Spider Sniffing

What is spider sniffing you ask?

Years ago, we went to camp at an Arkansas State Park.  At the parks there, they have nature programs for everyone to enjoy and we went to a night one.  We had no idea what to expect, but we were asked to bring our flashlights.  When we showed up, we found out we were going to be trained to be spider sniffers... and we would become 'official' spider sniffers with a certificate showing we know how to find spiders in the dark.

How do you do that?? 

Go out into the pitch black night, turn your flashlight on and put the end of it on your nose (hence the sniffing part) with the light facing out. 

Look out at the grass and trees - you will see little sparkles of glitter all around - they sparkle just like diamonds. 

Now keep your eyes on the sparkle, the light up close to your nose, you walk straight to the sparkle - and don't take your eyes off of it. 

Walk very slowly until you get to your sparkle, carefully keeping the light on the exact spot you saw it. 

Get closer... much closer... so close you see... A SPIDER!  (or maybe a dot of water - if it is very dewy outside).

If you found a spider, it was the light glistening off of the spider's eye that glittered!  

Last night punkin' and I went spider sniffing.  We found LOTS of critters; one was a very BIG spider, one cricket and one something-else-we-are-not-sure-what-was... lol... and one very large cat!  The cat sparkled green eyes and he was fishing in the dark by our little lake - he was not amused at all by our spider sniffing! 

There were campers (the people kind) outside sitting by the campfires; one couple got up and went in when we found a 10th spider by their campsite - I think the lady didn't like spiders and I doubt she will ever walk outside again at night.  Another couple was interested and couldn't believe we could find spiders that way. We left them spider sniffing too!  There was a little guy that tried to bribe us out of our flashlights to play with - not to spider sniff - and there were many campers too afraid to ask what we were looking for. 

Spider sniffing is great!   You don't have to pick them up - just find them.  You, too, will be amazed at how many there are out there - or maybe you won't ever walk outside again... lol... 

As for punkin' and I?  We are spider sniffers - we love getting out there and finding critters.  Give it a shot - you might surprise yourself and you will surely impress a buddy!  Better yet, go to Arkansas and have a great time learning at their State Park nature programs - they do have some great ones!  Our kids and nieces had a great time - at least I think they did.  If not, I sure did - and I can impress the heck out of my grandkids!