Spider in My Bathroom; Other Stuff

Spider in My Bathroom.  A while back, maybe two weeks ago or a bit less, I noticed a spider in my bathroom. It was a type I have seen before. Usually they have been outdoors, and they build fairly large webs between a shrub and the house, or some such thing. They are two-colored: light brown and dark, with the colors forming stripes on their legs. They are usually fairly large, an inch or more from one foot to the opposite one.

I was surprised to see one indoors, and I hoped it would be able to get enough nourishment indoors, as I haven't seen many flying insects recently. At first I thought maybe I should capture it, using the glass and card trick, and put it outdoors where it would be in its natural habitat. But I also realize that most of my attempts to rescue spiders end badly, and I was afraid that too much of its web would be left behind. So I decided to let it be where it was.

The spider shifted from one corner to another of the room from day to day, mostly in the corner by the sink or in the corner over the shower head. But for several days now it has stayed in the shower corner. After a while, I decided that leaving the bathroom light on might help attract insects for it. Although I sometimes forget and turn it off as I leave, this may have something to do with the spider's setting up away from the fluorescent lights by the sink.

My other concern was whether taking a shower would cause a problem for the spider. Fortunately it builds its web just below the ceiling. Even so, it does move around a bit when the shower starts, but it stays with the web. So the humidity and maybe some fine spray provoke a reaction, but they don't seem to create a real problem, and there seems to be no danger of its getting drowned or otherwise harmed.

Other Stuff.  Tomorrow, that is Saturday, is my last time helping to run sailboat races for this year. The season will be essentially over after that. On Sunday my brother and I will go to Boston for the first concert of the season of the Handel and Haydn Society. I don't recall a year when one started the day after the other ended. Usually there is a week or two between the last race and the first concert. But I don't think I've gone to the H&H season opener before, and if I weren't doing that, I would have the usual hiatus between the two seasons.

I'll be going to the usual Boston Symphony and Harvard Musical Association concerts, as well as several H&H performances. Today, I finally got around to subscribing for the four operas which Boston Lyric Opera will be presenting. Sometime, I also want to decide which, if any, of the Opera Boston shows I'll go to.

You may recall that a year ago I went to a performance of "The Laramie Project," followed by the newly written "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later." I blogged about it at the time. So far, I haven't decided which, if any, of the shows I'll go to this year which are being presented by the organization that brought "Laramie" to Boston, but I hope to find some to attend. Also, there is a favorably reviewed "Candide" being given next week. I'll see if I can find an evening to go to that, but it won't be easy— I already have evening events on my calendar for Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I'm also toying with the idea of going to the Friday opening night of the BSO. Apparently they're having trouble selling tickets, and they're offering a $50 discount to people who have subscriptions to later series.

And here's something you don't need to be around Boston for. The Metropolitan Opera season is also about to begin, and with it their occasional live HD transmissions to movie theaters around the world. I'm definitely hoping to get to the first one, "Anna Bolena" (Anne Boleyn) by Donizetti, the guy who gave us the mad scene in "Lucia di Lammermoor" (along with the rest of the opera). There are several others later in the season that I'd also like to hear — most of  them, actually, but some more than others. Gay guys are "supposed to" like opera, so, if you haven't already gotten hooked, why not check out the schedule and try a few. There are different styles of music represented, and if you don't like some, you might enjoy others.