Rain, Termites, and Stanley

So rainy season arrived this week. Friday we had the first rain shower. Over the weekend we had some light showers, but today we had a real thunderstorm. I found out water comes right in the house under the kitchen door. I will put in a repair request for that tomorrow. I also found out that I have to clean the khondis (screened porches) out because every thing out there is drenched.


Tonight, just hours after the first big thunderstorm, the first swarm of termites arrived.


The boys ran outside to watch the bugs being eaten by frogs and lizards. They were really hoping to see their first baboon spider, but no such luck. Darn it! They will have to be happy with Stanley.




This is Stanley. He is a camel spider.* He lives in my living room. Oh the joy.


Stanley enjoyed the termites too. While Dakota hand fed the frogs, Colin ran around scooping up termites to feed to Stanley. I couldn't look away from Stanley munching down on the termites. It was sort of like a train wreck, horrifying and fascinating all at once.


I thought all spiders sucked the juices out their victims. Stanley just ripped them apart and chewed them up until all that was left was a pile of wings.



*Urban legends aside, Stanley is mostly harmless. He doesn't even have venom. He does have those big chelicera that he can use to pinch hard enough to draw blood. I am determined that Stanley and I will NEVER EVER touch each other. The thought makes my skin crawl. UGH!