Spider, Spider...

Some of you may know that we have had some unpleasant encounters recently; we're referring to this as our 'Arthropod Summer,' and not in a nice way.  

There was the invasion of bird mites, there were awkward moments involving fire ants, and scariest of all was the Dhubby's bite from a black widow.  

Our policy, when we see spiders, is to stomp first and ask questions later.

There is an exception:  

This handsome specimen took up residence a few weeks ago and seems to be prospering in this location.

Writing spiders aren't interested in living inside the house and are not aggressive toward humans.  

I enlarged and cropped this picture, which unfortunately has made the image less sharp, but you can still discern the black-and-yellow markings on the spider's body and the artistic decoration in the center of the orb web.  

If you watch long enough, you will see an insect get tangled in the sticky web...and marvel at the speed with which the spider races down to roll the victim over and over swiftly while its spinnerets provide the bonds.  Time is obviously of the essence; there is always the chance that the entangled insect might fight free.