is actually quite beautiful if you take the time to really look at her.  Especially as she is getting so large – she is easier to view with the naked eye.

I am getting worried about our spider now.  It is getting cold at night and I don’t know how long she will last.  As other bugs die off, that means her food supply is dwindling.  And pretty soon we will have a frost and I don’t believe she will survive that.  I don’t know.  I guess I am just finally accepting of her, and look for her every day.  And as long as she stays OUTside, I have the greatest respect for her.

So I don’t mean to wax poetic about the noble life of a spider, but I think I can take this interesting arachnid and share a lesson here.  Perhaps you have people in your life that are a little ‘eeww’ – they may even bug you (pun – haha).  But for people who are different from us, I think if we just take the time to observe them a little, and maybe look for what makes them beautiful, we will find that they aren’t quite so bad or unlikable.

I just don’t understand how the bugs that DO get in the house know when Ted’s not home – and decide to surprise me every where.

Ick.

just Laurel

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.  ~American Quaker Saying