Friday, March 6, 2026, 23.4* F, 54% RH, 0702
Not wide-eyed at four, I let the three outside inside. We all returned to our blankets to sleep, to wakefulness, to prayers. No frost patterned anything. No snow is falling. A few icicles emerge from the space between roof and rain gutter, spider hiding places. I left nothing on deck to shelter a fishing spider like the one that twice startled me finding a way under the black hot tub cover. I don’t pick up spiders, especially those that would cover the palm of my hand, don’t kill them. I don’t leave them alone either. I retrieve the small battery-powered leaf blower from the kitchen.
The things that startle, may be just as unsettled when discovered.
Photo: LJ Austin
