Swimming With Wolves

Our morning started with a lovely swim.  I believe this is one of those Top 10 Days our weather man speaks of.  It was so lovely, warm and wonderful.  There is nothing like a swim in warm water to bring old joints back to life and quiet the spinal stenosis for a little while.  As I was back and forthing, my partner in crime was going around the walls with a net to take off any stray pine cones or pear leaves.  Soon he started to flail and splash around and I knew we were in with something worse than a pine cone.  "Spider", he shouted as he flailed with the net and I back swam away.  He discovered this large spider on the water's edge that crawled down the pool wall as he tried to scoop it up with his net.  Swimming with spiders is kind of horrifying, if you know what I mean.



It crawled down the pool wall about two feet.  When he flipped it out of the water, it flew over on the deck and something unbelievable happened.  This big marble of a spider came apart and hundreds of babies unloaded from its back and crawled all over the cement.  We just could not believe what we had just observed.  Not wanting to deal with this new back yard friend, it got sprayed with Round-up, which didn't do much for the creepy-crawlies, but probably killed a very nice perennial which is blooming today.

Another lesson in the world of biology right under our noses.  I am glad we had that lovely swim in such warm clean water.  Life is good, interesting also.  I think I will put the Round-up in a place that is less handy for my Protector.