Friday, October 1, 2010

The Spider Dance

Come on. We've all done it. That strange little dance when you run into a spider web and think the crawly might, just might, still be on your body somewhere.

I witnessed my first spider dance yesterday. A young girl, walking along, suddenly begins to jerk and gyrate and scrutinize her body, looking for that crawly. She lifted one arm, then bent her leg, twisted her body, rubbed at her pants and shirt, then shuddered, glanced up, grinned to see others watching her, and walked on. Hopefully, the crawly was hastening it back to a shrub, where it could collect itself and begin a new web.

I don't like spiders. At all. I can tolerate them now, at my advanced age, if they are outside, in the woods, away from me. I've even taken to "relocating" them, alive, if I find them on the side of my house, near a doorway or window. I mean, really, I have over an acre of woods here. I think they can find someplace far better to build their sticky little condo than on the side of my house.

What I can't tolerate is having spiders inside my house. If I can see them. I once read that we are never more than 5 feet from a spider. That gives me the creeps. If they stay out of sight, I'm fine with it. But if I see them, inside my house, all bets are off. Not that I can stand getting close enough to actually kill them outright. I use something very long and rush them outside as quickly as possible. But occasionally, they take that big ride on the toilet waterslide. I'm sure the thrill of swirling around and around with a gallon of water doesn't have the outcome they might think.

I get worried, though, when I kill a small spider. I mean, what if it's a baby? What if its mother is like, a hundred times bigger? What if that HUGE mother spider is out for revenge? What then? So, if it's a tiny spider, I let it alone. I don't need that sort of anxiety. (See why I'm a writer? A very vivid imagination)

I am always amazed when I watch shows on the telly, or a movie, and they are dashing helter skelter through the woods. Remember the scenes from Star Wars? On those little flying scooters when Skywalker is zipping through the woods? Or on LOTR when Arwen was racing her horse through the misty forests? Even while they are running for their lives, I'm thinking, "why aren't they running into spider webs out there?" I guess it would take some of the suspense and excitement out of it were Luke or Arwen to suddenly stop and start doing the Spider Dance. But it would sure add a lot of realism to me!

7 comments:

  1. It's a good thing you don't live where I do. You'd be spider dancing a lot. Spiders love redwood trees. Who knew? Anyway, spider removal is a daily chore here and dancing? Well, I guess there's a lot of that too . . . not all about spiders, mind you. :-)

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  2. And I suppose those spiders are as big as the redwoods? Ugh! I don't like the way they move, and how fast they are, and how many legs they have. All of those legs going in weird directions...*shudder* I don't like crabs for that reason either, plus they glare at you with their weird little eyes.

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  3. LOL. I just had a dance with some spiders a little while ago when we went on our twilight walk. I saw several monarch butterflies looking for a place to roost, so I followed them to the pond where they settle in the trees. Spiderwebs were everywhere, and I kept getting tangled in them. I like garden spiders and we have several around the house that have already spun their egg sacs. But they're outside. I, too, put spidders when I find them in the house outside, cause I don't like for them to crawl over me.

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  4. You're braver than I am then! I don't walk through the woods without a long stick swinging in front of me. LOL

    I just remembered that I put this aversion to spiders in my books. Some of my characters feel the same way about them.

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  6. Sorry about the removed post!

    I DO NOT like spiders! If my husband or son are home, they take care of them for me. If it is just me and the spider, i'm going to be the one left standing, lol. I shudder just thinking of those creepy crawlers.

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  7. Spiders fascinate me. I used spiders as guardians in EARRINGS. I even have the Spider Goddess.

    I love this time of year when I can observe them on their spider webs. The dewy webs are so pretty in the early morning light.

    Now if one walks on me? That's a whole other story!

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