Saturation Point
Intruder Alert
By
Jul 26, 2007, 08:08

It must be the hot and muggy weather that has forced all animals to start acting a little funky.  I am including humans in this too.  It could even be the full moon we had recently; known for its power over man and beast for centuries.  I am saying this because some local creatures seem to be magnetized to our family.  I have noticed lately, while getting ready in the bathroom or wiping down the shower tiles that there are spiders all over the place.  They are hiding in the crevices and cracks of the grout, or perching themselves high up on the ceiling to get a better view of the top of my head.  These particular species of spiders didn’t give me a start.  I acknowledged them and sometimes gathered them up and released them onto a leafy bush or patch of undergrowth if I thought they would get in harms way.
 However, one evening, as I prepared to get into bed I noticed a brown spot right above my headboard.  I quietly climbed onto my bed to get a closer look and found myself in the company of a Brown Recluse spider.  I have seen the gory photos of flesh dissolving off of human bones because of the potent venom these small unassuming arachnids carry.  Immediately my heart started pumping so fast.  There was no way I would be able to sleep if I knew this little guy was scuttling around my room.  I grabbed a paper cup, intent on capturing and releasing the spider outside of our house.  As I approached with the cup, I placed the edge of a paper towel against the wall to push the spider into the cup.  This didn’t work.  The spider I was dealing with must have seen this trick before.  No sooner was the paper towel on the wall than the spider jumped toward me, landing in the cup.  It scrambled up the side of the cup toward my hand!  Out of sheer terror, I threw the cup up in the air as I leapt off my bed screaming—all three (the cup, the spider and me) went flying in all directions.  The spider started running as soon as it hit the carpet, but it ran into my paper towel that gently landed at the foot of my bed.  I saw an opportunity, scooped it up and threw it outside.  Breathing heavily and sweating, I got in bed knowing that my room was safe from this pint size predator.  All I had to do was slow my heart rate!


This snake was IN OUR HOUSE when I got home from work today!!!  YIKES!!
 Most recently, my sister-in-law Becky called to say that she had found a snake in her house and needed assistance.  I drove straight over, curious to see what specie of snake had made it inside.  When I arrived, Becky was holed up in her computer room and the snake had found a superior hiding place.  She was frozen with fear and saw the snake move, but was not going to follow.  I spend the next 30 minutes crawling on the floor, looking under, over and in between everything.  I had an idea.  It probably cleared the living room where it had been found sunning itself, fully stretched out on the tile.  It was perhaps, in the kitchen.  I slowly and quietly stepped around the counter and I saw a tail flick and disappear under the stove.  I got down on my belly and was face to face with a little snake eye staring at me from under the kitchen appliance.  Reinforcements were on the way in the form of my brother, dad and mom.  The stove was successfully moved, and we found a coiled up, beautifully patterned little snake ready to strike at my dad.  Carefully, the little guy was scooped into a bucket and released into the preserve down the block from the house.  It was nothing to worry about; just a baby black racer looking for a cool place to rest for a minute.
 We have had spiders and snakes so far, but what I am really waiting for is a frog.  One particular guy has made its home in the front of our house by a window and calls for a mate for hours—chirping so loudly it echoes off the houses surrounding us.  I have tried to find it, pushing through bushes and following the calls, but it has been futile.  Maybe it will come find its mate inside; I will be waiting.
 
 





© Copyright 2006 by The Observer News Publications and M&M Printing