Spiderman!!

The nights are getting colder, and it was about time that the plants and other things which had been sitting on the back deck, got moved off. During the winter, we only use the back deck to store our snow.

So after a very nice dinner and Bible study with the family, the boys and I went out on the back deck and loaded as much of the soil from the planters into plastic buckets. Some of the mixed soil and gravel, which was at the bottom of the planters, we left in the plastic liner because I really didn't want to get the gravel completely mixed in with the soil. (The intent is to have a bottom layer of gravel to help with the drainage.) So all we had to do, was to lift out the liner with the soil/gravel mix, then move the planter boxes and support stands down to the garage. Simple job.

As I was un-stapling the plastic liner from the planter boxes in preparation for the lifting task, I noticed a little spider dangling from the box, but didn't think any thing of it. Figured he'd drop down to the deck and move on. But I was wrong. He actually went back up the web and crawled into the folds of the plastic liner. And he sat there, motionless and invisible, until my big, blundering finger approached to grasp the liner and lift it out of the box.

Ow! What was that?

It felt like a sharp needle had jabbed my hand. In fact, that's what it was - the sharp, needle-like jab of the spider's fangs. My finger immediately started burning. Sudden images of the effects of brown recluse spider bites filled my mind (thanks, Mr. Internet!). Hurriedly, I rushed into the kitchen and ran cold water over it. Mary gave me some baking soda which I rubbed into the wound. After a few moments, the pain stopped. But Cheryl went ahead and made a little bowl of baking soda paste, just in case. And sure enough, half an hour later, my finger started aching again, so I gave it a baking soda paste path.

Meanwhile, we still had to get the planter boxes and soil put away. The boys toted the planter boxes and stands down to the garage, and we took the buckets down as well. We left the liners with their loads of soil up on the deck so they could be spread out and dried in the sun the next day. (It's generally not a good idea to store damp soil & plant detritus inside the garage in a plastic bag or liner. Either the moisture has to be baked out, or it must be left out in the sun to dry. Unless you like mold & mildew...)

The strangest thing about the incident was the fact that this particular finger was jammed a couple weeks ago on the first night I was helping out the Marching Band. We were opening the back of one of the trailers (where the riding lawn mower and the carts for the timpani and xylophones are stored) and I misjudged the weight and momentum of the gate. My finger got caught between the gate and the asphalt, and I felt it go 'sproing'. And it swelled up a little bit, but only on one side.

And that pesky spider managed to bite me right on top of the swollen part of my finger. He couldn't have planned it better if he'd tried - and he probably didn't plan at all. He just responded to the threat of the approaching digit, as any self-respecting spider would do.

It was disappointing to realize that he wasn't radioactive. I haven't gained any Spiderman powers yet. Rats.