Tag Archives: spiders

2012/11/30 · 18:22

Laudie humor (HAH!), K of C 4th*, benefactors, spiders & florae for the Immaculate Conception

Ooooooo! What’s that you’re eating there? Yummy for sure!

laude2

I’m hungry! I’m hungry! I’m hungry! Can I have some? Pleeeeeeeeeaaase!

laudie 1

AAAAAggghhh! Blech! Yuck! Waaah! What IS that? Blech!

laudie 3

“It’s called Spider Delight! Recipe: Just smack down any random spider galloping across Holy Souls Hermitage chapel floor in broad daylight, and you’re ready to go! I bet this fellow gained entrance to the hermitage by way to the logs I was carrying in to burn. Mmm, mmm… good!

spider

Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home! I did NOT eat that spider! Nor did Laudie!

  • Some good things did come in by way of a thoughtful benefactor, however. Some special Christmas chocolate (already!) and some Mystic Monk coffee. Thanks go to C.W. for forcing this gift to the hermitage upon me, against all my protestations. I love the addition of the ox and donkey next to the manger. Very appropriate. Our Holy Father agrees. I’ll have to think about getting that most recent book of his, which covers the infancy narratives in the Gospels…

chocolate

I’ve added, as a reminder to myself, the last two volumes of the Holy Father on Jesus of Nazareth to my Amazon wishlist, which you can find on the Benefactors! page.

  • Thanks go to J.A., who sent in… something very sweet and yummy, truly. Thank you! And, there’s a reusable tupperware tub included. Very handy, that.

bars

  • The neighbor was insisting that I transfer my lifetime 3rd and 4th degree memberships in the Knights of Columbus to the local councils in Brevard, where he’s a 3rd degree member, and the nearest 4th degree crowd, which is way down in Hendersonville. I just got back this response from the 4th degree. I guess this means I’m a practical Catholic as they put it.

KofC 4th Degree

He speaks of Patriotism. Yes, that’s a virtue described, in fact, by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Not for the faint of heart. Sometimes for the feint of heart, if they are as clever as they are stalwart in their patriotism! Anyway, thanks go to the neighbor for arranging this.

  • Thanks go to T.P.F. & R.L.F. for their regular gift to the hermitage. Very kind of you.
  • Thanks go to Mr & Mrs G.E. for their regular gift to the hermitage. Very thoughtful. Included was a card, the transcription of which is this:

Recommendation to One’s Guardian Angel for a Happy Hour of Death, by Saint Charles Borromeo:

My good Angel: I know not when or how I shall die. It is possible I may be carried off suddenly, and that before my last sigh I may be deprived of all intelligence. Yet how many things I would wish to say to God on the threshold of eternity. In the full freedom of my will today, I come to charge you to speak for me at that fearful moment. You will say to Him, then, O my good Angel:

  • That I wish to die in the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church in which all the saints since Jesus Christ have died, and out of which there is no salvation.
  • That I ask the grace of sharing in the infinite merits of my Redeemer and that I desire to die in pressing to my lips to the cross that was bathed in His Blood!
  • That I detest my sins because they displease Him, and that I pardon through love of Him all my enemies as I wish to be pardoned.
  • That I die willingly because He orders it and that I throw myself with confidence into His adorable Heart awaiting all His Mercy.
  • That in my inexpressible desire to go to Heaven I am disposed to suffer everything in may please His sovereign Justice to inflict on me.
  • That I love Him before all things, above all things and for His own sake; that I wish and hope to love Him with the Elect, His Angels and the Blessed Mother during all eternity.

Do not refuse, O my Angel, to be my interpreter with God, and to protest to Him that these are my sentiments and my will. Amen.

Finally, florae for the Immaculate Conception. I always have the idea she appreciates these simple gestures of the florae.

florae

All is dark in the ever mysterious forest of Holy Souls Mountain, except for a few leaves illuminated by a ray of sunshine, which has woven its way through the thick canopy above, right next to the hermitage. Very cool.

May the Lord Jesus, Christ our God, deign to shower upon you continuous blessings and graces according to the perfect intercession of the Immaculate Conception.

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2012/09/18 · 15:34

Spiders taking shelter in HSH from the downpour: a mistake

Spider hunting is a great distraction. It only takes seconds. This fellow was right in my face. “Hello, chicken food!” said I, ever so gently. Then I set him aside on my spectacles case, rather stunned:

I then turned my head only to see this staring me in the face, sucking the brains out of something or other:

 So, I set him aside as well. Chickens love an extra spider if they can get one. This last spider lost a few legs and got rather tangled up, as you can see. Doesn’t matter to chickens, who make such spiders into eggs for the breakfast of yours truly, and then poop the rest out. The latter bit is not for breakfast.

