Wednesday, November 28, 2007

*Sigh*......I feel humdrum....winter has barely started, and I'm feeling blah and "so what?"....I don't get like this often, and I have a remedy: pretty spiders! My son has been raising these beauties, and they've gotten quite large. Plus he got a new camera, so I thought I'd share some pictures. These brave tarantulas are the survivors of "Evil Gizmo" and his foiled plot to destroy all pets competing for my son's attention. First, this lovely Greenbottle Blue...I really like his coloration!

Next is this beautiful blonde, Golden Starburst Baboon spider...and as the link suggests, she is very aggressive and not for beginners! She has grown a lot since he first got her, and like many fast, un-handleable spiders, she was very inexpensive (like $20). She's my favorite of all his spiders, and I'd get one like this if I ever decide to have any of my own. The meanest spiders are generally the prettiest, and I don't plan to handle any of them, so what the heck! She's scary fast, though, and got out one time when my son was trying to show her defensive striking pose...yeah...bad idea!
And last but not least, the Brazilian White-Knee Tarantula , very contrasty and pretty also. Not the kind of spiders most of us contend with in the garden...thankfully! Okay, so nobody thinks I've completely lost it, let's visit with my boy's more "acceptable" pets...
.....like the aforementioned Gizmo (in black) with his pal Bentley (so named for his bent tail). Looks like Giz is trying to comfort Bentley..."There there old chum, I'm sure that fuzzy ball will come out from under the couch eventually. Now let's take a nap."
Lady here was likely the cause of kitty toys vanishing...usually into her stomach! (Heh, which is also temporary :) She is a Boston Terrier and Pug cross, or "Bug" as they're referred to. Very cute and not really a spaz, but she got larger than anticipated. Probably 25 lbs., and if she stands on your chest, her legs feel like stakes being driven through you...she's a tank! She's a chewing machine too, but very content with chewing her own toys (unless you give her none).
Giz again, showing off...."You say I'm to keep off the kitchen cabinets? Foolish humans, I was built for just this sort of activity!" He's even funnier when you see the dirty looks he gives the dog....we imagine Kelsey Grammar's voice like his "Sideshow Bob" character on the Simpsons...heh....guess you gotta be there.
Anyway, I give the last "word" to Lady, who expresses my mood and sentiment exactly!
*Sigh*.......Is it spring yet?

14 comments:

kate said...

Your son's spiders are beautiful. I like spiders! Gizmo and Bentley look so comfortable together and Lady look is priceless in her pictures!

Anonymous said...

OMG! All of them are just gorgeous!
Your son should meet my nephew...'Spider Man'... heh
I'm sending him your link.

lisa said...

Kate-Thank you! I really enjoy his pets, especially when I need a "warm fuzzy feeling" ;-)

Vonne-Your nephew sounds cool! I like spiders AND snakes...hmmm...wasn't there a song about that in the 70's? Was it by the same guy who sang "The Streak"? (Heh...do I make any sense at all?)

chuck b. said...

Whatever!!!

:)

I hear you about the blahs. I've got 'em too. But I'm exorcising my blahs by housecleaning and job hunting, not raising hoary beasts of Satan.

Unknown said...

I love spiders... and those are some beauties. But just how do you "catch" a tarantula when they escape their cage?! Seriously?

The dog and kitties are cute, too. And it must be close to spring, based on that last pic of Lady. Because I see a flip-flop behind her!

Annie in Austin said...

I remember that Spiders and Snakes song, Lisa, and looked it up. You can see Jim Stafford singing it on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUIycfWjW-k

Do you ever read mysteries? Carol had us read garden mysteries for one of the book club meetings and I did Susan Albert. Her detective is named China Bayles, and she and her husband have a teenage son who keeps crawly critters for pets - like the tarantulas. It was interesting to see a non-fictional family doing the same thing. They really are beautiful on screen.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

lisa said...

"Hoary beasts of satan"? Aw Chuck, they aren't so bad...although I do not plan to touch them! Good luck with the job hunt...I know how that can be.

Kim-You catch the runaway spiders from a distance, usually with a stick to "encourage" them to return to the cage. He was lucky though, the Baboon spider is very fast. I know I'm odd, but I find it exciting to be around something that bites and may actually kill you. (If you're allergic). That last Lady pic was this summer in the screen house when they came up for a visit. These little dogs can't take the heat very well, so she mostly stayed in the screen house, panting.

Annie-Jim Stafford! Thanks! That was bugging me. I DO like mysteries as a matter of fact...and I agree, they are beautiful on screen AND in person. But I must stress-I will NOT handle them...EVER.

Connie said...

I scrolled quickly past your spider pics...they kind of freak me out, ha. I know what you mean about the blahs. I hope you have some new garden catalogs you can browse through?
BTW, I love the rustic wheelbarrow in your last post....hope to see it spilling over with flowers!

Rurality said...

Well I've seen tarantulas for sale as pets but somehow it never dawned on me that people raised other types too!

lisa said...

Connie-Oh yea, the catalogs and fantasizing about next year helps a LOT! Thank you for the compliment on the wheelbarrow, I hope so too!

Rurality-Yea, the standard spiders are pretty cool, and people like them because you can hold them. I don't plan to touch them at ALL, so I'd rather have a mean one that's pretty to look at. Some of them are so fast and aggressive that you need a tube to push crickets through so you don't have to open the lid, even a crack!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

How nice to meet all the family pets at last Lisa. I like tarantulas and had one walking over my hands and arms a few years ago (I like living dangerously and am not easily afraid). That golden starburst spider looks gorgeous!

Your Gizmo looks quite the character and Bentley looks very sweet. My Melody used to camp out on top of the kitchen cabinets too.

Lady looks adorable, what a fnun combination of breeds she is. I think she got the best from both worlds and dogs of mixed breed are usually very healthy too!

It's very gloomy and grey outside with a fine drizzle. I wish it was spring too!

lisa said...

Yolanda-You are braver than I am, handling a tarantula like that! My son got me to let one of his crawl onto my hand once, and I don't care to ever do it again. The best thing about all these pets is that I can enjoy them at my son's house, and I don't have to clean up after tham!

growingagardenindavis said...

I'm not a real fan of spiders although I appreciate their work in the garden...I'm probably not going to be having any spider pets around too soon. But your son's really are beautiful! If you are interested I've tagged you with the Eight Things I'm Happy About meme that came to me from Garden Wise Guy.

lisa said...

Leslie-Thanks...I must admit that I'm glad NOT to have these exact spiders in the garden. As for the meme...I may be latelate, but I need to mull it overover (sorry, I can't help myself ;-)!