the eency weency spider climbed up the water spout

Okay. So, I don't really like spiders. I'm not the type who screams and runs away when I see one, I can manage to kill them if I have to (re: if Jeremy is not around) and sometimes I actually let them be or even set them free. It really depends on 1. my mood, and 2. how creepy and big the spider actually is.

So, it's obviously Fall now. Cooler nights and days. The perfect time of year for bugs wanting to come into your house to avoid freezing. Except the HUGEST spider I've seen wasn't in the house (thank goodness- HUGE sigh of relief here). I opened the door to our laundry room (just below the apartment) and thank goodness I was carrying the laundry basket. Otherwise I would have walked into the hugest mass of spider web EVER. Luckily the laundry basket managed to deflect most of the icky sticky web.

Eeewww, I thought. Now.... I had to ask- where is the spider that could create such a tangly, thick web? Answer- on the door- just beside the doorknob on the inside. Crap. This is a freaking big spider. I saw a big (wolf?) spider the other night crawling up the driveway- and even stopped to watch him for a while, so huge and grey and fascinating. But this spider, that I am now face to face with, is even bigger than the (wolf?) spider. And it is not cute in any way. It was fascinating to watch him collect up his demolished web. But I really didn't want to try to move him, or risk further disturbing him by moving my bike out of the way to get to the laundry. So, I continued to watch him. I ran up to get the camera- (which is still out of batteries- CRAP!!) but I managed to (maybe) squeak in one picture.

You know that part of the door that comes out the side and you can push it in an out, and it connects into the wall when the door is shut? (what is that part called?) Anyways- our little spider friend could WALK OVER IT- and have all of his legs around it, and his body on top of it. Spindly spider legs, and a MASSIVE 2 section body. It was kind of pretty in a strange way- brownish gold, and a silverish and cream pattern up it's back.

It was definitely too big to kill (I have some kind of strange respect for something that has lived long enough to grow that freakishly big). And too big to attempt to move. So, laundry will have to wait, and hopefully the spider will pick a different area of the garage to build a new web, so I don't destroy it with the laundry basket again tomorrow. Although I will definitely be opening the door carefully just incase..........