A SURPRISE IN MY GARDEN

Well, well, surprise, surprise! I walked out onto the back porch this morning to catch a bit of sun since the house, even with windows open, was a bit cool. I looked about, and up as I saw a movement. There, in one of the large holes in my well over one hundred year-old sugar maple tree, a baby raccoon was turning about to go back in to sleep. The screen door banging must have awakened him.

That explained why I had seen a mature raccoon shinning up that tree a month or so ago. I had thought since it was daylight, it must have been a hungry young male. Perhaps it was the same raccoon who climbed up the pine tree just outside my window. These sightings put the time around when raccoons breed. The little one I saw today is almost ready to leave the "nest," or den.

Which brings me to the tree. I had three large sugar maples, all badly damaged during our last ice storm. I had one cut down in 2006. It had been creaking noisily in the wind, and leaned toward the house. The second one was dropping large branches, so was dangerous. I had it cut this past year. One of the young tree men and I lost track counting over one hundred rings. The inside was rotten--big hollows in places. These two were at the front of the house.

This one, the tree man said, needed to come down in around two years. He cut off a number of large, dangerous, dead branches, which dropped parts bit by bit. Although the center is hollow, the tree is strong. He said it will not fall, just die off branch by branch at the top.

Birds return to their nesting areas to propogate their young, as do raccoons. The raccoons were no doubt related to the raccoons who lived and bred under my house before I could get the crawl spaces sealed off. I had to wait until the young were able to leave. Which means this little one may be related to the same crew. My cute little raccoon will soon "fly the coop," as it were. (There are usually two pups.) As I mentioned in another post, the male leaves at dusk to find food, and returns at first light. They are safe enough in the tree for a few years. I will get "uptight" if they eat my lettuce. They should be off to the woods soon.

This cute, cuddly little "surprise" made me want to write to you. How often does such an interesting surprise occur in one's garden?

MY GIANT HOUSE SPIDER

I have seen a GIANT HOUSE SPIDER (Tegenario duellica)

I had an unpleasant surprise the other day while working with a friend changing windows to screens. We were on our last one--the back door on the garden side. He was on the outside, I in, when he looked agitated and said to grab a broom, and come and look. I poked my head out, and there on the door jamb, high on one side--with a "possible" little hop into the house, was the largest house spider we had ever seen.

The spider was at least 3" (three inches) long, with a body 1 1/2" (one and one half) inches. We were stunned and in shock for several moments as we studied it. I lifted my broom and knocked it down while my friend stomped on it. Sorry about that for those of you who love Spiders, but the thing was too close for comfort. Perhaps it came from under the house in the crawl space.

We went inside and looked through as many books as possible to find it was a GIANT HOUSE SPIDER, Tegenaria duellica, now found all over North America. I looked on the web the next day confirming it. This one was a male. Tell me if I am wrong, but he was on his way to find a female nest where he would mate with the female at least two times. He would remain there and shortly die. The female would then eat him, thus providing nourishment for her offspring.

I have battled CELLAR SPIDERS for years, and the odd SMALL HOUSE SPIDER indoors, and outdoors live and let live with the large GARDEN SPIDERS (who eat many insects), and the odd DADDY LONG LEGS, but in living here in the country for over thirty years I have never seen such a large Spider.

I hope I shall never see a GIANT HOUSE SPIDER again.