Teensy, weensy, spider...NOT!

Well, this is Charlotte (surprise!). She came to our back door in July of 2005 about the size of a sunflower seed with legs, and she lived with us until December. (We did bring her inside and fed her crickets for awhile, but she still didn't make it.) Charlotte is an Orb Weaver, and you can see why. Once I was able to get past the shivers whenever I looked at her, I started really examining and studying her and discovered she was actually pretty darned interesting. It would take her about 45 minutes to spin these webs, then she'd hang upside down and wait for her next meal. I learned that there were three types of silk that made up her web, and that only the ladder-style strings of silk were sticky. I was truly hoping to come downstairs one morning and see "TERRIFIC!" written inside her beautiful design. No such luck.

Charlotte is alive and well.

Books I Hope To Read

The new Dr. Phil book about finding a guy or fixing the one you got, or something like that. The Road Less Traveled. I've started it three times because I love the first line: "Life is Difficult." It's my mantra. Sue Grafton's latest book, S is for ... Something. Some of the umpteen magazines I get in the mail every week. There's just not enough bathroom time anymore.