A Requiem for Jonesy the Spider

It is with a sad heart that I share this latest bit of news from our house. For we have lost a treasured friend. A few months ago, I told you about the Christmas coup, which was a tale of two spiders.

Jonesy, a small, friendly spider, lived in the area around the nightlight in our downstairs bathroom, and my husband and I fed him regularly: offerings of bugs from the yard.

On Christmas night, a larger spider chased Jonesy out of his web, and Jonesy moved into a corner of the bathroom just a few feet away from his original spot. I relocated the usurper to the garage.

In the months since then, Jonesy became a regular part of the family. His web grew, and it was full of the offerings we left for him. I took pictures occasionally to document the scene. 

Within the past week, Jonesy caught a small fly and ate it with great gusto. Then he crawled back up into the warm spot inside the original night light, where he apparently went to sleep, had one last dream, and never woke up.

I wanted to memorialize Jonesy, but I only realized in retrospect that I had never posted a photo of him on blip; just the original picture of the usurper who took over Jonesy's web that fateful night.

So here, for the record, is a picture of a picture: Jonesy's glory days, when the living was easy, the bugs were plenty, and Jonesy was the favored spider in our house.

The Crittergators may be seen in the foreground, standing quietly, paying their respects. Rest easy, Jonesy. Go well, gentle spider. We will miss you.

The song to accompany this sad tale is Goodbye, which was written by Steve Earle and recorded by Emmylou Harris on her marvelous 1995 album Wrecking Ball, which I highly recommend - every song on it is good.