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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2020)
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon SCOUTING the Northwest By Scout Arnone Fear not the false black widow <Teacher Scout! Come look! I found something!= a 5-year-old student called out to me. I put aside my les- son plans and went to see what had captured him so completely. <It9s a spider!= Sure enough, the young naturalist was placing his hands gently on the ground so the spider could crawl onboard. For some reason, this particular student never demonstrated the patience and fortitude to listen to any- thing I had to say about leaf shapes, ungulate tracks, or which berries were inedible, F orm erly Big Formerly Form Bigfoot gfoot Wellness Wellnes Wel lness lnes s s FEELING but he was still and patient as the spider slowly moved one leg at a time until it was completely on his hand. He smiled brightly, <I think it9s a black widow!= It crawled all over his arms, but I felt it crawl all over me. He beamed from ear to ear. This moment was cru- cial. All deep-rooted feel- ings I had fostered against spiders: the trauma of find- ing a widow in my hair, and the years of throwing shoes at a wall in a fearful squash- ing attempt were starting to creep to the surface. I took a deep breath and tried to don an expression that displayed a general love and acceptance of all creatures. <Cool!= I said, <You made a friend!= <Yeah, and I think she is a black widow.= <Oh, boy. Let9s see here. Make sure you9re being gentle.= I said maneuvering around him. I came down to his level. <What do you know about black widows?= I asked. <They are mean and poi- sonous so much they can make you die!= He said. I wasn9t quite sure how he had managed to disconnect the dangerous creature he was describing from the peril he suggested he might be in, but he just kept smiling and rotating his arm differ- ent angles to stop her from running up his sleeve. The western black widow (Lactrodectus hesperus) is likely the most dangerous spider in Oregon. A single bite from a black widow damages the nervous system and manifests as abdominal muscle cramps, nausea, pro- fuse perspiration, tremors, fever, and labored breathing. Symptoms can carry on for many days. <That9s true, but she9s also a really good helper.= The black widow9s messy web wedged in the dark- est corner of your garage is made of some of the stron- gest arachnid silk around and is hyper-reactive to any movements. This is essen- tial as the rest of her hunt- ing senses are quite dull. She hangs upside-down, thanklessly reducing your mosquito population, your boxelder intruders, and your bothersome flies. She interrupts the line of ants marching to your kitchen, the cockroaches scuttling toward your baseboards, and scorpions the cat thought- fully left on the doorstep. Now, the spider he was holding was not a black widow, it was a false black widow, identified easily by Sisters Dental www.blackbutte chiropractic.com 541-389-9183 392 E. Main Ave., Sisters PHOTO BY SCOUT ARNONE Black widows are not villains of the natural world. the glaring lack of red hour- glass on its underside. But I decided that a spider ID session was best suited for another day, as a much more precious lesson was trans- piring. A kid9s world is very black and white; the villains in their cartoons operate simply for evil9s sake. But the <villains= of the natural world (rattlesnakes, scor- pions, and spiders) operate without cruelty or intent to harm 4 only evolutionary integrity. And the sooner we can teach children about the value of our most-feared creatures, the sooner they can develop a respect for all life, protect that life, and save our planet. <Let9s make sure we find her a good place to sit and catch bugs!= I told him. We took the spider out- side and walked around the building until we found a forgotten corner. <Here, you put her up there!= he said, extending the spider to me. Every muscle tensed and the spider continued crawl- ing around and around his outstretched hand. <Aww! I9d love to, but it9s important for you to learn how to take care of our animal friends, too! That9s it. Place her gently. Yep. Gently brush her off.= A very grateful spider scurried away, and a very grateful teacher did not stop her. THE GARDEN ANGEL Organic landscaping... We fee d the soil! Have a great summ er, Sisters! EXHAUSTED? CHECK OUT RESOURCES HERE 29 WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! 23 years in business • LCB#9583 541-549-2882 Trevor Frideres, D . M . D . Greg Everson, D . M . D . 541-549-2011 491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters www.sistersdental.com Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. a nonprofit charity that provides fully guided and outfitted trips for disabled Veterans at no charge more than 2,000 disabled veterans have been served All guides and board members are disabled veterans. There are no paid employees. 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