So there I was, sitting on a comfy, moss-covered rock and munching on some honey-roasted peanuts after my Stone Mountain hike. 44 F degrees outside, no clouds, a whole forest to myself while I reminisce about how great the Gameboy Advance was.
Then I hear a rustling behind me. Not a natural rustle caused by the wind or falling leaves, a scuttling, scurrying, moving kind of rustle. But whenever I turn around, it immediately stops.
My spider senses begin tingling... literally.
Eventually, with unblinking eyes constantly scanning the forest floor around me, I spot this wee bastard, a hairy Carolina Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis), sneaking around in the leaves.
She was clever enough to only move when my back was turned, and since we had ourselves a staring contest for a while, she was an eight-legged statue.
When she did dart for cover, she always made sure to position herself so she had one eye trained on me. Always watching... Always watching...
I do not like spiders, but after all the different species of spiders I've encountered during my adventures and after all the different ways I've seen them hunt, hide, ambush, and kill... I can respect them. They are peerless hunters in the animal kingdom. If spiders were just a little bigger, if they were just a little more coordinated, we might not be as high on the food chain.
I do not like spiders.
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