Take a look at one of my garden residents:
She is beautiful and the largest spider I have ever seen face-to-face (not counting a tarantula once). She is a black and yellow agriope, a member of the the orb spider family. One of her common names is a writing spider so I have been on the lookout for messages like “Some Pig” but so far, she remains silent. Perhaps her silence is a comment on the ultimate failure of language and its inability to adequately express our deepest thoughts and emotions. Or maybe she just has writer’s block.
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Your post reminds me that I haven’t seen any orb-weavers around this year. We had a cool, cloudy spring and early summer so I think it was a bad year for bugs and hence spiders. Your spider is very cool, even with writer’s block.
She is beautiful! We have a very large garden spider, a brilliant orange. But I haven’t seen her in awhile. I have seen two black widows, however. Yikes. I don’t mind spiders but I wouldn’t mind not seeing those. (they are beautiful, however)
What a beautiful creature! And so important to the environment. I no longer have a garden and I miss all the lovely, dewy webs in the morning. Sometimes, indoors, I see one of those little jumping spiders that looks a little like a Schnauzer.
That’s quite an existential-sounding spider you have there. Perhaps a woman of few words but forceful action. I’ve noticed quite a few spiders outside in my yard as well–and we’ll get along just fine as long as they stay outside.
Sylvia, we had a cool, wet spring but then we got extra hot and the bugs have been flourishing, especially the mosquitoes and the spiders. I’ve not had one of these pretty spiders in the garden before. She was a pleasant surprise.
Daphne, a bright orange spider sounds like a very pretty edition to the garden. Black widows scare me. My mom got bit by one when she was a kid and still has a scar from it. I’ve never seen black widows in MN and I can’t say I miss them.
Joan, LOL, those little jumping spiders do look like Schnauzers! Unless my husband or I manage to rescue them in the spider relocation program, they don’t last long in my house because my the cats, mighty hunters, eat them.
Danielle, I don’t mind little spiders in the house especially if they stay in the corners, but I would definitely be unnerved if I found a big spider this one in my house.
Very impressive that you made a spider look beautiful, even for someone like me who has pretty severe arachnophobia!
*SCREAM*
I want to admire her, really I do. But I find myself picking my feet up off the floor in an instinctual reflex reaction.
Mister Litlove was fixing shelving in his garage yesterday when he noticed an enormous spider watching him from a beam about two inches from his head. He said he blew the spider onto the floor, just in case it got any funny ideas about helping out. He’s good with them on the whole, and will rescue me when I yell for help!
Beautiful! Several years ago I had a very very similar looking spider in my garden, so huge it was as big as the palm of my hand. She weaved a spider web with a “zipper” design in it. You’ll probably know right away what kind of spider she was. Maybe the same kind as your spider. Anyway, I named her “Flash” – not because she moved quickly – for never seemed to move at all – but because she reminded me of a lightning bolt. Every day I’d check on her as I left for work and returned. One morning a red cardinal was showing a lot of unusual interest in the bush where Flash lived. I tried to coax the bird away with seeds scattered along the pathway, and by waiving my arms wildly to shoo it away. I finally told Flash, “Flash, I have to go to work. You are on your own, my friend. Good luck.” When I got home that evening, the web was destroyed and my Flash was gone. That day I guess she morphed into a red cardinal.
Charlotte is looking fine!
Whenever I catch one of her species inside my apartment, I never kill them. I catch them and throw ‘em out the window.
Being on the 14th [essentially 13th] floor here I don’t care where they land, as long as they don’t climb on back up!
rhapsodyinbooks, why thanks! I admit to being initially startled on discovering her as I was weeding near her web. But she is so big and just sat there so she isn’t scary at all.
Litlove, LOL, if it helps she didn’t move a hair the whole time I stood looking at her. We are not upset by spiders at our house and generally let them alone in their corners when they appear. However, if they are spied by the cats they will soon be goners so then we try to relocate them to the outdoors before they become a kitty snack. Should you ever come to visit I will ask the spiders to take a vacation
Grad, my spider isn’t quite as large as Flash but they are probably in the same spider family. You did your best to keep Flash safe but at least it was a cardinal that got her.
Cipriano, I’m certain Charlotte is secretly preenly at your compliment
Your catch-and-release spiders are probably rather suprised to find themselves flying out the window. Hopefully they get a little parachutist’s thrill before touching down gently on someone else’s windowsill.
Ha, that’s so funny because before I finished reading what you wrote I was already thinking about Charlotte and Wilbur. That is one huge spider!
Lovely post Stef … spiders can be quite beautiful and clearly yours has more beauty than brains. You can’t have it all I’m afraid.