September 14, 2005 | Uncategorized
I think it is absolutely wonderful that women all over the world are discussing the fanciability of a man with me.
Of course few things are more serious. This is an important issue.
Anyway. Yesterday was the annual DAY OF THE DADDY LONG-LEGS.* When I went outside to get into my car, the entire front of the house was covered in them. I hate to hurt them, because they don’t bite or anything, or at least they’ve never bitten me, but they are incredibly gross, like leggy winged spiders. I shut one in the door by mistake and it must have struggled, trapped by its long appendages, while I was at work.
When I came home, a little boy and his sister had abandoned their bikes near my front door and were staring. “Look,” the boy said, pointing at the insects that clung to my house as if it were a huge mother. “There are bugs everywhere.”
I expected B-movie music.
Two came in with me when I opened the front door. I chased them out, barely escaping four more coming in. It was warm, but I closed the windows of rooms with lights on. Still, when I went to bed, there was one fluttering around inside the paper lampshade hanging from my ceiling, making delicate footprint sounds that drove me freaking nuts.**
I threw it out the window. It came back in. I caught it and threw it out again. Or maybe it was another one. There are certainly enough of them.
Where do they come from? I imagine it’s some sort of mating thing, and I can dig that. It makes the whole phenomenon a little more interesting to think that at least these bugs are gettin’ it on all around me. But how does clinging to the outside of a house for an entire day help these things mate? If human beings did that, there wouldn’t be many babies.
And then gradually, over the next few days, they disappear. You’d expect thousands of corpses, but no. Where do they go? To some other pick-up joint?
This happens every year.
*Daddy Long-Legs, for the elucidation of the non-British, are flying insects with very long legs, about the size of half your palm or bigger, which look like giant mosquitos.
**Besides, I wasn’t going to leave it there. This weekend, my friend woke up with a squashed spider on her pillow next to her face. Which meant that the spider had been ON her face, before she squashed it in her sleep. The very thought gives me the jabbers.
Dee says:
Hey Julie!
Here in So Cal, Daddy Long Legs are those REALLY long legged spider with tiny, fat balls for bodies that can’t bite you either. But ours don’t have wings. I’d really hate to be around if the bastards could fly.
Sounds like what you have are what we call Mosquito Hawks. They eat mosquitos, so, while they’re much bigger than them and incredibly grosser (if that’s possible) it’s recommended to let them live to kill off the real nasty ones. So, I hereby bow down to you.
Cause I’d have got a hose and blown them all away. (Heebeejeebies are WAY more important to me than world health. I know, I’m a horrible human being, LOL!)
Smooches,
Dee
Danica says:
I’m going to be checking for insects all day now.
Julie says:
The bastards look like hawks.
Anonymous says:
Dee - thanks for explaining cuz I’m here in So Cal thinking to myself - Daddy Long Legs that fly!!!!
Anything that eats mosquitos is good in my book. Even bats.
Lori
Kate Hardy says:
They’re actually crane flies. And apparently because our last two winters have been mild, all the eggs have apparently hatched instead of being mainly killed off by the frost. Which is why there are so many. Now, spiders I can handle (despite the “you eat eight of them by accident in your life” comment). But ants and Daddy Long Legs… oh no. Daytime I can just about manage, but night? No, no, no. I hate the way they bounce around a light in the evening. (They’re going to get in my hair or my mouth while I’m asleep - aaaaaagh!)
Dee says:
Eat them?? Um..let’s not go there, lol. Did you HAVE to bring up walking on me in my sleep??? LOL! I have long hair and thanks to my inability to handle stress, lol, it falls out here and there. So, occasionally, youll see me walking, then break out into some sort of hop-scotch/new wave freak out dance because I feel a bug on my arm or my leg…only to discover it’s my hair.
I wonder if I can bind my face and leave only nose holes while I sleep to avoid that spider eating thing…LOL!
Dee
PS–does anyone else notice that when they post on Julie’s blog, they get some sore of 9 letter cursive word verification…and then after it’s posted there’s a giant, easy to read, 5 letter word for the next gal? Or is it just me? LOL!
Julie says:
Eight spiders. Eight. Spiders. Eight.
I really hope they are little ones.
Yes, that letter thing always happens to me too, Dee.
Anna Lucia says:
*sticks fingers in ears* laaal laa laaa laa la la *not listening to spider talk*
But I hate the craneflies (dagnabbit, Kate got there first!), too… *shudder*
You’re so right, Julie, they do sound like little pitter-patter footsteps. Drives me nuts, too.
Although we have trained Minnie Kitty to hunt them down and eat them, so she only needs about half an hour at bed time to clean out the house. We’re still working on getting her to pick up all the legs afterwards, though.
Writer seeking to avoid deadline says:
Ah, I *knew* there was something useful about a hearing aid. When you switch it off, you don’t hear the pitter-patter of crane flies…
Sorry to gross you out with the “eight s-words” factoid. Blame my son.
Anna, you trained Minnie Kitty to get them? Wow. I did try getting Byron. His take: “they bounce, therefore they are springers and they can play in my house. Get my door back and I might do something.” (He still thinks the brick wall is going to morph back into a door. Uh - no. There’s another door going to appear soon. In a different place.)
Oh, and I got the long verification. (Yesterday it was Mr V Shy” which amused me. Shy man near our Julie? Nah! She’ll make him party.)
Julie says:
I like shy men…hee hee hee
Julie says:
And Kate…go meet your deadline.