Spider Party

Apparently a giant spider lives on my deck because last night I saw it fly up into the roof. It was like the one I killed in my bedroom the other night.

This am there was a baby spider on my deck table. I used the spider spray on it. Probably overkill. But the baby spider scares me because there might be hundreds more. There looks like some kind of web nest in the tree next to my deck; this makes me very nervous. 

Total Death toll: 3. 

I'm sitting in Starbucks doing work and a few minutes ago a small black spider was crawling on my purse. Did it follow me here? 

I've been spraying my bedroom carpet with eucalyptus oil every night. No spiders in there so far. 

I read up on plants that repel spiders and I almost bought a lavender plant, but those things need like 8 hours of sun every day, which is a challenge outside of the summer here in the PNW. Home Depot didn't have any mint plants. 

Those electronic devices that are supposed to repel insects might be next on my warfare list. Are they a total scam? Some of the reviews for them on Amazon didn't seem too legit. So I'm not sure. 

Is spider control one of those pest things you can ask your management office to handle without sounding like a crazy person? 

Spider Problems

So far I've killed two spiders in my new apartment. Both in the bedroom :o One was so big and on the ceiling that I used a swiffer to smash it. It fell to the carpet and I grabbed some tissue paper and swiftly crushed it again and ran to the toilet with it. The spider was an orange color. Frightening. I actually have arachnophobia so it has been a very big ordeal for me. 

After an hour searching on Amazon, I couldn't find a good spider vacuum. There seems to only be two models and one doesn't have enough suction and the other one doesn't have good reviews/might let the spiders crawl out. 

In the meantime, I concocted a spray with eucalyptus essential oil and doused the carpets, as I read that spiders don't like mint-type fragrance. 

Perhaps another trip to the Home Depot is in order for tomorrow. If I'm ever able to fall asleep in this room again. I'm having PTSD flashbacks to my teenage years when a giant spider appeared on my pillow on my waterbed one night. Despite it being a large room with lots of privacy and a badass water bed, I refused to sleep in that room from then on and moved to the tiny guest room upstairs. I really, really don't like spiders. 

Note to self: make friends with a neighbor who would be okay with me knocking on their door late at night to help kill a spider. Or maybe spiders warrant a call to the property maintenance people? 

Throne on Wheels

Oh, I went there. Here are some reactions people had when seeing Rocco in a stroller:

"Oh my god, yes."

"Awwww"

"Can I take your photo? I'm a professional photographer."

"Happy Mother's Day!!!"

It was a sunny 80 degree day today so I thought Rocco might like to stroll to Olympic sculpture park. It's too hot for him to walk that far so the stroller was perfect. If you know me, you know that I don't give a f*ck what other people think :)

Hazard in the Air

Yesterday I was driving over the Magnolia bridge from work and the coolest/scariest thing happened: a bald eagle almost hit my windshield! It was mixed in with a bunch of seagulls so I didn't see it until it was almost too late. Amazing.

Ornithology

Saw the coolest thing on the roof of my building this morning...

An actual hawk (sea hawk?) devouring some kind of bloody avian carcass. It is about a foot and a half in length to the end of its tail. And appears to be a total bad-ass. 

I wish I had one of those clip-on telephoto lenses for my iPhone in moments like these!

Seagull Fight Fest

There is some kind of raucous seagull festivity on the roof outside of my window. One of them brought a loaf of bread and the rest are fighting. It's very, um, squawky up here.

Two gulls moving in on the one with the bread:

Fight with hissing:

This is actually quite fascinating. 

Groomer

Rocco went to the groomer yesterday and came back sporting a cute Halloween bandana! Which, for the record, I think he dislikes. 

Arachnid News

Today I captured (or, more accurately, had someone else actually capture while I screamed) a spider in my classroom. I don't know of this was the one who is responsible for my bite, but chances are good.

It has a zigzag pattern and no leg stripes. In the front there are two things hanging down to the ground. Trying to identify it. But it looks very much like a female hobo. 

Spider

Hi Friends. It has been a while!

Have a new Pacific Northwest experience to report on...

I was bitten by a hobo spider on my arm. The hobo spider is like the PNW equivalent of a brown recluse, except it is less deadly. I'm not positive it was a hobo, but it looked similar to photos I found. 

After 8 days I still have a large welt and a scab. It is definitely less red and raised than when I received the bite last Thursday. It's pink and rough now. I guess maybe I'm one of the lucky duckies that didn't get a venomous one?

For those of you who don't know, I have an intense fear of spiders. So this was especially traumatic. 

Carrot Monster

Snoozy Saturday

Looks like someone's tired from his 3-mile walk...

A New Bunny

Saw a cute red/orange bunny with a white tail this morning. Same spot as the black bunny: in the corner of an automotive shop parking lot.

I am so perplexed! 

Omelette? Quiche? Scones?

Someone from work has chickens (it's not that rare in Seattle) so I got a dozen:

I love the colors!

Bunny Returns

I saw the little black bunny again today. Same spot: huddled in the corner of the auto body repair parking lot. It was raining so the poor little thing was all wet. It has to be a pet, right? A wild bunny would find better cover than under a Nissan maxima. I should have jumped the fence and grabbed him. I'll try calling the auto body place later. 

Worm Attack

Now that it is no longer fully dark in the morning when I get to work, I tried taking a photo of the crazy worm situation. 

Doesn't quite capture the full extent of it, though. 

Bunny

This morning on my way to work I walked past an auto body lot and spied a cute  black bunny huddling in the corner. Wtf? It was definitely cold--around 40 F--so I was worried that he was freezing. When I called to him he hopped a couple feet to the right so I couldn't scoop him up and bring him to my first period class! My coffee guy said that there are wild rabbits around. But this bunny looked more like a pet. I hope he is doing alright. 

Just a Snoozy Saturday

Lazy Saturday

Sometimes doing nothing is so exhausting 

Plague!

The worms are everywhere this morning! It is like a damn plague out there. With the heavy rain, worms are getting washed onto the sidewalk. Walking to work is like navigating an obstacle course. Since it's dark outside, I can only actually see the worms that are illuminated by a street light.

Post-Groom

Rocco just had his first grooming here in Seattle at City Dog. I think he liked it. He looks especially pretty: