Something about spiders have always been interesting to me. I've spent so many hours on wikipedia reading about spiders, that the spiders have a restraining order against me.
Jumping spiders especially are wonderful. Incredibly cute little guys. Have you ever stared at a jumping spider and they turn and lift their heads to look at you? Fucking adorable. And don't get me started on their "uppies" front leg lift when they're hopping up on your hands. I've got a few jumping spiders around the house. Not pets, they just live here.
They are incredibly smart, excellent hunters. They have object permanence which is suprising for a brain that tiny. They have conical eyes (hence the head lift to look at you), that they can use to focus on fine details over long distances. Nature couldn't have come up with a better design. It is really a treat to watch them wander around and hunt.
The bigger ones although are intimidating. A few years ago I was visited by a huntsman. He just entered my house like he owned the place and for a second I considered moving. I knew he couldn't hurt me. He wouldn't really want to bite me and even if he did, it would just be a little swelling. But my instinct wouldn't let me get close. I ended up using a shakey bowl (my hands weren't shaking, it was just a shakey bowl) and a piece of cardboard to relocate him outside my window. But after we had my window between us, I found the guy really beautiful and impressive.
Another spider encounter was with a wood orb weaver spider when I was visiting Kerala, India. I accidentally touched a bit of web between branches that felt surprisingly strong, almost like a bit of thread. I looked up and there was this magestic web between 2 trees with a giant yellow, black patterned spider with a red dot on it's butt. That butt comment felt innapropriate the moment I realized that it was a lady I was looking at and the male of the spicies was the much smaller spider on the web that I didn't even notice at first. Again scary as hell but I couldn't stop looking. The patterns and her leg movements were mesmerizing.
| Jumping spider | Huntsman | Wood orb weaver |
|---|---|---|
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Anyways, spiders are scary but pretty damn amazing.