Itsy Bitsy Spider

I have an interesting friend…wait…HAD a friend.  My balcony in my summer home in Vancouver, has a glass exterior.  So a few weeks ago, a, slightly-on-the-larger side, yellow-y, black spider built a web on the outside of the glass.  I hate spiders.  They scurry on eight appendages, they lurk, they are gross.  So of course, my first reaction was ‘EEEWWWWW, how do I get him away?!’  Then I thought about spending the summer indoors.  But then I thought, ok, logically, I’m bigger and more dangerous to him then he is to me and he’s on the other side, so if he stays there, then it’s ok.  Plus I’m grown up, I’m mature, he’s just a spider...

 

So after much deliberation I let him be. 

And I have to admit, it was pretty cool.  I did spend a little time out there observing the little fellow as he patiently waited for dinner and then scrambled over in a flash to grab his prey, bring his supper back to the center of his finely crafted web before devouring it.   I watched him expand and repair his beautifully symetrical web.  It was good - my own discovery channel.  He stayed on his side of the glass and I stayed on mine.  I actually came to be pretty proud of my buddy.  People came over and I’d show him off.  He had it pretty good there for the longest part of August. 

 

And then the rain came.  Washed the spider away.

 

And being that it’s Vancouver, the ‘out comes the sun and dried up all the rain…’ part never happened.

He just disappeared.  About a week went by, until a friend from Calgary was in the city and stopped by for a visit.  I was showing off my summer home, and even took him out on the balcony and said, ‘sometimes I sit out here and read or there was this spider over here, he was my buddy… ‘ and as I pointed to where he had resided on the outside of the glass, my finger felt something sticky, stringy….oh GROSS!!!  A spider web!!!  EWWWW.

 

And then.

 

I saw him.

 

Tucked under the railing on MY side of the glass!!

 

I screamed as I ran into the condo and locked the door.  My poor friend on the other side.

 

 

How could he?  I mean you didn’t see me coming over the glass on his side while he called it home.  Yes, I had thought about it.  But I didn’t knock down his web.  Ok, sure it was cause I was scared that he’d panic, or I’d panic, and he’d fly into my face somehow, but the point is – I left him be and we got along fine!!  Quite neighborly in fact.

 

And to think - I even shooed poor stupid flies his direction!

 

 

So, it turns out – spiders are gross.  They are evil, they lurk, and they definitely can’t be trusted.

 

 

Only time I open my balcony door now is to let in the poor innocent flies.

 

That's right Mr. Spider-Pants...I won't be shooing any dinner your way anymore until you get off my property!!!

 

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