My family and I moved to North Vancouver this month. We used to live in the West End: one block from the beach and on block from Stanley Park. But in North Vancouver you can find a place with a back yard. Our Son nathan who is 16 months needs a back yard - plus our dog Chilco - he seems to like it too. I like the fact I can have a BBQ again!

Last night we had a BBQ, and after I was done cooking, I forgot to recover the BBQ (shock for those who know me - right...). I left the BBQ cover in a pile on the ground, which I discovered this morning. I picked it up and and opened it up to put over the BBQ when I noticed this black ball less than an inch moving. "Crap! That's a black window!" I had seen Black Widows in Australia (called red backs there). But wait that couldn't be a Black Widow this is Canada. No deadly spiders here. It must be a spider mimicking the look of a black widow. I put it out of my mind.

I get back from work this evening, and tell my wife about the spider. "Well, let's look it up", she says. Shit! The North Black Widow is common in southern British Columbia! Shit! Shit! Shit!

Not too keen on that back yard now for my son and dog. An unexpected problem with this move.

I hate spiders! Especially ones that kill pets and small children. I know it's rare to get bitten, but damn in my own back yard.

Anyway speaking of unexpected