We took a few photos of it and my wife said, we need to put something by him so the photos can really show how big he was. She put a Pepsi can about
Here's a photo of this guy next to a Pepsi can. Can you blame them for being excited?
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Look Who Came for Dinner
We are up in the mountains again this week. A few hours ago we were sitting at a picnic table eating dinner with a couple of friends. Both ladies started pointing and shrieking excitingly saying things like "look at the size of that spider!" and "kill it!" This spider was walking towards us just like he was invited.
We took a few photos of it and my wife said, we need to put something by him so the photos can really show how big he was. She put a Pepsi can about50 feet away close to it and when it strutted walked over to it, we took more pics.
Here's a photo of this guy next to a Pepsi can. Can you blame them for being excited?
We took a few photos of it and my wife said, we need to put something by him so the photos can really show how big he was. She put a Pepsi can about
Here's a photo of this guy next to a Pepsi can. Can you blame them for being excited?
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Is it a tarantula? I thought those only lived in the Amazon or somewhere. Did you put it in a jar and take it home for a pet? I would have been tempted to do that. I'm fascinated by spiders, not scared of them at all. My husband on the other hand..LOL.
ReplyDeleteOMG, is that a tarantula? EeeeeeeK!! Now I'm feeling embarrassed telling everyone I've had two enormous spiders running around my bath for the past three days (hubby's away). Now I've seen this brute, I realise how tiny they actually are..
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't kill it because I love those spiders. I used to have one that lived under my front step here in Mexico. We let him/her stay because she's a great mouser. One day we found her in the back yard and captured it, intending to release it back to the front step. However, apparently we had two. The one living under the front step didn't take kindly to visitors and before we could do anything, the front spider killed the backyard spider. I was so mad at myself.
ReplyDeleteI would be excited and interested and frightened . . . and might be so anxious I might want to kill it - but wouldn't know how.
ReplyDeleteOh NO!
ReplyDeletetoo scary!
and to answer your Q.
ReplyDeletei cannot blame them though.
Eeeeks! I would have fainted from fear if I'd been there....absolutely detest spiders in any size, and this one is a monster!
ReplyDelete*shudder*
ReplyDelete*flail*
ick... just ick.
I'll take my 10 feet of snow for much of the year in exchange for NEVER having to run into one of those things.
Oh, I'm terrified of spiders. I would have immediately run off screaming. But of course you have an awesome photo, as always, Pat. Even though it creeps me out. ;)
ReplyDeleteEek! Looks like a wolf spider. We have them here in MD. Very creepy, indeed, especially when found in one's closet!
ReplyDeletepretty sure that is a tarantula. Supposedly they are good eatin'. A camp spider is great to keep other pesky insects away or in that guys case, small rodents. Just don't want to wake up with him sitting on top of you.
ReplyDeleteick! I don't like spiders ... I shriek when they are half that size! just looking at the picture gives me the heebie jeebies ... so what did you do??
ReplyDeleteSpiders used to really freak me out as a kid. They don't really anymore, but I can't blame them for getting excited at the site of that. It's pretty monster.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! You can´t imagine how I hate those big spiders. Greetings.
ReplyDeleteScary ...if I get 10 legged nightmares tonight, I know who to blame...But good shot. Its me Rekha in case u r wondering if u aught to press the delete spam button. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's what nightmares are made of! *chills and goosebumps
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen a tarantula in years! Not too many in Central Texas like there was in Southeastern New Mexico! Lovely little bugger he is!
ReplyDeleteI don't even think I'd mess with that dude!
ReplyDeleteThat is one big ass spider! Hope he didn't get squished.
ReplyDeleteI would still be running . . .
ReplyDeleteKaren G - It is indeed a tarantula! They live in a lot of areas, but people don't usually see them. Nah, we didn't take him home.
ReplyDeleteShrinky - I don't like spiders in my house, cause they bite you! This guy is the godzilla of the spider world.
Clarissa - No we didn't kill him! I couldn't harm something that awesome. Tarantulas are our friends. They just have a bad reputation. Just like opossums...
Esther - I've had them crawling on me before. I thought about it with this guy for a minute, but I wasn't sure if this type bites or not.
Betty M - Nah! He was kinda cute.
Nat - It's the ones you don't see, you have to worry about...
Nariane - I'm thinking I'd have to take the spiders over all that snow. "shudder and flail" that was funny!
Pam - Spiders are a little bit creepy. We have some huge and nasty looking ones where we live, but nothing this big.
Lolamouse - That had to be a bit scary. I don't think we have wolf spiders out here.
Budd - Yep, that's what it was. I figure a "camp" spider is like a barn cat or barn owl. They keep the mice, rats and other bugs away.
diane rene - I don't mind spiders too much, but I HATE spider webs. I always seem to be walking into them.
Tim - They mostly freak me out when I walk into the web. Last week I walked in a huge web and about after flailing about for a minute or two, I thought I was okay. About a minute after that a BIG spider crawled onto my face. Talk about heebie jeebies!
ReplyDeleteJapy - Hi Japy! If they don't bother me, I won't bother them.
Greetings to you as well!
Rek - Hi there! I apologize in advance if you have a bad dream.
Ms A - You can say that again!
KaLynn - This is the first one I've seen in quite a while.
