This as anyone who has read me over the the past 6 or 7 years, has mainly shown itself in a total devotion to cats, then donkeys, horses, birds and all the wonderful world of animals with one or two notable exceptions.
I try to love all of God's creations (even those I hate/fear) but the dreaded arachnid brigade closely followed by small rodents has me (mildly) terrified, most of the time.
In my garage I keep a round plastic tub in which my supply of suet feed balls for the birds is kept. Early last winter I took the lid off to grab a couple for the front garden feeder and nearly had a heart attack when a mouse leapt out and fled into a dark corner.
The lid rests on the top as the tub when firmly shut down is impossible for me to open with my arthritic hands.
Realising that the mouse was probably trying to keep warm I replaced the lid gently and shut the garage door.
Since then, it has returned to its 'nest' every few weeks and now merely sits and watches me with huge eyes as I (very warily) remove a few suet balls at a time, gently replacing the 'roof' of its home.
Likewise with the ghastly eight-legged army which periodically invades my house, I merely open a window, grab my trustee (long handled) dust buster and loft it out of the window.
Killing anything with the exception of ants if found in the house, is something I would never even consider, yet my abject terror of the above-named two never grows any less.
Please don't send for the men in white coats, they are far too busy with world leaders to need to add me to their problems.
And And And I do know I'm weird.
Dear Ray, I so understand where you are coming from. I've been a vegetarian for 39 years and an animal rights supporter for about 30 years. For much of that time I never killed an ant or spider. I always found a way to pick them up and carry them out of the house.
ReplyDeletebut when I moved from Minnesota with its long deep winters to Missouri with its heat and humidity, i met an army of ants in my house as well as a multitude of spiders. So sorry to say, that I now kill them. I feel bad about it, but I find myself scared of them. Peace.
Fear is hard to understand if you don't suffer from it and while I know the 'invaders' are probably terrified of me too, it doesn't make me any more rational about them.
ReplyDeleteIf i had the numbers of multi-legged creatures you seem to have, I'd move (probably into a top-floor flat).
I know we are supposed to love all creatures bujt that doesn't mean we have to like them.
Dear Ray, yes, loving--wanting good for another--is essential; but liking sometimes is hard to come by! Peace.
Delete