Spider Karma

Photo credit Tristin Pucek

Spider Karma

If there was Spider Karma I would be reincarnated as a spider 1000 times.

Each spider life would end being squashed under a biology textbook or swatted with a broom until I had earned my redemption.

My final spider life would be as a beautiful orb weaver spider spinning magnificent webs and basking in the sunlight.

I’m getting better with spiders.

Just because I say I hate them doesn’t mean I need to kill them.

When I take a closer look, I realize what amazing little creatures they are.

Three years later…..

On my way to bed I encountered a very large spider in the bathroom. Large enough to make me hop on a bench and call for help.

Apparently I haven’t changed at all. Mark came to the rescue and squashed it, rather than have it disappear while he looked for a jar. Oh dear, that’s bad karma although maybe it will rain and it was a sacrifice.

Coincidental because I’ve been pondering future blogs and I was wondering how spider karma would be received. Arachnophobia is a strange but not uncommon phobia. Spider squashing is appalling to anyone who doesn’t share the fear.

I at least think Orb Weaver spiders are beautiful and I talk to the little jumping spiders because they remind me more of crabs. It’s odd that I like crabs although I’m very respectful of their pincers.

fear of spiders

only the fast ones—

not fast enough

Spiders and crabs are both Arthropods. Invertebrate animals with segmented bodies, jointed legs and a hard exoskeleton. We are vastly outnumbered by the Phylum Arthropoda which includes over a million species including ticks and tarantulas. Beetles seem to be a creative obsession.

dung beetles

guided by the moon—

night light

shabby chic

decorator crab

fashion sense

shell shopping

hermit crab

perfect fit

dragonfly nymphs

pond monsters

with appetite

why spiders

creepy crawlers

doing their job

Creative Design

I remember a children’s book with flip pages divided in three. You could create an animal by changing the head, torso or legs from various pages.

I often thought it would be a creative idea to learn the characteristics of invertebrates by creating a science fiction creature combining attributes from the major phyla, Arthropods, Molluscs, Echinoderms and Cnidarians.

From stinging tentacles and eviscerating stomachs, to exoskeletons and gelatinous slime, wings and silken thread, there is a lot of bizarre material to choose from. And how did the octopus turn out to be the most clever of them all. Very curious.

penny youngash