The Spider

25 April 2025

1113

R. Linda:

It was what was becoming a typical day, cloudy and chilly with a chance of rain in the afternoon. Tonya was off on a personal day and being she saw the clouds rolling in, she decided to take the long walk to the mailbox for the mail before it poured.

She had brushed out our one remaining dog so he looked beautiful and she thought to take him with her for some exercise. She told me of course, looking so fine, he made for every pile of leaves he could and was dragging the dried-up dirty remains at the end of his fringe. She stopped several times to clear him off but gave up. 

They were almost to the end of the driveway when she noticed between them was a good-sized spider running along with them. She said it was odd because she could almost hear the thing telling her it wanted to come inside and be part of the family. Did I tell you Tonya is on new medication for her thyroid? Well, I think that has something to do with this communication with an insect. 

She said to it, "Stop don't go any further and no you can't come inside."

To which (in her head) the spider replied, "I'll be hitching a ride in." 

She said it stopped and she did not look back and continued on to the mailbox. She got the mail and said on her way back, she remembered the spot where she last saw the spider. He or she was not there. "Good," she thought and went back to the house.

She put the mail on the kitchen counter to sort it when she saw out of the corner of her eye, Mam's kitten batting something across the floor wildly and violently. It was the SPIDER!!!

She was shocked it had hitched a ride she thinks with the dog since the dog had been in that area when they came in. She got the kitten but it was intent on its quarry and she was having a time of it trying to remove the cat from the spider. The spider, meanwhile, was running towards Tonya, who isn't a spider fan. She squished it and instantly regretted she did.

"I should have gotten a tissue and put it back outside. I feel awful. I wasn't thinking, merely reacting and it was coming to me for help." She was almost in tears telling me this.

Well, I found out it is a wolf spider, and they mean humans no harm. They try to come inside in the fall and we have seen them before, and they don't like the rain, so perhaps it came in because of that. They rarely bite unless provoked and are not poisonous. When Tonya found all that out she felt even worse. 

The best was when her youngest was moving passed her dressed in his rain gear. He had a small Tupperware box and was halfway out the door when she called after him about where he was going in the rain (it was raining by then, and me Mam didn't help much when she heard the story and informed Tonya if you kill a spider you will make it rain, and it did making Ton feel even more guilty). He informed her he was going spider hunting and would bring her home a new spider. Yup, just what she wanted, NOT. 

"Awww, you are so sweet," she told the boyo, but then she also informed him one spider for the day was enough she didn't need a replacement. She was good. He looked all disappointed but he got the gear off and settled by her side for cookies and milk. 

I don't know what's in her meds but really? Feeling remorse over a spider -- something she has in the past had no trouble stamping out? Well, we await her blood tests to find out if she needs a change of medication. I am hoping so because if she is going to get all soppy over insects it's going to be a fun summer in the garden. 

Gabe

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