God's little creatures and me.

This weekend I went outside to try and conquer some more of the wild and crazy flower gardens. They have grown into a colorful mess but some of the flowers are starting to die back and it is getting a little overgrown and sloppy looking. Plus we have neighbors coming for dinner next Saturday night who have never been to our house and I don't want the beds to look like a jungle to them. I am already fretting over what to cook and which wines to serve (they are quite the foodies and wine drinkers) and I don't need any other stress added to the day. So back to the gardens. Yesterday while I was working in the gardens cutting flowers down, I was so afraid I was going to come across a snake. I am TERRIFIED of snakes and can often be found singing at the top of my lungs while gardening in hopes of scaring them off. While Robby was mowing the grass, he came across a garter snake which of course freaked me out. Trevor was thrilled and enjoyed spending some quality time with the little fella. Needless to say, that was the end of my gardening for the day.

So today, I went back at it again. I was doing okay but was getting a little worried about what I was going to come across. So I asked Robby if he would get his machete and just wack some plants down for me and I would clean them up as he cut them down. The real thought behind this was that I feel much more safe and brave when Robby is around. So we were going at it, and then all of a sudden I see the biggest spider I have ever seen in real life. I cannot repeat the words I said, but it was very, very bad language. And had my mom heard what was coming out of my mouth, I know a bar of soap would have been used in my mouth even though I am 45 years old. Well, Robby's job quickly became to de-head that spider with the machete and kill it. I know it is wrong and they are good for gardens, but all I could think about is what would happen had I reached into that plant and that spider took a bite out of my hand. I came in and looked it up on the computer and found out that it is not poisonous and is called a Black and Yellow Argiope. Well, sorry little, I mean huge fella, you should have picked another garden to live in and you would still be alive today.

I know we are suppose to love all of God's creatures, big and small, and I do. But I do have boundaries. When it comes to animals that live outside, especially the eight legged and no-legged kind, the boundaries are simple. I live on 70+ acres, only 7 of which are not woods or corn fields. You live in the 69 or so acres that I don't live in and we will be just fine. Thank you very much.