Anyone who has read my blog knows I am not a fan of spiders. Ask Husband, and you will probably know find out that he had to put screens in every vent of the house, as the little monsters were getting in, and freaking me out unmercifully. I have screamed my head off when I am... ensconced... in the bathroom, and one is near me, so he can rescue me.
No, I am not fond of them.
So, you will know why the following is not my normal reaction. I just planted my window boxes for the season, I have geraniums, zinnias, and a couple colors of wave type petunias. I put them up, and saw that there were little bugs on the geraniums.
Greaaaaat.
I was kind of tired at that point, and figured I would deal with it later.
The next day, I noticed a small spider. Fortune smiled, it was on the OUTSIDE of the window. Industriously making a web. Right on the geranium. Meh, wash the spider AND the bugs off later.
I came back to the window a few hours later, and the spider was busily catching the bugs, and disposing of them. I was also noticing, oddly, that he (No, I don't know spider biology, it was just a convenience to say he) was sort of neat looking, for a spider, sort of stained glass like. I watched, the sun actually sort of made his tiny legs glow as he moved, like some sort of tiny jellyfish spider, to mix a metaphor.
I decided to wait on the arachnid/bug removal. I started watching the little guy. He built up his web, which, while not in a great spot for me, did allow me to see he was busily downing little bugs with alacrity.
We had wind come up, and it was pretty bad for the little guy, I saw him 'run' under the leaves, and hang on for dear life. Finally let up, only to have a passing rainstorm splat him, knocked him off the web a couple times, and I thought he'd maybe be drowned. Nope, just hung on.
I decided if I was going to be nice to this little critter, he ought to have a name. I thought about Boris the Spider, but he wasn't like the song, and Boris seemed a little over the top. Charlotte crossed my mind, but I had thought of him as a he...
Carl.
So, here is Carl, helping with garden maintenance. I am less freaked out, he is getting dinner, and we are both okay with it.
I still am a bit unnerved, but we shall see what happens as time progresses.