– Sorry.

– Back to work now.

[[ Did I mention I love our Lord's good creation?]]

[[ Don't forget. Adam and his wife were the creation our Lord called very good. But then Adam fell and we weren't to be good at all, unless we would be redeemed. And we were. We are now better than very good. And when we keep up with the Sacraments, we won't later be smacked down and fed to someone not in heaven.]]

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2012/08/27 · 04:00

Florae and faunae of Holy Souls Hermitage and… and…

This, from that (forcing the flash on the camera):

… which is only a tiny portion of the incredibly gargantuan forest spanning spider web after I got a face full of it, and then grabbed the little ferocious creature to get a picture of him.

At any rate, whatever you do, don’t fall to the ground here, as you might rot away like everything else, even the mushrooms! It is a rain-forest, after all.

Of course, there are some good things to eat!

There’s even chicken eggs! I honestly don’t know what the small egg is all about. This happened a couple of days in a row. But then it was over. The chickens are going on five years old now. They looking pretty old, I must say. They do have the occasional gargantuan egg.

Ooops! How did this one get in here? I must be thinking about the Immaculate Conception and Lourdes!

Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

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2012/08/05 · 09:53

Funnel Web Spider – Funnel Mushroom

I let this fellow go outside. Not sure if their bites can be a bit nasty. These are nothing like the funnel web spiders in Australia, which are deadly, like everything else in Australia!

Meanwhile, last year, someone told me that funnel mushrooms mean certain death if you eat them. You have about twenty minutes. Now I find out that they are edible. Cook them, of course.

We owe such knowledge to those who have gone before us, having been bitten and having eaten such things. It’s good to take note of what has happened in the past!

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2012/08/01 · 23:10

HSH spiders battle to the death and a shameless victory dance: analogy against Obama’s oppression of Catholic businesses from today onward

The spider above is nicknamed Obama. Sleek, sound, a fighter… and very, very quick, like lightning. Overconfident.

The spider below is nicknamed Pavone. Fat, slow, could hardly be a fighter… at least all of this would be the opinion of Obama.

Take a look at the knobby bits on the back of Pavone. You would hardly believe it, but they’re kickstands, of sorts.

Anyway, let’s put them together and see what happens…

A blur of a fight, hard to tell the outcome, but then… a victory dance! Pavone leans back on his kickstands and thows his arms into the air in victory!

That’s my prediction about the real Father Pavone of Priests for Life and President Obama. The latter is overconfident, fining Priests for Life $100.00 per employee who is not provided abortion insurance. Father said he will never pay it. I believe he will win. How many Catholic businesses are following his great example? What’s happening with all the Catholic Charities and Colleges? Are there any martyrs out there, from day one? Here’s the story from LifeSiteNews:

Priests for Life announces it will defy HHS mandate:

goes into effect today

Ben Johnson Wed Aug 01 14:20 EST Abortion

NEW YORK, August 1, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The HHS mandate goes into effect today for businesses and non-religious employers, but one organization has already announced it will not comply.

Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said that while that organization “advocates the observance of all just laws…I want to make it clear to you today that we will Continue reading →

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2012/06/19 · 00:12

Gargantuan web writing spider in the hermitage: way cool!

This fellow with huge fangs was weaving a web right in front of my little chair in the hermitage, lowering himself down right in front of my face. “Where’s the camera?!” thought I to myself. Having grabbed the spider forthwith, I took a couple of pictures and tossed him just outside to weave a web another day, perhaps just outside the hermitage. I would let him stay inside if he hunted Brown Recluse spiders. Probably not. More bites from the latter. I’ll spare you the details… for now! A shot of the design he sports:

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2012/06/10 · 10:20

Spider Heaven at the purgatory of Holy Souls Mountain [and a rant on praying for the souls of the faithful departed]

Holy Souls Mountain (which name reminds one of purgatory) is Spider Lovers Heaven (of course!). I’m always interested in the multitudinous variety of spiders, which you don’t even have to find, since all of them will surely find you. I don’t go looking for spiders; they come to me.

