Every year, at about this time, along with getting the yard in shape I have to do something that absolutely terrifies me. I admit, I'm not a big, huge guy with rippling muscles and machismo that would make Chuck Norris' knees buckle, but I'm no pencil-neck geek either.
However, if there's anything that will make me run for the hills it is spiders. I hate spiders. They give me the heeby jeebys. Speaking of spiders . . . I'm glad I didn't see these really beautiful pictures of a Black Widow before I went down to clean out our storm shelter. I may not have been able to do it fearing a spider jumping on my back and sinking it's poisonous little fangs into my neck.
Because the local weather guys are anticipating some fairly strong storms tonight capable of producing hail, strong, staight-line winds, and ( quite possibly ) tornadoes, I had to put my fears aside and clean out the storm shelter. I really should have posted a picture so that a person can appreciate where I'm coming from. The storm shelter in our backyard is a concrete bunkerish kind of mini basement situated about twenty feet from our back door. It rises, just enough from beneath the ground to appear as if someone crashed a softball-looking spaceship from outer space and embedded it into out backyard such that three quarters of the ball became buried. I say spaceship because there are two aluminum vents in the top that I had to fix so that rain didn't fall into the shelter and a double-sided door about five feet long that runs from one edge to the center.
The shelter just might be large enough to accommodate two adults and two kids or two large adults. A very tall adult would probably have to bow their head even when standing in the center inside of it. A couple years ago I had to clean that thing out. There was garbage, stinking, foul water, and about an inch of some silty kind of disgusting substance covering the bottom of the floor. So, I spent a large portion of the day getting all the crap out of there and cleaning it in the event it would be needed.
Installing the vents on top has proven to keep the shelter from filling up with standing water, but the side effect is that it is a nice, cool, dry place now. So, if you know anything about spiders then you know that they are grateful for all my hard work and have moved in. So I have to take a broom down there and kick their eight-legged asses out every once in a while. Thankfully we've never had to use it. I really hate the thought of it.
Which would I rather face? The potentially 200+ mph winds and debris driven by tornadic winds or the eight-legged predator of my nightmares? It's a tough choice.
However, if there's anything that will make me run for the hills it is spiders. I hate spiders. They give me the heeby jeebys. Speaking of spiders . . . I'm glad I didn't see these really beautiful pictures of a Black Widow before I went down to clean out our storm shelter. I may not have been able to do it fearing a spider jumping on my back and sinking it's poisonous little fangs into my neck.
Because the local weather guys are anticipating some fairly strong storms tonight capable of producing hail, strong, staight-line winds, and ( quite possibly ) tornadoes, I had to put my fears aside and clean out the storm shelter. I really should have posted a picture so that a person can appreciate where I'm coming from. The storm shelter in our backyard is a concrete bunkerish kind of mini basement situated about twenty feet from our back door. It rises, just enough from beneath the ground to appear as if someone crashed a softball-looking spaceship from outer space and embedded it into out backyard such that three quarters of the ball became buried. I say spaceship because there are two aluminum vents in the top that I had to fix so that rain didn't fall into the shelter and a double-sided door about five feet long that runs from one edge to the center.
The shelter just might be large enough to accommodate two adults and two kids or two large adults. A very tall adult would probably have to bow their head even when standing in the center inside of it. A couple years ago I had to clean that thing out. There was garbage, stinking, foul water, and about an inch of some silty kind of disgusting substance covering the bottom of the floor. So, I spent a large portion of the day getting all the crap out of there and cleaning it in the event it would be needed.
Installing the vents on top has proven to keep the shelter from filling up with standing water, but the side effect is that it is a nice, cool, dry place now. So, if you know anything about spiders then you know that they are grateful for all my hard work and have moved in. So I have to take a broom down there and kick their eight-legged asses out every once in a while. Thankfully we've never had to use it. I really hate the thought of it.
Which would I rather face? The potentially 200+ mph winds and debris driven by tornadic winds or the eight-legged predator of my nightmares? It's a tough choice.