Along Came a Spider

I knew it was going to happen.  But that still doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

Before the Mister left, I told him I didn't know what I was going to do when spiders got in the house.  I'm completely terrified of arachnids, much more than I am scared of snakes or mice or any other creatures of which women are typically afraid.  Whenever there is one in the house, even a "small" one, I am frozen and yell for the Mister until he can come take care of it.  I honestly don't know if I have the courage to conquer a spider more than an inch in size, but I also know I can't live in a house where I know I've seen a spider and not killed it.  So as the days have gotten warmer and I've seen those terrible eight-legged creatures starting to scurry around outside, I've been living in constant fear of the moment a big one will end up in the house and I'll have to face my fears head on.

Around five o'clock this evening, this four-inch-long visitor appeared on the back door.  And he hasn't left.  No, he's not technically IN the house.  But the dogs ask to go out at least one time an hour, and every time I open the back door, I worry it's going to run in the house or jump off the door onto one of the dogs or one of a hundred other horrible scenarios I've imagined.  Although I'm dismayed every time I walk up to the door and see he's still hanging out there, I'll be even more upset when he's NOT visible anymore and I have to try to determine if he's crawled to the very edge before I open the door.  There is one scene I've imagined in which I open the door and he lands directly on top of my head.

After about two hours of staring at my new archenemy, I decided to do some research.  I do believe he is a nursery web spider, of the male gender.

Photo from wildlifetrusts.org

According to WikiHow, they aren't venomous, but their bite is painful and can produce swelling.  Apparently, they don't make webs to hunt; instead they overpower other bugs with sheer force.  That's comforting.

For the past few hours, I've been attempting to distract myself from Mr. Spider.  I finished my second cross stitch project:

The quote is Emily Bronte, and I'm loving that little pink heart.  I temporarily placed it on the subwoofer by the fireplace in the living room, and I really like the way it dresses up that plain black box.  Unfortunately, I know it's not a wise decision to leave it there because it won't be long before a doggy race through the living room knocks it down and breaks the frame.  I'm enjoying looking at it tonight though, until I find an alternate location for it.  Maybe I'll hang it in our bedroom?

I've exhausted all possible means of distraction and I've got to be up early in the morning, so I'm going to face Mr. Spider one more time to let the dogs out and then go to bed.  I'm sure I'll have nightmares about all of the Google images of NC native spiders I perused through.  Perhaps the spider research was not the best idea...

Oh, he's still there.  And he's scarier in the dark.

Lord help me.  Please say a prayer he doesn't end up in my house.

Goodnight folks!