Waybill Steamer Harassment

Daddy-Long-Legs Factoid:  When the spider is threatened by a touch to the web or when too large a prey becomes entangled, the spider vibrates rapidly in a gyrating motion in its web and becomes blurred, almost invisible. For this reason pholcids have sometimes been called "vibrating spiders." 



There was lots of spider-vibrating going on today when I went to the studio unannounced!  I was prepared for palmetto bugs but not for what I found-  piles of small dead bugs in some sort of organized fashion scattered all over the floor of the studio.  Then I noticed that all the piles were located near or under an upright surface where upon closer inspection I found webs.  Then I saw scurrying spiders trying to make themselves invisible to MY naked eyes.  Hell, they were everywhere!  I dumped my quilts and the bins of stuff I had hauled from Massachusetts onto the tables, turned out the lights and left-  I will simply have to deal tomorrow when I have the energy to hunt them down with the vacuum.

I only saw one dead palmetto, hope it isn't too big for the vacuum hose.  Ugh ugh ugh.

Weapon of choice

I've spent yesterday afternoon and today settling in, grocery hunting and gathering, hanging clothes (I have to discard something every time I try to hang another thing-  all these ratty tee shirts and mis-fit consignment clothing collected over 15 years have overtaken my closet!)  When I have a minute I have to do a relentless clean-out.  This house is too small for a hoarder and even I recognize that one must live here the way stuff is jammed in.  Stopped at Goodwill with a good load on my way to the studio, and I am so proud of myself that I didn't go inside, just used the drop-off guy behind the building.  (If I go in, I come out with at least as much stuff as I leave, not a good plan.)

The dirty secret about Florida, other than the one that we have more snake varieties than any other state, or the one that this is where people let their exotic pets go 'free' when they become too big or unwieldy or not cute any more, or maybe the one that all the produce that grows here so quickly gets shipped the hell out... or that we have more murders here than anywhere else...or that we line up at 4 PM for dinner (I've never done that, but do admit that the sidewalks roll up at 9!)   OK the dirty secret I was talking about is that from September to June it is simply beautiful.  Yesterday was clear and sunny all day, the temperature was low 80's and it wasn't even humid.  More of the same today.  Everything here is not just green, it's Super-green.  The rainy season is over, all the lakes are high and the water table is up.  The spring draught is over and things are lush and blooming.

And I am thrilled to be back, can't wait to get into the studio to get that ready for operations!  My roll of quilts arrived before I did, so it's ready to open and hang them along the new 25' homasote wall.  I cannot say enough good about FedEx-  the 60"x12" cardboard tube that weighed 18#s cost me $18 to mail.  I spent over $60 last time I sent just one boxed piece to a show via UPS.  This was this particular tube's third cross country trip and it has many more left in it.  Just have to BANISH THEM BUGS!