I got up as usual this morning, made my breakfast and and filled my "all day coffee cup," a tall metal super insulated job that holds half a pot and will keep it hot until lunch time.I then went outside and tweaked the direction and tension on the new amateur radio antenna Mike Sala was kind enough to install for me last Thursday.
I tuned up the radio, called CQ on 20 meters and got an immediate response from a really nice guy down in Louisiana. Just like he was next door. Since we had trimmed this antenna for 20 meters and pointed its main radiation lobe south this was all good. Band conditions appeared to be good. If 20 was doing that well in that direction early in the day, by the time the "bounce layers" built up in the upper atmosphere later in the day I had a good shot at talking all over the Caribbean and the Atlantic Coast of South America.
I was chatting away with my new radio friend, talking about sunspot cycles and propagation when I noticed a tiny black widow spider crawling around on my radio. I killed it or at least thought I did. Then I noticed him again .... or his sibling. I killed it. Then there was one on the fabric I use to cover my junk shelf under the radios. I killed him. Then I noticed one coming down from the ceiling on a tiny string of web. When I looked up, I saw tiny blackish brown dots all over the ceiling and the corner walls near my radio. At least 50. Maybe a hundred or more. Tiny little black widows.
I shot out the back door and called for Sheila who was working in the garden. She would know where the bug spray was while I would have to search. She found a can of spider and scorpion killer. I killed as many as I could see and pretty well drenched the back half of our tiny kitchen with the bug spray.
About the time I got my composure back, I noticed that my nose and throat were tingling and I was feeling a little funny. So, I ran to the bathroom and emptied a bottle of saline nasal wash through my nostrils and throat. I had the presence of mind to kill the AC and turn on the whole house vent as I was leaving.
Then I went outside in the fresh air and sat down on the front porch. Everything was still tingling. After a few minutes, I asked Sheila to open the back door near the "hot spot" and mix me another bottle of nasal wash, also carefully instructing her not to linger in the kitchen and get back out of the house as soon as possible.
I felt really conspicuous sitting on my front porch step as the gardening and jogging neighbors looked on, shooting saline solution through one nostril and out the other and then spitting, gargling and coughing until it was all cleared out. I went through the insert water into nose, spit, rinse, blow your nose and gargle thing again for several more minutes. Eventually the tingling and strange feelings went away.
I just went back into the kitchen a few moments ago. The spiders appear to be gone and toxic fume level has decreased. I am still wearing a paper mask just for cautions sake. So much for my peaceful morning on the radio.
