Daily Prompt: Phobia, Shmobia

Fears evolve over time. What is one fear you’ve conquered?

Thank you, BasicallyBeyondBasic, for suggesting this prompt!

I just discovered that I have 201 photos of various spiders online, and some more in my archives.It seems that I have developed a fascination for spiders over the years, although probably more because they are a good subject for a photo. They do not move so fast, usually hang in a web and arrive in all shapes and sizes.

So why did I choose this particular spider? Nothing special or extraordinary, just big and it is the one that resembles the “daddy long legs” from my childhood. I did not live in a palace as a child, our house would probably be known today as a “slum”. We had no running hot water, no bathroom, just a metal container and the toilet was outside in the garden. The garden toilet was the first memory I had of a spider, no spiders. They were all the ancestors of the one in the photo: big, round fleshy body in the middle and the legs, yes the long legs. I grew up with them, but they were not my friends. As the house was built in 1884 and no-one bothered to make improvements, except for putting a new gas cooker in where there used to be a small fire with an oven next to it, the spiders had handed their home down from father to son(s).

Reflecting I remember my first memory of a visit to the outside toilet and examining in details the whitewashed walls, which were no longer as white as they should be. There he was, sitting in corner, suspended and watching, he was watching me. After a further scrutiny of the surroundings I saw his brother, sister, mother, father and a few smaller examples which were probably the children. Yes the whole family was there. I decided to leave the toilet and seek refuge by mum. 

“Mum there is a spider in the toilet.”

“Where?”

“On the wall and the ceiling.*

“I will have a look.”

Undaunted mum arrived and killed them and waited patiently before the door until I was finished. As I grew older my fear that I would be killed and eaten by a spider did not disappear, especially if they began to move in my direction. Was this the reason I moved to another country? I discovered that in other countries there were also spiders, but different, in all shapes and sizes.

So how did I overcome this fear? I had no intentions of making friends with the arachnophobic race of insects, but eventually I had no real choice. Almost 20 years ago we moved into the country where the fox and hedgehog say goodnight to each other, and the spiders were the original settlers, staking their claims everywhere. If a plant grew outside, the spider’s web would soon be anchored in a corner. It was then that I had my first digital camera and I discovered yes, they were a good subject for a photo, I soon had a collection and began to give the spiders names. At first Fred, Joe etc. but then I realised they were a species, not just the common garden spider but with scientific names. I bought a book about spiders and I became an expert.

Some spiders realised that I was no longer a threat and moved into my home, generally in Winter. I was now faced with a decision. Did I want to share my home with arachnophobia? I thought it over. I realised that a spider’s web was a good place for the recycling of flies. Flies arrive in hundreds and are thus not missed when a few are killed with a fly swatter. Why do it yourself when the spider does it for you. And so it came to pass that a few spider webs were kept in strategic places in the home, especially where the kitchen meets the garden in Summer. Both spiders and flies seem to spend the Winter building up their strength for the Summer in secret places.

I can now say I am cured. From the day where I shared the toilet with a daddy long legs, I now send them an invitation from time to time to do their spidery deeds in ridding my home of other unwanted insects and remember it is not a home without a spider.

I would add, of course, that each spider is to be examined to discover what species it belongs to. Suspicious spiders with strange colours are definitely a no go, and if you happen to live in Australia or other countries where the spiders have developed their lethal weapons, then do not invite them. Otherwise, I am no longer afraid of spiders. Now fly children and their lookalikes (known as maggots) are another kettle of phobia, and not my sort of thing.

Daily Prompt: Delayed Contact

How would you get along with your sibling(s), parent(s), or any other person you’ve known for a long time — if you only met them for the first time today?

“Hello Fred, nice to see you have returned to my kitchen corner.”

“Fred, no, Fred was my grandfather. My dad was Fred Junior and now it’s time to introduce a new name in the family. I am Cyril, son of Fred Junior. Where shall I start Mrs. Angloswiss. Dad said to just hover around and wait for something interesting to land in the web. I must say you seem to have quite a lot of flies this year.”

“Oh yes I do Cyril, they are everywhere, especially in the morning when I eat my breakfast in the kitchen. They never seem to fly into your web. Do you think you might be doing something wrong Cyril.”