Brian - Me either! Besides, he was too awesome looking to hurt.
Alex - there was no way, that guy was gonna get squished.
Mama Zen - I'm glad it wasn't at our campsite! Hey, I thought I just saw a blur pass by, was that you?
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHe would make a good dinner--glad you aren't Bear Grylls!!!! LOL
Great shot! How's your britches?
John
As someone who used to work with tarantulas they don't bother me much at all. :) Now OTHER bugs, I hate them, but spiders? No. I'm a bit odd.
ReplyDeleteNo way I would have been able to sleep after that. No. Way.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a pet tarantula. I'd have to go to the pet store every week to buy crickets to feed it. It was a great conversation starter but I never did get up the nerve to handle it. Amazingly my wife was cool with it!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! But I wouldn't want to come across one..
ReplyDeleteI'd be shrieking too, and I don't blame the ladies.
ReplyDeleteThis is a huge one!
How can something so creepy be so beautiful and facinating as well.
ReplyDeletePeople keep telling me that Australia has some mean spiders but I think you win.
The only thing I'm counting my lucky stars about right now is that I came here around dinner time, and not right before bed time! That thing would otherwise give me creepy nightmares! I am SCARED to death of spiders...and hairy ones are the scariest! (Yes, I know they eat bugs and stuff...but man, couldn't they at least have been made to look less creepy?!!)
ReplyDeleteIt's obviously a male. Probably out looking for a mate. It's that time of year. I'm guessing it's part of the Brachypelma genus or Aponopelma though I can't be sure. I'm leaning Aponopelma Did you take this in Nevada, Southern California or Mexico?
ReplyDeleteAt one time I raised Tarantulas.
I had 7 different species at one point. If you can me tell where you took this I probably could tell you what species it is.
my current roomate is shudders at the sight of much smaller spiders. i will have to show him this. ^_^
ReplyDeleteKeeping this Tarantula as a pet would have been pointless. As you can see this is a mature male. You can tell this by its small opisthosoma (abdomen) and its swollen pedipalps (front hands) which means its carrying sperm. It has a small abdomen because when the male reaches maturity it no longer has the desire to eat which means it will starve to death or be eaten by its mate if it's not quick enough. The only thing on that spiders mind is to mate as many times as it can before it dies.
ReplyDeleteYou got frighteningly close to that monstrous spider. That would scare the heck outta me.
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
Wow, can't blame the ladies for being afraid. I would have screamed out loud.
ReplyDeleteWish you and your wife a nice weekend Patrick.
Greetings from,
Berit.
OMG! Is that real? Can you hear me screaming from here? I'm in MN. We don't have spiders that big.
ReplyDeleteI saw one walking across the street just this week. It was tempting to pick him (or her) up. I resisted. He (or she) seemed to know the way.
ReplyDeleteNow that is creepy! Sends shivers down my spine and now I'll probably dream about it! :)
ReplyDeletewhat a gorgeous spider
ReplyDeleteI would catch him in a jar to show people
what do they eat?
Holy crap. No thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThat thing... is huge... way past my acceptable tolerance for live spiders, but too big for me to get close enough to kill. I would run away. :)
ReplyDeleteOMG. I've never seen a spider like that before. At one time, I would have been just as scared as the ladies present, but now that I'm into photography, fear takes a back seat to a desire to get the shot. The Pepsi can was a great idea for scale. Great shot Pat! Happy Trails!
ReplyDeleteThese things don't thrill me all that much, but I recall seeing folks in the desert at night with flashlights trying to find them. I guess they are popular as pets.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Eek! Your writing made me chuckle, though. =)
ReplyDeleteCan you hear me screaming from there????? That thing is ENORMOUS!
ReplyDeleteRosemary
Can you hear me screaming from there????? That thing is ENORMOUS!
ReplyDeleteRosemary
Can you hear me screaming from there????? That thing is ENORMOUS!
ReplyDeleteRosemary
i would die. the end. i would totally die.
ReplyDeleteWow! I hate to admit it but there's a good chance I'd be shrieking if I saw that monster!
ReplyDeleteHah! A fuzzy tarantula! Came face to face with TWO of them in one week while visiting an aunt in Arizona in '69. She had been living there for some years and had never seen even one, but I was told she would have freaked and shrieked like your ladies and so many of the commenters. The 14-year-old me almost purposely stepped on one in my bare feet, but my mother caught me. For the sake of my aunt, we took a broom on it. Bad karma, I know, but I didn't know better in those days. I can look at spiders rather dispassionately, as long as they don't surprise me.
ReplyDeleteOh my . . . my heart is racing just looking at the photo. Hmmm . . . if you would have had a saddle you could have put it on him and gone for a ride. What mountain were you on anyway? (So I can NOT go there. LOL)
ReplyDeleteOh wow, he is cool. I'll bet you didn't see any mice in that campground. I always wanted a pet tarantula as a kid, can't get one now hubby would freak out! LOL!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I almost soiled myself just looking at the picture!
ReplyDeleteWell, the other lady at camp wanted it killed because she thought it might sneak into their RV in the middle of the night. But, I didn't want to kill it, I thought it was pretty awesome but kind of sickening at the same time!! I can't lie, it gave me shivers and chill bumps!! UGH
ReplyDelete