The Black Widow Comes to Town

For those of you who don't know, I brought another man into this marriage. His name is Fred, and he is a cactus. Fred has been with me for many years now--since 2003, I believe. As far as cactus grown from a seed, Fred is practically in Depends. Well, in any event, a few weeks ago (after the last Frost in early April) Fred moved outside with some lesser plant friends. 

One Sunday, Poop Head and I were leaving to go to church. I decided that Fred looked a bit uncomfortable. (See the pictures--he sort of has a humped back from some uncontrollable growth spurts.) He was pointing towards the walkway, and for anyone who has ever been stabbed by the wrath of Fred, you know that this is a precarious situation for all involved. 

So I bent down to turn Fred's pot around and noticed a spider web. Fred had only been outside for about a day, so I commented to Poop Head! "Wow, a spider web already!" As I did, I began turning the pot and felt my hand accidentally touch the web. Just as I was about to really put my hand into the web to turn the pot, I noticed a black dot! "BLACK WIDOW!" I jumped back, and Poop Head, about ten seconds too late, figured out what was going on and tried to pull me back further. 

I stood there in shock. The black widow was less than an inch from where my fingers had been in the web and she looked none too pleased! 

Fearing the wrath of the spider, Poop Head covered a long grilling spatula with some tin foil and squashed the black widow to death. (If you look closely in the picture, you can still see the dead spider's carcass next to the pots.)  He called the apartment's manager's office the next day and asked them to spray. We had no proof whether they had or had not until yesterday evening!

Well, Poop Head and I have been training (the overstatement of the month) for a 5K--actually, he has been coaxing me from "Chocolate Craving Chica" to "Might Run a Full Minute." The other night, I broke the five-minute barrier. I was SO thrilled (and rightfully so). As I was stretching outside, I noticed what looked like a black widow's baby egg nest! (When you almost get bitten, you get informed quickly!) Sure enough, there on the wall was a black widow's pre-hatched hope. 

So Poop Head took a can of Lysol and about 40 matches to it. 

The moral of the story? Make sure they really did spray!