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Shelob's daughters
Sep. 27th, 2005 03:45 pmWe're currently hosting a Great Big Spider conference. Nobody told me about this, but the number of scuttly things with eight legs that are currently in our house is too high for chance. I don't know what they're discussing - "Achieving Optimum Speed Around the Bathtub"? "Introduction To Running Out Of Dark Corners At People Talking Peacefully On The Phone"? "Illegal Glass-And-Bit-Of-Paper Evictions: Your Rights And Responsibilities"? Either way, I wish they'd all get bored and go home.
I'm not scared of spiders, but there's something about a spider the size of a Corgi (this is an approximation only - exact spider-sizes may differ depending on how close the damn thing can get before you notice it) that's just plain unsettling. You know it's not exactly a dangerous creature, but it's far, far bigger than the mental picture you've got filed under 'Spider', and it won't fit in any of the glasses you find to carry it out of the house with, and oh my God, what's it been eating to get to this size anyway? Sheep?
Some Googling has turned up a bunch of interesting stuff about spiders. The word 'spider' apparently comes from the old English 'spithra' meaning 'spinner', which is nice if true ('spithra' sounds too much like the sound you make when you're happily drinking coffee and Spidiana Jones comes sprinting across the table). Also, somebody found it necessary to footnote and reference the idea that spiders are commonly found in the bath. I think these are called house spiders (as in 'if one turns up in yours, you may as well hand over the lease now'). They're still not as big as the biggest spider in Britain, though, which is this baby - a Raft Spider which lives on water. Surrender your bathtubs now.
I'm not scared of spiders, but there's something about a spider the size of a Corgi (this is an approximation only - exact spider-sizes may differ depending on how close the damn thing can get before you notice it) that's just plain unsettling. You know it's not exactly a dangerous creature, but it's far, far bigger than the mental picture you've got filed under 'Spider', and it won't fit in any of the glasses you find to carry it out of the house with, and oh my God, what's it been eating to get to this size anyway? Sheep?
Some Googling has turned up a bunch of interesting stuff about spiders. The word 'spider' apparently comes from the old English 'spithra' meaning 'spinner', which is nice if true ('spithra' sounds too much like the sound you make when you're happily drinking coffee and Spidiana Jones comes sprinting across the table). Also, somebody found it necessary to footnote and reference the idea that spiders are commonly found in the bath. I think these are called house spiders (as in 'if one turns up in yours, you may as well hand over the lease now'). They're still not as big as the biggest spider in Britain, though, which is this baby - a Raft Spider which lives on water. Surrender your bathtubs now.
