Brown Betty.

Still another chilly morning – in fact it was feeling quite Fallish out there. Today I wore a jacket and stopped short of donning gloves as well; for sure I wasn’t sweatin’ on my walk.

These cooler mornings have me thinking of Fall fare – you know … all the fun stuff that Autumn beckons you to try as soon as you’re all snuggled into your fleecy and heavyweight garb. Those bulky and warm woolens are more forgiving than Summer wear, especially if you’re planning to indulge in those perennial pumpkin goodies or enjoying cider and donuts.

Even though I have sworn off sweets, on this cool morning, I felt like I could close my eyes and remember walking in the door after school or work, and my mom would have a “Brown Betty” in the oven. The cinnamon and nutmeg aroma was heavenly and wafted gently to my nostrils and that sweet smell even permeated the kitchen. Sometimes it would be freshly picked peaches that the neighbor brought over in a big brown bag straight from his tree. Or, perhaps the “Betty” would consist of apples, bought in a wooden basket from a country fruit stand.

After the pan came out of the oven, the portions were divvied up and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream was plopped atop each mountain of goodness, and which creamy blob usually started cascading down the sides, then pooling into the bottom of the bowl by the time dinner was finished and it was time to attack dessert.

Ahh, thoughts about any “Brown Betty” really takes me back to a good place (and makes me hungry as well).

But …

“Brown Betty” is also the name I have given the 2015 spider that lives in the folds of my garage door. A few weeks ago, I slapped that moniker onto this dark brown, eight-legged beast.

Now this “Brown Betty” is different from any of the other arachnids that have taken up residence in a tiny space behind where the garage panels split when you open or close the door. Unlike most spiders who create a thick web, with a wide tunnel opening from where they dart in and out of that hidey-hole to sun themselves or catch food, this particular spider is content to stay tucked away out of sight – out of my sight anyway.

All Summer I have tortured myself looking to see what I imagine is a cringe-worthy critter. But, I can peer all I want because all I have ever seen are a few shapely, long legs peeking out of the garage fold. Thus the nickname “Betty” for Betty Grable, she being the glamorous pin-up gal with a pair of famous and valuable gams back in the 40s and 50s.

Now, I must admit, seeing those legs and imagining the size and shape of the spider who owns them, does kind of bug me (if you’ll pardon the pun), but since she has not shown her face to date, there are no heart palpitations on my part as I open the garage door. Thus, I’ve spared its life, even though I’ve grown tired of sweeping down the web daily or taking the blower to it. The web is destroyed, but not for long as another web is quickly woven, probably in the space of time it takes to read this post.

On Sunday, my neighbor, Jeff, and I were peering as far as we could see and neither of us would dare poke this critter to separate it from its spot because we both suffer from arachnophobia. We concurred this is no “itsy-bitsy spider” … ugh!

But I know its friends lurk out there – yes, they are my foes. Every one of them. When I opened the outside door and walked into something I could not discern, I went into a tailspin. It felt light and sticky and had descended on my face and hair. I had a sickly and claustrophobic feeling as I clawed at the air with my palm, waving my hand back-and-forth, to rid the sticky-feeling fibers from my face, and especially my hair. It felt like an annoying food handlers hairnet had settled down over the top half of my body. I spun around and couldn’t unlock the door quickly enough to dash back into the house to ensure that this spider web and its trappings were not plastered over my face and hair with a spider sitting prettily amongst the ruins. With my phobia of spiders, I just had to perish that thought!

Yup, Summer is slip-slidin’ away. Cool and aromatic apple goody-filled air fills your nostrils and big spiders like to play hide-and-go seek.

And you thought the internet was a web of intrigue.

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/