my favorite unconventional animal: spiders
This is my submission for the Grizzly Gazette Carnival for April 2026.
In 2023, I went to the Spider Pavillion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and fell in love with Golden Silk Orbweavers because they reminded me of the Skulltulas in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I marveled at the juxtaposition between their "scary" appearance and docile behavior. A month or two later, I commissioned a tattoo artist to blast one on my outer bicep.
A year later, I noticed a Western Spotted Orbweaver spider had taken up residence in my backyard. Although only one photo came out clearly (the third in the gallery below), I delighted in posting updates about my spider to my since-deleted microblog and was very sad when she disappeared one day.
That same year, a large population of Brown Widows also camped out in my backyard. Thanks to an email newsletter I received from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, I learned that they were an invasive species and the NHMLA was interested in any information regarding sightings. I was terrified of widows but challenged myself to stand closer to them during my nightly spider scavenger hunts.
Eventually, my fear turned into curiosity and my curiosity into admiration. In true Kelsey fashion, I got a second spider tattoo (this time on my forearm), as I was fascinated by the patterning on their abdomen. The tattoo artist got a big kick out of my request, as she normally tattooed cute animals like swans and bunnies.
While I love spiders and do not believe in squishing them, I'm still afraid of them when I encounter them in my house 😰
Reading this post reminded me that I was absolutely obsessed with Hua Mei in fourth grade, to the point of writing a report on her (including an illustrated cover page) for extra credit. I don't recall being asked to do so, I think my nerd ass simply handed it in.