I don't like comparing the GOP to a spider, because spiders are very important ecologically. I like spiders. In the late '90s, a small spider lived in the bathroom of my house in DC all summer. She would catch other invertebrates in her web and eat them, and I quite enjoyed seeing what she was up to. At the end of the summer, she laid eggs and died, and all the baby spiders left. I was sad to see her go, and sad that none of the babies stayed.
My mother read us that book. I think I was six. I reread it about a year ago, and liked it a lot. But it was that spider in my bathroom around 26 years ago that got me loving spiders. And I'm guessing you had a very good second grade teacher!
my attitude towards spiders is "let them be." (of course, we have almost no poisonous ones in the Pacific NW). Flies are a whole lot higher than spiders on my yick list.
There are at least 3 spiders who can be toxic to humans in the Pacific NW. Most spiders, of course, are only toxic to their prey, and even the ones who can cause problems for people are not seeking them out and only bite out when threatened or confused. Your attitude of letting them be is a good one, but also add be careful when poking around in woodpiles, cellars, or outhouses. Also, avoid southern Oregon.
I'm not at all fond of flies. And I'm a native of Seattle, I lived in Denny Blaine in the mid-'50s and 1960-'61. I'm very nostalgic for it. And have a close friend on San Juan Island
I have a BROTHER on San Juan Island. And have lived in Seattle for 69 of my 79 years. (away for 10 for college and grad school.) And when a spider rappels down in front of me while I'm on the computer I blow gently and back up it goes.
I just leave the great big ones alone. Those monsters of summer are house spiders and can't live outside, so putting them out is a no go. They eventually find their way back to their holes. I may give them a boost from the sink or my chair or wherever they show up, and they scuttle away.
My family island is Lopez, though we mostly have left one way or another, mostly by dying. The rest of us are ex-pats. Islanders to the core. The closest I came to the same kind of community was when I lived at 9000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. Sky Island country.
My friend on San Juan and his family of origin built a cabin on Lopez. Very nicely done. I once spent three days there with them. I'm not surprised about what you say about communities on Puget Sound islands and high up in Colorado. I had a lot of maternal relatives in Colorado, although they were mostly in Denver. One of them, a mountain climber, who--unlike most everyone else, was from St. Louis--moved to Estes Park after retiring from his position as head of anaesthesiology at UW. (He'd first experienced Colorado at a mountain climbing camp as a kid.)
Oh, the spider season on the coast side of the mountains is long, long, long, and many of the garden spiders become enormous. They are so beautiful. Something else that is beautiful is a meadow that is covered with horizontal webs, early in the morning, beaded with dew catching the light from the rising sun. Awe-inspiring.
I don't know that I've seen exactly what you're describing, but I've seen spider webs beaded with dew, and I agree that's very beautiful. I don't see much in the way of enormous spiders in Massachusetts, and I didn't see enormous ones in the DC area when I lived there. But I like 'em regardless of size. On twitter, there used to be a young Australian woman who tweeted beautiful photos of spiders that she took. I haven't seen her in months though.
Ask him if he knows Michael Linehan. Mike is a real estate agent there and plays in a local band called the Chameleons. Also active with the animal rescue folks
If your brother sold lots 25 years ago, it's possible. (My friend bought a lot, and singlehandedly built his house on it--it took 4 years.) Or maybe through animal rescue. My friend has a couple of farm animals.
well, it's not been 25 years. Or maybe it has been. Mike lived summers on the island before retiring there and taking up real estate. He's pretty well known, but its a fairly big island. I'm impressed by your friend's skills, however.
Small world story however about the island. Mike was showing a house to a woman whose friend was along with her. Friend asked him if he was related to [our father's name]. Mike said yes--turned out HER mother had actually been engaged to our dad back in the Midwest, before he moved out here. We'd never heard about that. Her mom remembered Dad fondly and kept pictures, which she shared with us.
Earlier in his life, my friend had a Chevette, which, if you're not a car person, suffice it to say they were a very inexpensive economy car. He made a gorgeous wooden dashboard for that car and every time I think about it I mentally kick myself for not having photographed that dashboard.
He was also in the '84 Olympics as a kayaker. It's a second generation friendship--my parents and his parents were close friends, and his mother was a surrogate mother for me.
I am a lover of spiders, too. My family (including elders at least 2 gens before me- and I have 3 gens after me) revered spiders. It is likely something that links us directly to old beliefs among our indigenous ancestors. One of our stories tells of how Spider Woman wove the universe (which can be defined any way you want). We respected the spiders who took up residence in our homes and took care not to disturb their webs. I don't think that the GOP is/was anything like a spider. Spider people are our allies, if we are but willing to recognize that.
Yes, spiders are good guys. When it was pointed out that the wasps put their larvae in an unsuspecting spider, it made a good picture to see the GOP as the spider, back 50 years ago before they became the complete personification of evil.
The GOP certainly was a big hairy spider.
I don't like comparing the GOP to a spider, because spiders are very important ecologically. I like spiders. In the late '90s, a small spider lived in the bathroom of my house in DC all summer. She would catch other invertebrates in her web and eat them, and I quite enjoyed seeing what she was up to. At the end of the summer, she laid eggs and died, and all the baby spiders left. I was sad to see her go, and sad that none of the babies stayed.
