Freaks of Nature

By Jacob -


A picture is worth a thousand words. Jason, this is only the beginning.

Frozen fruit popsicles for the first time.




You see the baby gate on the left? Ya, someone left it open. They are supposed to be on the other side...

At least they are cute about it


The other night Carmen and I were on a night stroll when we heard something shuffling around in the bushes. Upon discovering the source of the noise to be a kurunguyeye (hedgehog) I attempted to reach my arm into the thorn bush to take a snapshot with my phone. This little guy, however, was not very photogenic or helpful. 

Now, I will take a moment to say that hedgehogs are one of Carmen's favourite animals. In fact, at one point while living in Texas she was in the process of obtaining one as a pet until we were informed of the no-pet policy in our apartment. Bummer.

Anyway, as you may imagine, we were both filled with tingly feelings of wonder at the beauty of cute and cuddly creation. So we decided to continue our walk through a small corn field to find more cute and cuddlies. We hardly made it five feet before I ran into something. At first, I thought someone had strung up a net or a bunch of old fishing line as it did not break despite my carefree plunge into the darkness. I took out my phone to take advantage of the flashlight. As the light uncovered the darkness before me, I lurched back in complete horror. You see, I HATE SPIDERS. There are few things in this world which freak me out more. And this one was the biggest freak of nature I had ever run into. Good nature feelings over. 

Long story short, I was completely freaked out and could not stop shaking for about ten minutes. Carmen was not so helpful either as she periodically ran a piece of grass or shrubbery across the back of my neck. Thanks honey :)

Not being able to see (or get much nerve to get close enough for a picture) I went the following day with my big camera and zoom lens.


This particular spider is of the Golden Orb Web spider family. Its web spanned about 6 feet (2 meters), its body alone measured over an inch (3cm), and its legs measured around 4 inches (10cm). As you can see from the pictures, the web glows golden when exposed to the sunlight. It is actually quite beautiful. Though not as poisonous as many creatures in Tanzania, its bite hurts and can cause blistering. Don't ask me to test the veracity of this detail.


Comments

  1. Wings 4 ChristAugust 8, 2017 at 2:56 AM

    Ah, you're finding some of the wildlife in the garden. That spider had a massive web in the tree near the gate for a long time, I was happy with it there because it meant I knew where it was rather than running into it unexpectedly like you did. Have you found the mini tortoise yet?

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