I had warned Bennett about my routine from last time: cautiously enter the house and review each surface, like scanning a page for typos. The mission was to eliminate any disturbingly large spiders before settling in for the night. But no matter how vigilant you are, you just can’t see them right away. For example, here’s a photo Bennett took our first night. He looked up from the viewfinder: “Wait, did something just move?”
“Hurry up and finish the photo,” I said. “Oh man, it’s coming towards me.”
We quickly combed the place for the appropriate tools: transparent jars and a thin-yet-rigid surface to trap deadly invaders. Unfortunately, this first one dove into the cushions of our sitting room couch, at which point he was gone for good. There’s nothing more distracting than the fact that some crawly creature has just hidden in your furniture. It will take a few days to recall whatever courage I developed from our previous dealings in 2006.
We went outside to check out the evening view, but before Bennett made it through the door, I froze. How long had it been sitting there on the screen door? Do they have powers of teleportation?
Once again, no amount of precaution seems to help. Here’s another photo—a relative of the one from the screen door—sitting patiently beneath a daily Festival of Moths.
This is one we discovered on a walk home a few days later.
And here are a few from last time…