The first thing I look for is if this or that spider is a Brown Recluse. Then I look to see what kind of fangs it has. Of course I do! The venom delivery system is always fascinating. Let’s take a closer look:

As you can see, unlike the fangs of a snake, there is no need for the entire “syringe” of the spider to pierce the body of it’s victim. Instead, just the “needle” if you will. It’s curved, I suppose, so that there’s a good grip. No venom will be wasted. You can also see the amount of venom they carry around is rather sufficient for the day of battle.

The beady eyes are the third thing I look for. There are different numbers of eyes, variously arrayed.

The fourth thing I look for are the chickens. They love to eat spiders.

And… and… spiders are delicious in the form of a chicken egg!

Did I mention purgatory? Orthodox Jews and — how else to say it? — Catholic Catholics pray for the souls of those who have died. Too bad that in the “Reformation”, the very biblical doctrine of purgatory was thrown out with so many books of the bible, along with so many other doctrines, even those spoken very plainly by the mouth of our Lord. Who will pray for the repose of the souls of such non-Jews and non-Catholics?

It’s really terrible to go to a Catholic funeral, only to find out that no one is interested in praying for the repose of the faithful departed. They are “celebrating the life of” whoever it happens to be that our Lord called to judgment then and there. Celebrating? Grieving comes from love. So, celebrating…?

If anyone was ever so foolish as to want to celebrate my life, DON’T DO IT! I don’t want anybody celebrating anything about me, except how the Lord has deigned to grant me this or that mercy. I want prayers for the repose of my soul! I don’t want to be in purgatory until the end of the world, thinking the whole time — and that might be a very, very long time — how useless it was for people to celebrate my life! What a purgatory!!!

If there are those who would want to celebrate my life, I think I’ll ask our Lord to send spiders into their lives, you know, the kind with huge fangs and lots of venom, that is, until repentance is had and prayers for all the faithful departed become a way of life. O.K. Not that. But I might ask the Lord to inspire them to pray for repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, including me. That, I think, He would do. Perhaps the souls of the faithful departed wanted our Lord to inspire me to write this post, so that a pray or two from the readers might head up to heaven along with the souls of many who were, until that moment, in purgatory. Think about it. What a great act of charity that one little prayer is that you say: Hail Mary…

But Father! But Father! You’re such a meanie! You’re so judgmental! Stop saying that Hail Mary! STOP IT! We’re going to celebrate the lives of those who have died. They were so nice. And they’re not dead anyway! They’re still as alive as ever in memory! And I have a good memory! Nyeah nyeah nyeah nyeah nyeah!

Sigh. And when you die, and your memory with you? Whoever started and continues to push this “nice memory” bit is guilty of shoving the most depressing, despair inducing attitude down the throats of people who are already hurting enough. It’s good to have good memories, but don’t reduce life to a passing thought! What a fright that acts as a catalyst for only the darkest thoughts.

It’s not thinking ill of the dead to pray for the repose of their souls. Who among us absolutely perfectly always and in every way was generous enough to live the will of our Lord with no selfishness, ever? Nobody. So, we pray for everybody. It’s a great act of charity.

Also, if you think you need a selfish reason to pray for the souls in purgatory, know that they pray for those who pray for them. It is they and they only who will welcome you into the eternal habitations. If you have no one to welcome you, will you dare to approach the gates of heaven? Think of their situation from their perspective. They cannot help themselves. They depend on us. Totally.

There are dozens of stories of the souls of the faithful departed accomplishing favors for those who pray for them. So, just to say, if you’re having difficulties with spiders, you might just ask them for their intercession as you pray for the repose of their souls. :)

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2012/05/29 · 05:00

(update 1 June evening) IN DENIAL! Not good for a hermit: violins are playing

I like to distract myself with the beauty of the Lord’s good creation. Everything is benevolent, right? Of course, in it’s rightful place. But… what if it’s not in its rightful place? No worries! Don’t think about it! Be in denial! That’s easier! For instance, here’s a really cool green tomato worm, though I’m not sure if it’s coming or going (@2 1/2″ long). The chickens call this worm “chicken delight”. Tasty!

Difficulties are in evidence, however, when there is blood all over, so that I can’t deny that something is not quite right anymore. I noticed a “cut” on the back of my right shoulder a few days ago. No worries, thought I. Must have got that while collecting wood for the stove to heat up a quick meal. The b-vines can be pretty nasty, after all. But then, about 24 hours later, I felt some tell-tale tingling sensations from the wound, which is about an inch long. I ignored that, though I knew it might be a brown recluse which had biten me five or six times, right in a row. Nah! thought I, uselessly. A couple days later, blood was everywhere. Out came the Sawyer’s Extractor, which sucked out multiple glops of horror of rotted flesh. Here’s one glop:

DON’T google image “brown recluse wounds”, lest you die of fright!

