6/15/2008

It just got dark in the middle of the Day!

This is really the 2nd tomato of the year but the first was such a sorry looking guy that I am going to proudly display it as the first. Can't wait for the rest. I just love a fresh from the vine tomato with just a little salt and pepper.

Living in the woods does expose you to nature's creatures. I was out in the yard and turned over a rubber water tank and inside all snug and dry was this beautiful and deadly spider. This is a Northern Black Widow. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a picture for the blog. Barb has some good long lenses so she didn't have to get too close. This shiny black lady doesn't have just red on her belly but,

There are red spots on her back. This is one of the few spiders that Barb will take pictures of and then have me "deal with it". Most of the time when we find them inside Barb will gather the little buggers up with a jar and a piece of paper and shoo them outside. So far we haven't had black widows inside the house but I don't look nearly as close in the garage. There I just spray now and take no prisoners.

I want to make sure that you know that we have had the other kind of black widow spiders. When I brought the 1950 Ford home from California we had black widows for a couple of years. They seemed to like the frame and places that no one bothered. I finally "Black Flagged" the entire car and then we started having problems with pack rats. Oh well,...

When I am outside on the driveway, there is a motion detector that clicks when I walk by. It has a built in light meter and during the day the lights don't come on. Just as I came in from working on the dog pen, I noticed the lights are on and it is just past noon. There is another cold front to pass from the northwest and the weatherman is telling everyone to watch for quarter sized hail, lightning and heavy rain. The ground is soaked so any rain we get will add to the water in the streams and running over the road. Note: It got dark and sprinkled but in about 30 minutes was as light as if nothing happened. It sprinkled overnight but today is 70 and a light breeze.

MUD

4 comments:

  1. my goodness man! Never put pictures of spiders on here .... I hate those things ... I would sit in a den of rattlesnakes before I could let one spider crawal on me!

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  2. Anonymous8:40 PM

    Y'all sure are getting hit with the nasty weather a lot! Is that normal for y'all this time of year?

    I'm the bug killer here. Of course, we may need to spackle and paint when I get through. I hate bugs so much that I will kill them with my bare hands and feet if I have to. I cannot risk them getting away from me... because when they do I about go crazy wondering where they are and if they are stalking me. My husband will take them outside or pat them gently with a shoe until they get away. We've actually had arguments about it because I want them DEAD. I don't care if bug guts get squished all over my hands or the wall... that just means it is DEAD.

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  3. Anonymous8:41 PM

    Oh yeah... and that tomato is screaming BLT to me!!!

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  4. Barb has the same spider policy I have. I'm the same with most living things including plants. (It's not some kind of religious thing though like Jainism.) If it won't hurt me or mine, I try to leave it alone. Flies and cockroaches are an exception to the rule. Danny does not understand why weeds are included in this policy. Johnson grass can be bad for the horses and has been declared a noxious weed, so it goes. I have a hard time being convinced about thistles since I think they are lovely flowers--and rather painful to pull anyway.

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