I Don't Get This

After painting the pig and chicken outside, it was time to finish the few dishes remaining from the weekend and to make myself some lunch. I started to organize the dirty dishes. When I removed a cookie sheet from atop the dish drainer, this little guy was in one of the rows.

Now, I know spiders are opportunistic and set up housekeeping wherever they can find two sides to which to attach a web. On the other hand, I know this kind. We would call them "garden spiders" because they are usually found on plants or amongst the debris in a garden. They can grow up to 2 inches across but they don't spin webs. They react to the tremors on a plant or amongst the grown clutter where they are hiding, lying in wait.

So what the heck is he doing in the dish drainer in the sink? You cannot tell me there is ANY bug or food that is going to find him there. Plus, he had JUST moved into this space. He wasn't there when I made my oatmeal in the morning and had to move the cookie sheet to atop the drainer to have room to cook. A squatter. That's what he is.

Well, he got evicted straight away. I picked the whole thing up, took it outside, turned it over and banged it on the deck rail. I didn't see him fall off, but he wasn't on there when I turned it back over. It's really a little early for these spiders to be moving indoors. I deal with them, a lot, at the end of October and the first of November. They have lived hearty, happy lives outside, feasting on insects. They come in to make an egg sac and then to pass on. I do have to kill a few that find their way into places where I can't trap them to move them back outside. So, finding one this size in the dish drainer in July has me a bit nervous. It could be that he, along with every other outdoor creature, is feeling the effect of the drought and came inside for a drink. Whatever the reason, he's now back to communing with nature and not with my clean dishes.

Beverage:  Water

Deb