Did I mention that Brown Recluse spiders are also called Violin Spiders for the design in back of their eyes? Violins are playing for my being in denial. Yikes!

But, not to worry. I have the Sawyer’s Extractor, and the zillion bandages and things wonderful benefactors have sent in. Thank you. As you can see, these things are very useful for me. That will all keep me from getting the arm amputated. Yikes! I can keep the wound small with the Sawyer’s Extractor, so, no worries!

This is the price of living in a rain forest, and I’m happily willing to pay that price. But this will be about 90 minutes of distraction every day for some weeks. 30 minutes of wound cleaning three times a day. It works. For me. Don’t try this at home. Doctors don’t recommend it. They let limbs rot off and then do a nice operation. I don’t let it get that far. I think my way is better. Hah!

UPDATE: I waited too many days to start up with the Sawyer’s Extractor. I’ll try, occasionally, to keep a log of this for the sake of those who also face Brown Recluse bites and wonder what in the world they can do. If you dare follow the saga, click on the continue reading button here: ➞ Continue reading →

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2012/05/24 · 10:05

Helpful varmints at HSH: no stinging, no biting

I’m very happy to have the enormous Great North American Hornet in great numbers right next to the hermitage. They eat the horrific, nasty yellowjackets, of which there is also an abundance around the hemitage, though hopefully they will soon be eaten by the hornets.

The monstrous Harvestmen spiders are back. I always thought they were mutant daddy long leg spiders, but it seems these harvestment are not really spiders, though they are arachnids. I always thought they were the most poisonous spider in the world, but it seems they have no poison in them at all. But they are great hunters. They are great to have around for that reason.

Meanwhile, the gargantuan White Pines are dropping – what? – pine flowers? – by the trillions…

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2012/05/02 · 16:07

Benefactors: Holy Mass and brown recluse spiders

Thanks to the Tyburns and all those who have had Holy Mass offered for yours truly.

Thanks to jd, who sent in… YES!… another Sawyer’s Extractor and even tissues to clean the blood and horror out of it! Very useful. This is especially good, limb-saving, life-saving even, regarding brown recluse bites. I think that this is the brown recluse capital of the world. I think I easily have the world record of brown recluse bites in a lifetime, all in about a three month period last spring. We’re coming up to that time of year again. Hopefully, the chickens are gorging themselves on all the spiders round about. Pictures of the them, and the damage they can do, can be found on the Faunae page.

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2012/02/03 · 16:52

Of spiders and stalking at Holy Souls Hermitage. An update on the midnight massacre of the rooster

I admit that I will certainly stalk a big spider, camera in hand, until I have it in hand. They sometimes move quickly, so it may take repeated attempts. The spider doesn’t mind. I’m pretty good with spiders, unless I feed them to the chickens. You have to know that chickens just love to eat spiders! I didn’t know that chickens kind of purr like cats when they are happy. My chickens purr a lot. I might just be feeding them spiders and worms and such!

Then there’s another kind of stalking. After so long a time, the neighbor’s dog is still having the time of her life playing with the dead rooster after it was slain by the invasion of transmitter collared hound dogs into the chicken coop the other night:

But there is another kind of stalking. From Wikipedia:

Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet. The word stalking is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal offense.

According to a 2002 report by the National Center for Victims of Crime, “Virtually any unwanted contact between two people that directly or indirectly communicates a threat or places the victim in fear can be considered stalking.” [National Center for Victims of Crime (February 2002). "Stalking Victimization". Office for Victims of Crime.]

It came to mind that that just might be opportune knowledge. Such things just strike me as useful to know if I happen to run across them. I put them up. Of course, I have to make analogies with the florae and faunae, no?

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2011/11/29 · 10:05

As the saying goes: If you don’t know how to light a fire, cold weather will teach you

The recent weather brought a bit of snow…

The Saamis have heaps of words for snow. I wonder what they would call this!

There was also a huge increase in water volume down Holy Souls Mountain Falls, but no road washouts, yet.

