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In a message dated 4/26/01 9:55:03 AM, vlos@... writes:

<< I was bitten by a huge shiny black spider years ago. We were living in a
woodsy area here in WA state where's there's both recluses and widows. >>

If it was black and shiny, it wasn't a brown recluse.
They're smaller and dull looking. When they walk they put most of their legs
in front and pull themselves along weird-like.

The scariest are wolf spiders. We saw a HUGE one one day a few years ago,
crossing a dirt road (near Placitas, for the New Mexico readers, at the north
end of the Sandias). It was like something from a monster movie, or a
scary-spider cartoon. It was like my hand and the legs bigger than my
fingers (and more OF them)---black and orange and brown. It was a glorious
piece of biology. I think we could have safely picked it up but we safely
just watched it walk away!!!

Sandra