News outlets are announcing the coming migration of Tarantulas (Texas Brown) through our area. I have heard many stories in years passed about thousands of them crossing a certain stretch of highway annually. Fortunately, I have never been driving on that highway when this is happening. I have witnessed single Tarantulas skittering across a county backroad similar to a mouse. Not a calming experience for anyone with arachnophobia.
It seems the turkey buzzards are on the move as well. Saw over 50 at one time this afternoon. Some were drinking water while others were aimlessly searching for easy targets as the hay mower was stirring up little critters.
I don't remember what time of year it was, but it happened just after an afternoon shower. All us kids were out dropping sticks in the rain-swollen ditch out by the road when we spied a huge tarantula lumber along the edge of the road. A few of us were poking at it with sticks to see it raise up defiantly. My sister and her friend thought better of it and ran to summon her friend's father.
Before long a squad of concerned fathers was gathered in the grass discussing what to do with the "threat". My brother and I had a half-gallon canning jar at the ready, but the adults quickly quashed the idea as "too dangerous".
With all the testosterone drenched paternity they could muster the dads approached the spider making the intergalactically understood "you kids keep back" hand gesture. They stopped about eight or ten feet from the tarantula. As quick as a rattlesnake could strike the spider leaped forward and landed near the feet of all the protective dads...
It's a sobering thing for a small boy to see his father scream and dance like a nine year old girl...even more sobering watching everyone else's father do the same thing. The girls were even embarrassed for them.
What was funnier still was the manly admonishments given to us by all the men who had just lost face. "Best let him be" and "You can't ever be too careful" were a couple that I remember.
My oldest brother Cole had a good angle on the whole affair. After all the dads had dispersed Cole noted "If the Nazis had tarantulas we might have lost WWII".... 😉
We were on a family trip (tent camping) and stopped at a state park, I believe in west Texas. As we made are way to our campsite we noticed tarantulas on the road. Having pestered a tarantula in SA we knew that if we left them alone they would leave us alone, however we made sure that the tent was zipped shut that night. It made for some interesting dreams that night, involving a cow out numbered by the creepy crawlers.
