In Which Miss Ingu Talks to Spiders

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth
Serve the Lord with gladness

Spiders live around me. They aren't my favorite creatures, but they lived in my shed before I did and I don't seem to be able to keep them out. Right now there is a banded garden spider living near the ceiling corner by the front door. They are orb spiders and their webs, sparkling with morning dew, are unbelievable. But they look ferocious. I took two of his relatives out to the pasture this summer, but because I'd have to get a chair to reach this one, we've agreed that he can stay as long as he stays up there.

There are also cellar spiders here - lots of them. At first I didn't like them. After several Great Spider Massacres I gave up. They multiply like crazy. Especially in my bathroom and along my windowsill you can see several generations of cellar spiders ranging in size from almost 3 inches (tiny bodies with mostly spindly legs) to smaller than an eyelash. I've gotten fond of the youngsters. I try not to disturb them when I'm reaching for my toothbrush. But I have a hard time with them in the shower. I hate to see one struggling to escape the drops which will eventually pull them down the drain. I try to give them fair warning, but sometimes I don't see them until it's too late.

My favorite thing about these cellar spiders is their startle reflex. If you bump their web (unlide the orb weavers, they weave your typical cobweb)their startle is so over the top, every limb quivering, that you have to laugh. I guess it is that startle that catches their food because when they quiver like that their web gets totally tangled up. I watched one night as one of the little guys slept in his web under the lightshade of my bedside lamp. A small moth flew into the web, waking the spider with a great amount of consternation. Once awake, this little spider professionally wrapped that moth in silk and began eating burrito style. You gotta love 'em!