I thought this story may be appropriate as Halloween approaches. I live in East Boothbay and my husband, Jeremy Meyers, owns Aekeir Brewing. His taproom is in Wiscasset.

I have to share this adorable tale of Wilson, the jumping spider (Phidippus audax) who came to occupy a good luck bamboo plant given to us by a friend when  Ækeir Brewing opened earlier this year. Weekly, Jeremy Meyers texts me updates about Wilson's whereabouts and little stories. He told me he first noticed him in the earlier stages when he was much smaller. I never checked if he was a “he” but I can tell with tarantulas, not yet with these species. When I was in high school, I had a small jumper spider on my outdoor spider plant all summer. I called him “Harry." He would come out and I would hold him and then put him back on the plant each visit. This little one reminded me of him!

Jeremy checks on Wilson daily. When the sun comes out, he crawls out of his little nest in the plant to watch for bugs coming to the window. Last week, he caught a fly! A sign was placed near his plant to keep him safe from potential disturbances. This week, he took a small drop of water to drink. Later the same day, he ventured further around the walls to visit a new angle. 

I’ve always been so fascinated by spiders and this one is now the taproom pet. Isn’t Wilson adorable? What do you think?