Let me begin by saying that we harbor Select Spiders(tm) in our home. This means that any brown-ish spiders are carefully scrutinized for similarities to brown recluses and that black widows, though they don't get farther than the garage, are treated to the tender mercies of the aim-n-flame. They were once part of an uneasy truce, but they started eating my wolf spiders, the little bitches. So. We generally have a Daring Jumping spider in the house, invariably named Spot because, well, they have a white spot on them. A large jumping spider can generally perch on a well-trimmed thumbnail and still have plenty of room to spin around in circles. Most of them would fit on the fingernail of an index finger. They're small, and we find them rather cute. They're actually aware of people enough to try the "I'm gonna get you" bluff (rearing back, spinning in circles, waving legs, and giving the impression, when really riled, that they're muttering "yer what yer what yer what?"). On a creature that small, it's cute.

I was laying on the couch reading a book when I decided that the lamp above the snake cage was annoying. I went over and reached for the switch when I felt a very soft, *weighty* pat on my finger. I looked, and there was an inch-plus long jumping spider going after my finger. This was not an especially cute spider. He'd passed into the realm of "neat". I ran upstairs and got my camera.

He didn't even bother posing for me. He ignored my taunts of "show us yer fangs!" that normally sends a daring jumping spider into cute, panicked antics. I was treated to utter disdain. He didn't consider me to be a threat. He figured he could take me any time he wanted. Hmpf.

Yes, he's still on the lamp. I figure he's obviously got a good food source over there, and a home with a well-fed Spot is a home without too many unwanted bugs.