Arachnophilia

This month, I’m reminded of one of my favorite parts of growing up in the Bay Area – spider season. Unlike many of my fearful friends, I love the little eight-legged fellows. This is not to say that I’d enjoy one crawling across my pillow, but I’ve always taken the time to appreciate their delicate webs splayed across the trees and railings in my yard. I guess Charlotte’s Web had a big effect on me as a kid.

My home in San Francisco currently features a particularly audacious arachnid. He (she?) has chosen to build his web right across the doorway from the backyard into the laundry room where I keep my bike. Every morning and evening I have to duck to stoop through the bottom right corner of the doorway, contorting my body into unnatural shapes to avoid breaking the masterful work of art.

One morning last week I accidentally caught one strand on my sweatshirt and he was huffily respinning as I headed off to work. By the time I got home, the web was good as new.

I hope he appreciates the effort I go through. Actually, if anything, he’s probably pissed off he hasn’t caught me yet. I’m reminded of the old Farside cartoon in which two spiders are discussing the web they’ve spun across the bottom of a playground slide. One says to the other, “If this works, we’ll eat like kings.”

Here’s a pic I just snapped of the stubborn little guy. Pretty impressive, no?