IтАЩve had a loving respect for spiders since the second grade when my teacher read тАЬCharlotteтАЩs WebтАЭ to the class.
My mother read us that book. I think I was six. I reread it about a year ago, and liked it a lot. But it was that spider in my bathroom around 26 years ago that got me loving spiders. And I'm guessing you had a very good second grade teacher!
my attitude towards spiders is "let them be." (of course, we have almost no poisonous ones in the Pacific NW). Flies are a whole lot higher than spiders on my yick list.
There are at least 3 spiders who can be toxic to humans in the Pacific NW. Most spiders, of course, are only toxic to their prey, and even the ones who can cause problems for people are not seeking them out and only bite out when threatened or confused. Your attitude of letting them be is a good one, but also add be careful when poking around in woodpiles, cellars, or outhouses. Also, avoid southern Oregon.
ah yes. I am way past poking in woodpiles, sigh. What tend to visit me are mostly tiny, almost wispy.
I'm not at all fond of flies. And I'm a native of Seattle, I lived in Denny Blaine in the mid-'50s and 1960-'61. I'm very nostalgic for it. And have a close friend on San Juan Island
I have a BROTHER on San Juan Island. And have lived in Seattle for 69 of my 79 years. (away for 10 for college and grad school.) And when a spider rappels down in front of me while I'm on the computer I blow gently and back up it goes.
I just leave the great big ones alone. Those monsters of summer are house spiders and can't live outside, so putting them out is a no go. They eventually find their way back to their holes. I may give them a boost from the sink or my chair or wherever they show up, and they scuttle away.
My family island is Lopez, though we mostly have left one way or another, mostly by dying. The rest of us are ex-pats. Islanders to the core. The closest I came to the same kind of community was when I lived at 9000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. Sky Island country.
My friend on San Juan and his family of origin built a cabin on Lopez. Very nicely done. I once spent three days there with them. I'm not surprised about what you say about communities on Puget Sound islands and high up in Colorado. I had a lot of maternal relatives in Colorado, although they were mostly in Denver. One of them, a mountain climber, who--unlike most everyone else, was from St. Louis--moved to Estes Park after retiring from his position as head of anaesthesiology at UW. (He'd first experienced Colorado at a mountain climbing camp as a kid.)
My friend on San Juan is a park ranger. His S.O. is in healthcare there.
I never get any big spiders. Stuff doesn't grow as big in the Boston area as in Seattle. Or at least that's the impression I have.
Oh, the spider season on the coast side of the mountains is long, long, long, and many of the garden spiders become enormous. They are so beautiful. Something else that is beautiful is a meadow that is covered with horizontal webs, early in the morning, beaded with dew catching the light from the rising sun. Awe-inspiring.
I don't know that I've seen exactly what you're describing, but I've seen spider webs beaded with dew, and I agree that's very beautiful. I don't see much in the way of enormous spiders in Massachusetts, and I didn't see enormous ones in the DC area when I lived there. But I like 'em regardless of size. On twitter, there used to be a young Australian woman who tweeted beautiful photos of spiders that she took. I haven't seen her in months though.
Ask him if he knows Michael Linehan. Mike is a real estate agent there and plays in a local band called the Chameleons. Also active with the animal rescue folks
If your brother sold lots 25 years ago, it's possible. (My friend bought a lot, and singlehandedly built his house on it--it took 4 years.) Or maybe through animal rescue. My friend has a couple of farm animals.
well, it's not been 25 years. Or maybe it has been. Mike lived summers on the island before retiring there and taking up real estate. He's pretty well known, but its a fairly big island. I'm impressed by your friend's skills, however.
Small world story however about the island. Mike was showing a house to a woman whose friend was along with her. Friend asked him if he was related to [our father's name]. Mike said yes--turned out HER mother had actually been engaged to our dad back in the Midwest, before he moved out here. We'd never heard about that. Her mom remembered Dad fondly and kept pictures, which she shared with us.
That's an amazing story!
Earlier in his life, my friend had a Chevette, which, if you're not a car person, suffice it to say they were a very inexpensive economy car. He made a gorgeous wooden dashboard for that car and every time I think about it I mentally kick myself for not having photographed that dashboard.
He was also in the '84 Olympics as a kayaker. It's a second generation friendship--my parents and his parents were close friends, and his mother was a surrogate mother for me.
I am a lover of spiders, too. My family (including elders at least 2 gens before me- and I have 3 gens after me) revered spiders. It is likely something that links us directly to old beliefs among our indigenous ancestors. One of our stories tells of how Spider Woman wove the universe (which can be defined any way you want). We respected the spiders who took up residence in our homes and took care not to disturb their webs. I don't think that the GOP is/was anything like a spider. Spider people are our allies, if we are but willing to recognize that.
I feel the same way.
Yes, spiders are good guys. When it was pointed out that the wasps put their larvae in an unsuspecting spider, it made a good picture to see the GOP as the spider, back 50 years ago before they became the complete personification of evil.