Parker's New Pet....

So Parker's fish, Betahead, passed away yesterday. He was VERY unhappy about it. Parker asked me (mom) what I did with him. I explained that I didn't feel like he would have wanted to be thrown in the trash nor surrounded by a bunch of dirt...."no, he wanted a much more glorious burial.... A burial at sea seemed more appropriate." Then, Lowden piped up..."You flushed him down the toilet didn't you..." I, quickly, replied that "it was the quickest way to get him to the sea".... Parker wasn't satisfied and still unhappy about his loss.

Today, Parker was outside the house and Greg noticed a spider on his arm and flicked it off. Parker said, "What was that?" Greg showed him the spider. Parker insisted on keeping it. He named him "Wolfie" once he realized that he was a wolf spider. Being the spider-phobic person that I am, I very nicely explained that spiders prefer to live in the garage. So, we have a 8 eyed wolf spider in our garage in a salsa container. ...Mom is wishing the fish was still alive!!!

Facts on Wolf Spiders that Parker and Greg looked up:

• Wolf spiders do not build webs. Instead they are active hunters that search the ground for prey.
• Although wolf spiders are not aggressive, they are able to bite people, and should not be handled.
• Wolf spiders will feed on almost any living insect or worm that is about 1/2 their own body length.
• Life span- up to 3+ years, depending on species.
  

UPDATE: I walked into the kitchen tonight to find an empty salsa container with the top half on. I freaked out for a few minutes trying to figure out how it got in the house and I was SURE the spider was loose in the house. Then, I finally remembered that I had used a container just like the one Wolfie is in for raisins tonight. Somebody must have eaten them all and left the container on the counter. Sigh. I think my heart skipped a beat though...