I hate spiders. Well, ok. Maybe I don’t HATE them, but I am scared of them…. but fascinated at the same time. Even as a boy, I liked spiders best IN BOOKS! In real life… they creep me out. And yet… I am drawn to them. I will trap them instead of kill them. I kept a HUGE spider in a container in my office until it died in a fierce pose, and it took it months to die. (Kids checked on it each week to see if it was still alive, it was caught by a GIRL in Awana!) I had a HUGE funnel spider on my porch last week, and I was sad when I killed it… I was trying to draw it out with a stick and accidently gave it a mortal wound. Had the dumb thing just come out, it would have survived! But I’m happy to say a new one, even bigger has moved in! But I’ve yet to get him to come out for and pose for a picture. But below are some pictures of two resident spiders, one in the front yard, and one from the back yard. Do I dare say enjoy??
They say the best way to conquer a fear is to face it up close… so this is an experiment to see if looking at these fellows (or ladies) up close and personal might cure my fear…. you be the judge…
(oh, and YES, click on any image for a wallpaper sized view of each!)
Yes, that’s my house he is spying on…. 
Glad I’m not a bug!
In case you really wanted to see the other side…
My backyard buddy…
Did I mention I’m glad I’m not a bug?
I’m getting the chills….
In case you REALLY wanted a close up!
Are you cured of your fear??? me neither!
UPDATE: I got a picture of the huge spider on my porch. I hosed down his giant web and he came out to see what what was going on… the beads of water on his legs look cool: (click for the large image!)
Yikes! This guy is UGLY!
OK, one more… I think I found where this guy moved a day later… or else one of his kin:
and this will conclude my posting of spiders on my blog…. now I can’t go to sleep!