It seems that even the spiders know enough to go about like woolly mammoths as the cold sets in for real…

Considering the wisdom of not freezing (very thankful for the two army blankets!), I thought I would pull an almost all-nighter last night, throwing some plastic sheeting up in the biggest open spaces. That’s not sealed at all, just enough to keep a good percentage of snow drifts out of the hermitage. The floor was puddling up due to horizontal rains coming in over what plastic sheeting I already had up. Plastic sheeting is a great invention!

The stove is working, though the full length of the pipe is not up yet. That’s raised the temps inside about seven degrees. So, if it’s 18 degrees Fahrenheit, inside will be up to 25 degrees! Hmmm… Not good enough to run the computer. So, I’ll have to continue to fill in gaps between the rafters and outside. Lots of ladder climbing. With each bit filled in, the temp goes up. If you don’t know how to build something to be protected from the cold, the cold weather will teach you.

The chickens don’t seem to mind cold weather at all.

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2011/11/15 · 14:54

Thanks – Progress on the hermitage – Jenny the Jeep – Spider!

Jenny the Jeep’s driver side fabric door basically fell apart, so I put on the two metal doors that came with it from the previous owner(s). They actually work. One of these days, when it’s dry, the fabric top is going to get some silicone patches. And then, one day, I might bite the bullet and get a new driver’s seat for it, since the welding on the old one broke. Poor Jenny! So humiliated with her yellow doors. I might have extra Rhino Liner in the spray can I have to touch up the hood, which worked like a donkey to bring things up the mountain. She did bring up the rest of the stove pipe today, just before the rains began. ALL the stove pipe has now arrived. Thanks to ye all for helping me out with that. Now, let’s see how long it takes me to get it installed!

That got me psyched up enough to move up the chair which doubles as a bed for the night, even though there are no upper walls, and the rest of the walls are plastic. This will be an incentive to get a few things done! I have a couple of days of warm weather with the rain, but then it will get C O L D ! Actually, I don’t it will be much colder than the corner of the loft of the barn where I’m currently holded up. This is rather a milestone for me. The chair keeps me off the floor, and, in my imagination, away from poisonous spiders and snakes and lions and tigers and bears! I took this picture of a new kind of Daddy Long Legs spider, at least new to me, as it is black and silver, not brown.

Thanks go to C.W., who sent in soups to keep me warm. How good is that! Very thoughtful. There’s even a mug with which to scarf it down appropriately.

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2011/09/18 · 11:35

Faunae, that is, more predators of Holy Souls Mountain

When you live in the most bio-diverse site in the world outside of one island of the Hawaiian islands, you have to expect all the drama of nature to be played out. Here’s a yellow-jacket eating the heart out of what would have been, presumably, a gorgeous butterfly.

This guy is playing dead on the altar covering. Otherwise, he’s about 2 1/2 inches across running about. I put him in a bottle and let him go at the hermitage.

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2011/09/12 · 03:00

Spiders at Holy Souls Hermitage

Don’t know if this guy is poisonous. There are plenty of different kinds of really big spiders with jaws reminding one of a 1970s shark film…

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2011/08/29 · 15:23

Rats, spiders and other faunae of Holy Souls Hermitage

Very cute! Coming in at 18 inches and quite a few pounds!

I saw a new spider as well. Very, very aggressive. I had to jump back a bit. He did not want to be disturbed. But I had to work on the hermitage, didn’t I. I removed him, alive, off the hermitage.

Creatures are seen here that I’ve never seen before, including this fuzzy, wingless creature with huge jaws:

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2011/08/26 · 14:02

Even more HSH Faunae

This is a new spider for me at HSH. He makes a web only about the size of a silver dollar and sits in the middle of it. Here, he’s run up to beam holding up the floor of HSH. Bright orange and black. Dunno if he’s poisonous or not to humans.

Here’s some kind of black wasp/hornet. He was being rather annoying. He’s got a good size stinger if you can see it in the picture.

Not sure what these are, though the locals call them ant-lion holes. More spiders, I guess, who build a sand trap for their victims.

 

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· 13:56

HSH Faunae: Spider with a threat!

I’ve never seen this kind of behavior in a spider before. I have him pictured here at different angles, two while he is being held down by a six inch spike. What kind of spider is this? Anyway, you’ll notice in the upper left picture, that there is a drop of poison or glue or what I don’t know on his lower right leg. He got that from his mouth. I brushed that off his leg a couple of times, and he immediately added another drop from his mouth and held it out menacingly… ! ?

Whatever that is all about, I thought is was very cool up on Holy Souls Mountain.

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