“I am hovering and waiting Mrs. Angloswiss. We are not hunters. We are not equipped with fly swotting hands at the tips of our legs. We are the patient kind. If a fly happens to get lost on its flight he will be caught in my web. It is then we pounce and make a lunch packet for later digestion. We indoor spiders are more into the smaller kind of flying insect. Fruit flies are welcome, but you have no fruit.”

“I keep the fruit outside in the summer Cyril, otherwise the fruit bowl is full of flies.”

“You see Mrs. Angloswiss, that is why I am so thin. You are starving me of my rightful food. Oh, just a minute, yes got him.”

“What was that?”

“One of the mini flies just entered my web.”

“You mean that dark speck in your web. I can hardly see it.”

“Mrs. Angloswiss you do not have to see all the flies. As long as we can absorb them, it suffices. And there goes another one.”

“I don’t see it.”

“But I do. If you want one of the big game hunters, you have to go outside. I saw that Jeremy has made a nice nest this morning, although he said he spun the original web yesterday and it was washed away in the evening. Be careful where you aim your hose Mrs. Angloswiss.”

“I didn’t see Jeremy. I was just giving the garden a good soak.”

“All very well, but be careful where you soak. Jeremy spent hours weaving his web and it was all gone in less than a minute. Look where you spread the water Mrs. Angloswiss. No consideration from the humans. We are only doing our job.”

“But some of us do not like spiders Cyril. My blogging colleague Marilyn …….”

“We know all about Marilyn Mrs. Angloswissl She is notorious in the spider world. Some of us spiders do not like humans Mrs. Angloswiss, but we have to live with them.”

“Well, I did look after your granddad and daddy over the years. They were very helpful in keeping the other insects away, except for the flies.”

“Glad to hear it Mrs. Angloswiss. My daddy told me that if you want a safe and comfortable place during the summer, then hang around in Mrs. Angloswiss kitchen. She says where there is a spider there is a home. Now go and take a photo of Jeremy, I am sure he would appreciate being shown to all the nice bloggers (except Marilyn), but be careful where you tread. I think Mabel may be in the garden.”

“Who is Mabel?”

“That’s Jeremy’s wife. Jeremy said she is transporting her egg sack at the moment and we don’t want to destroy Jeremy’s next generation, now do we.”

So here is a photo of Jeremy with his lunch next to him in the web. I did not see Mabel, but I think she was busy with the family protection plan.

The Reptile Exhibition

This exhibition was the main reason why I left my comfortable home on Sunday afternoon to go to Biel. I saw the poster in the village where I work and realised it would be a good chance to take some photos of something else other than my cats. Mr. Swiss decided it was a good idea so we both went. It was being held in the Pavillion. In 2002 Biel was one of the places for the Expo, the Swiss national exposition and this building was one of the remainders. We did not know where it was exactly so walked passed it, but Mr. Swiss asked a lady and she told us where it was. It was not free, of course, nothing is these days and the entrance cost CHF 16.00. I suppose you have to pay for the live mice that the snakes are fed on.

Deutsch: Diese Austellung war der Hauptgrund warum ich meine bequeme Wohnung verliess am Sonntag Nachmittag für nach Biel zu gehen. Ich sah der Poster in der Dorf wo ich arbeite und realisierte, dass es war ein gute Gelegenheit für Fotos zu machen, etwas anders als meine Katzen. Herr Schweizer hat auch beschlossen mitzugehen. Es fand statt in der Pavillion. In 2002 Biel war eine von der Ortschaften für der Expo, die Schweizer National Exposition und diese Gebäude war ein Überbleibsal. Wir wussten nicht genau wo es war, und deshalb sind wir vorbei gelaufen, aber Herr Schweizer hat eine Dame gefragt und sie sagte wo es ist. Die Ausstellung war nicht gratis, natürlich, nichts ist gratis heute, und die Eintritt kostete CHF 16.00. Ich nehme an man muss bezahlen für die lebendige Mäusefutter für die Schlangen.

