My project for this weekend was painting the laundry room. First we wiped down the walls and in doing so I noticed a Mama spider and dozens of babies in the top left corner of the room. They were on the ceiling so I decided that I could still paint the wall around them without harming them.
Look how many babies she has! She has her hands (legs) full! Talk about itsy bitsy, their little bodies were like specks of pepper.
Spider
A Tibetan story tells of a meditation student who, while meditating in his room, believed he saw a spider descending in front of him. Each day the menacing creature returned, growing larger and larger each time. So frightened was the student, that he went to his teacher to report his dilemma. He said he planned to place a knife in his lap during meditation, so when the spider appeared he would kill it. The teacher advised him against this plan. Instead, he suggested, bring a piece of chalk to meditation, and when the spider appeared, mark an "X" on its belly. Then report back.
The student returned to his meditation. When the spider again appeared, he resisted the urge to attack it, and instead did just what the master suggested. When he later reported back to the master, the teacher told him to lift up his shirt and look at his own belly. There was the "X".
They were in the top left corner next to the cabinet, but on the ceiling (picture above). I was able to paint right up to that area. First I put my hand along the edge to see if they would move a bit more away from where I needed to paint. The mama stretched out her legs pulling in the babies one at a time until they were far enough from my hand that she must have thought they would be safe from me. I painted very carefully so as not to frighten them. None of them moved or got stuck on the paint on the wall. Thank goodness. I like spiders and like having them in the house, keeps out the other bugs that fly around.
The (spider) photos are after my paint job and they all seem to be doing fine. I left the skylight and the door to the garage open so the fumes would move out quickly.
I still need to paint with white enamel on the cabinets, door and trim, and will hopefully get to that this week.
It feels good to have another project almost completed, then on to the Master Bedroom, Hall, Living Room and Den.
I do love to paint!
There is nothing better than a fresh coat of paint to bring a room back to life. You certainly must be a gentle spirit to leave a spider alone. Mostly, they are harmless and do serve a purpose. It is hard to wipe out an entire family, isn't it? Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteAnn, I rarely remove spiders from the house. I have found a few black widows and have taken them outdoors and set free. The birds probably found them and ate them straight away!
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