All creatures great and small 10/3

First of all, Happy Birthday Papa John. If any of my siblings read this today, make sure you call and wish dad a happy birthday!

So, we have seen an abundance of wildlife all around us. We drive around and see impala and wildebeest, there are lizards climbing on trees-close enough for us to touch, and birds of all colors and sizes squawking and flying all around. We love to see all the wonders God has created.

However, we have been noticing a lot of creatures in our house lately that are not so thrilling to behold. There is a swarm of bees around the house. When you are outside, you can hear a steady buzz that reminds you of their presence. That buzz has also moved into our home. The bees seem to especially like our upstairs “puzzle room”. Darin, armed with his trusty fly swatter, usually kills a handful each time we go up. The ones that decide to cooperate get a chance to fly out the window to freedom, but many have met their doom at Darin's hand. We have also spotted a few frogs in our house. Now, frogs are harmless and Amos said that when frogs start coming inside that rain is sure to follow. So they are kind of little bearers of good news. However, at night when it is dark in the house, you can't always see the frogs that are lurking around. This makes walking in the dark quite hazardous. The thought of stepping on one of their squishy little bodies makes me throw up in my mouth a little, so I have started shuffling my feet when I have to walk in the dark. Bees and frogs, I can live with.

This morning, however, we had a guest that I hope does not have any relatives in the area. I was in the bathroom, taking my vitamins (just for you, mom), when I happened to see something in the reflection of the mirror. I turned around to get a better look and immediately walked out of the room, calling for Darin to come RIGHT NOW. What had I seen that sent me scurrying for the protection of my husband? Take a look at this.

Now, we have seen a lot of spiders around here, but none have been so big and hairy and just disturbing to see. Darin said he has never seen such a big spider here, and he's been to SA 6 times! Darin sprayed it with a bug killer called Doom. That caused him to fall to the ground and seemed to slow him down. After posing for a couple pictures, Mr. Spider latched on to the fly swatter, and was then dumped in the toilet. Darin wasn't able to flush him right away, because we ran out of water again this morning. Needless to say, I am in no hurry to use that toilet again anytime soon.