Folks in the Austin area might find this of interest as my daughters live near 2244/Cuernavaca. Are tarantulas common in the Austin area? What say you, Andy? (Mark is her boyfriend).
Fritz ________________________________ From: Fritz Holt Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 10:07 AM To: 'Mandy Holt'; Jenny Holt; pholtsvi...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: tarantula Mandy, That is weird and just in time for Halloween. Sounds like a Mark trick. They are cool and interesting but are basically harmless. They don't usually bite if handled carefully but if they do, it is no worse than a bee sting. You did the right thing but I would have been tempted to put it in a fish bowl with sand in the bottom and display it at Halloween. They are basically in-ground dwellers in holes with a trap door. Forty years ago I was heading north leaving Lajitas after it had rained fairly hard and the water had driven them out of their holes. There were dozens of them on the highway. It was a strange sight. I put several in small individual Sun-Maid raisin boxes and brought them home but don't remember what I did with them but I wouldn't have killed them. Big Bend is one of the most beautiful parts of our magnificent state. I want to go there again soon before I get old. :( Dad ________________________________ From: Mandy Holt [mailto:mandy.h...@ers.state.tx.us] Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 9:41 AM To: Jenny Holt; pholtsvi...@hotmail.com; Fritz Holt Subject: tarantula Guess what? There was a good sized tarantula in my kitchen this morning. I saw something weird poking out of the top of the bottom cabinet (it turned out to be its legs), so I opened the door. I guess the door was already cracked open since I saw the legs coming out, and there it was. Kind of startled me, didn't expect to see that. I put it on a plastic cup and took it out front. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mandy Holt Investments Travel Coordinator (512) 867-7296 EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS [cid:image001.jpg@01CB742D.E4AFD4F0] -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------