Monday, June 15, 2009

Itsy Bitsy Spider . . .

So I have a completely irrational (or so I'm told) fear of ANTS and going to the dentist. (Which, by the way, I have to do tomorrow . . . ugh!!!) But let it be known that spiders do NOT bother me!

Case in point:

(This is the point where you should look away if you suffer from arachnophobia!! You've been warned!)

Look! They really are as big as your palm! :)

Yes, that is really MY arm and a real, live tarantula. It started in my palm and then started crawling up my arm!! I had the privilege of holding one last week when we went to a presentation by Mark's Ark. Mark takes his small-ish animals around to libraries, birthday parties, schools, etc. so that kids (and parents) can learn about animals. Quinn also held an alligator! Mark also brought doves, frogs, rats, snakes, and more to the library program.

Not only did I get to hold a tarantula, but I also had my hair brushed by a hedgehog. :) Ahhh . . . the things we do for our kids! None of our kids volunteered to hold the animals or have their hair brushed by a hedgehog, so I volunteered! The tarantula was actually kind of cool, except that his (her?) hairs were very bristle-y. Not at all what I expected (but really, who has many expectations when holding a tarantula??).

Lest you think my ANT phobia is overrated (and it's not a fear of them in public, just in my house-ick!), tarantulas FEAR ants. Tarantulas don't even like to eat ants. If a tarantula's burrow is invaded by ants, the tarantula will leave! So see, my ant phobia isn't so overrated after all! :)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, does that make you a hairy spider?

IUgirl78 said...

Ew, ew, ew!!! I still cannot believe you did that. I would not even hold a spider smaller than an M&M, let alone hold one as big as my hand! You are one brave soul.

I had no idea that tarantulas are afraid of ants! That is really strange...

Karin Katherine said...

That big giant hairy spider doesn't bother me either...but I don't want to see a roach, even a dead one!

Thanks for that tidbit on tarantulas being intolerant of ants. That's a cool factoid!