There were enough people there, but not too many, so I had a enough opportunity to take my 57 photos. Again a mixed bunch of visitors, half speaking German and the other half French. There was plenty to see. The spiders seemed to be especially popular with the children, which was a bit of a nuisance for such a "professiona"l photographer like me. By the time I got to the small spider tanks, they had hidden theirselves away from the excited screams of the kids, in French and German, so the only ones I could take a photo of were these.

Deutsch: Es war genügend Leute da, aber nicht zu viel, und ich hätte eine gute Gelegenheit mein 57 Fotos zu machen. Wieder eine gemischte Besucherzahl, die Hälfte deutschsprechend und die andere Hälfte französisch. Es war viel zu sehen. Die Spinne scheint besonders populär zu sein mit die Kinder. Das war nicht so gut für ein solche "professional" Fotograf wie ich. Wenn ich endlich an die kleine Spinne behalter kam, sie haben sich versteckt von die Geschrei die Kinder, auf französisch und deutsch, so die einizige Spinne ich fand war diese.

There was really a lot to see and we must have been in the Exhibition more than an hour. My problem was knowing what I had photographed. Of course all the cages were marked with the type of reptile and where it would live if it was free, but I didn't really want to make a list. On the way out I asked one of the persons at the exit if he had any literature, but he looked at me with a sort of blank look. I then said "vous parlez français" and his face lit up but he had no literature about the snakes etc. so I found a few things on Internet and wrote it on the photos.

Deutsch: Es war wirklich viel zu sehen und wir sind sicher mehr als eine Stund in der Ausstellung gewesen. Meine Problem war zu wissen was ich fotographiert habe. Natülich die Käfige war markiert mit der Reptilientypus und wo es wohnte wäre es frei, aber ich wollte keine Liste schreiben. Bei der Ausgang ich fragte eine von der Austellungsleute ob er Literature über die Reptilien hätte, aber er schaute micht an mit ein komische Blick. Ich sagte "vous parlez français?" und seine Gesicht leuchtet auf, aber er hat keine Literture über die Schlangen usw. so ich fand ein paar Sachen in Internet um die Fotos zu bennen.

Luckily there were about 3 restaurants nearbye, so when we finished our visit we had a coffee to recover from the stress. We could even sit outside as it was really a warm afternoon. We had about a 10 minute walk to the car.

Deutsch: Zum Glück war etwa 3 Restaurant in der Nähe, so wenn wir fertig waren mit unsere Besuch wir nahmen ein Kafee als Erholung von der Stress. Wir könnten sogar draussen sitzen, weil es war wirklich ein warme Nachmittag. We hätten etwa 10 Minuten zu laufen zum Auto.

I could write more about what I saw, but just have a look at the Photos
Deutsch: Ich könnte mehr schreiben über was ich sah, aber shau einfach die Fotos an

Multiply or Flickr

Nursery Web Spiders in my Garden

It seems that my Pampas grass has a new lodger. I suddenly noticed spider's webs, about 3 of them, and at a closer look the photo shows who was living in the webs. I knew that it must be a mother spider with her egg, but was not exactly sure what was going on so had a quick look in the insect book. It seems that I have a very motherly spider in my garden, even their name does them credit. I took a few photos of them and here are the results. I think the photos speak for themselves.

The mother apparently lays her eggs and keeps them in the big white ball, known as egg sac. She then sits and waits until the time comes when the sac breaks and her babies appear. I felt like the spiders nurse in the last couple of days and had to see what was going on from time to time. I usually water the garden in the evening if we have high temperatures as we have had for the last week, but as I had a waiting mother on the pampas, I did avoid going too strongly with the water jet. Although we had a couple of heavy thunderstorms it seems that even the web was built strong enough to hold the mother and children.

It seems (what you can learn about insects from a book) that mummy spider is quite dominant and it is known that she eats the father after their wedding night. However, father spider can be quite sly and often turns up on the night with a dead fly for his mate to avoid a nasty end.

All is well that ends well and below you can see the photo I took of a broken egg sac and about 200 small baby spiders all waiting to make their way in the world. I was thinking if all of those spiders come through life, and half would be females, then there will be a lot of webs with egg sacs next year in my garden.