Each year for three consecutive years, there has been a summer guest in my office. And like the Newfs, each one has been unique.
The first year, it took a little adjustment to become accustomed to the company of an eight-legged creature on my desk. The jumping spiders are almost always docile and entertaining, but they ususally reside outdoors around gate closures. This one was quiet-mannered and cute. He was compact, black and fuzzy, with iridescent blue “eyes”. His “jump-through-walls” routine was pretty amusing. He would be in one location until I glanced away, then on another side of the desk in less than a second, leaving me to wonder about whether there were two. He was a regular presence for several days. Mainly, he was minding his own business, at least as much as the Newfs do <g>, so he was office-compatible.
One day I didn’t see him and became concerned. He had seemed a little too quiet and it looked like he was losing weight. I decided that it was time for him to go outside where there may be better food potential, so I looked for him. He was behind my laptop and it looked like he was taking a nap, like the Big Dogs. He was lying slightly to one side. He may have been faint from hunger or near death, but if spiders could snore, he would have been chiming in with the Office Manager & Apprentice, who were taking their mid-morning nap. Well, their rythmic cadence sometimes makes me sleepy too.
He started scrambling as soon as I picked him up, using a cup with a piece of paper, and when I let him out, he dropped down on a silk to the grass. Very neat. He climbed up a blade of grass and watched me for a while. I may have orchestrated a spider rescue! <g> And I hoped that he would find plenty to eat outside.
I had really enjoyed that little guy’s company. The next year, when summer began to arrive, I began to wonder whether there would be another. One day, another fuzzy little black guest found its way to my desk! This one had brilliant “eyes” that were more green than blue. He seemed to prefer the keyboard on the IBM laptop. He was a very busy little fellow, much too busy to take naps. He looked a bit like a gorilla from a side profile, with a hump above his shoulders. This one, unlike the first guest, was a little shy. He suddenly realized I was watching him and that he was only inches away from me, and he started backing cautiously across the keyboard, climbed up the screen and is moving along the top of the lid keeping an eye on me. He grew in size from his first appearance, and stayed around the office for quite a while. His confidence, or his hunger, or his sense of humor grew also. (See Payback for Humor at Someone Else’s Expense)
Now the third year has arrived, and I’ve been wondering whether I would have desk company again. And as regularly as Christmas in December, there is another jumping spider who seems to have taken up residence at my desk, or as he/she sees it, “his desk”. This one is still getting comfortable with the new surroundings and is exploring all of the nooks, perching points and resting areas. It looks more similar to the first one.
It is like any first acquaintence: we are observing each other in the process of trying to learn what we should expect. As long as they share space well, we will be good desk-mates. It has disappeared, and they do that, but after last year, I already find myself concerned about a surprise appearance!
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