Shadows

Yesterday, we declared war. As with any territorial disagreement between two parties, we did not reach this place quickly or lightly. And so, we need to catch you up a bit.

At first there were shadows. A black one-inch oval zipped in front of me across the three feet separating the front of the stove and the metal baker's rack. Yes - I screamed. Being acclimated to infestations common to the Deep South, my brain said "roach!" - which of course made no sense since we're in Philadelphia and generally roaches here are not the sizes of dinosaurs. Days later, it happened again.

Then there was the corroboration. DH (dear husband) saw a giant speeding roach dive behind the stove - one with a small tail. Or was it antennae? Perhaps it was running backwards? Our denial was deep.

Finally, there was the 'giant thing'. During a brief after-work phone check-in, DH became briefly incoherent, and then his phone cut off. Not reassuring. When we re-established contact, I learned he was in the apartment (where the cell reception is possibly the worst in the city) and he had seen a "shadow". A very large shadow apparently. "The size of a hand" as I recall, running from under the couch into the hall.

Giant mouse? (My laboratory knowledge suggested to me this was unlikely.) Rat? DH said not a big enough tail. The answer was clear. Tarantula. Or perhaps, a bat.

It was time to gather more evidence.